Ever wondered what a piano lesson would cost you in Bitcoin? Soon you’ll be able to find out first hand with an Australian music school set to accept tuition payments in cryptocurrency.
Music Lessons Academy (MLA) has announced it will be embracing revolutionary blockchain technology for teacher and student certifications and part of this will be accepting transactions in crypto.
MLA founder and CEO Kayla Caruso believes modern businesses need to be part of the cryptocurrency conversation, or risk being left behind.
“We will be accepting payments in cryptocurrency from next month,” she said. “Innovation is a core value of our company. We are the first music school using this type of technology in our teaching practices.”
There are more than 7000 cryptocurrencies in existence and anyone can invent one at any time, but before you dream up your own cryptocurrency to pay your violin teacher, Kayla says MLA will begin by accepting only the established versions like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Cardano.
“It’s all part of a shift towards a new world and financial system,” Caruso said. “Already sports stars and entertainers are putting crypto agreements in their contracts. We believe that blockchain technology is the future.”
The blockchain will allow teacher and student qualifications to be permanently stored and accessed at any time via a digital wallet. Already, the new technology is a part of MLA’s training and certification process.
“Teachers undergo a training program to become a certified music tutor within our school, Caruso said. “It is a part online, part practical assessment of their teaching skills across six months. Each teacher is qualified to teach their instrument, but has also trained in understanding students’ behaviours, core musical and technical skills, creativity and innovation.
“Once complete, our music teachers are given a ‘Blockcert’, which is a certificate stored on the blockchain.”
Having that Blockcert will save on physical storage of paper documents, while guaranteeing security better than uploading to the ‘cloud’.
After quickly expanding across Australia, Caruso is taking MLA to New Zealand, the UK and the USA and hopes blockchain technology will help her operate successfully on an international level.
“It’s all about being in the conversation in that space to begin with,” she said.
The following year, with 150 students on her books, Kayla recruited young teachers for other instruments and the business became Music Lessons Academy.
Now, Music Lessons Australia has 550 students and 160 teachers operating across NSW, VIC, QLD, WA and SA, as well as expanding into New Zealand.
“We have a plan to go reach 1000 students in Australia by the end of next year,” Kayla says. “We are also launching a franchise model for the business as we continue to expand.”
Kayla’s team of teachers traveled to people’s homes to conduct one on one lessons at times that suit students, until Covid restrictions meant lessons were hosted on Zoom meetings.
For interviews, case studies and more information, contact Kayla Caruso at: