Former Bangs bassist/Kill Rock Stars publicist/current Bikini Kill Records manager Maggie Vail is executive director of a Portland-based non-profit venture called CASH Music. It originated from a concept hatched by Throwing Muses’ Kristin Hersh and ex-L7 frontwoman Donita Sparks. The organization exists, Vail says, to “help artists become more sustainable in the digital age. We build free open source digital tools, are working on education for artists, and host summits around the country. Our summits are designed to bring musicians and technologists together to talk about building a better future that works for all.” So far CASH has held summits in Portland, LA, New York City, and Chicago.

With CASH Music, artists can oversee their mailing list, sell their music, and basically manage their entire digital world on a platform that the company boasts is “free to use, now and forever.” Artists currently using CASH Music include Zola Jesus, Raincoats, Deerhoof, Explosions in the Sky, and No Age.

So, how will CASH survive if it’s free? “We survive on grants, donations, sponsorships, and fellowships,” Vail says. “We don’t need a lot to operate—we’re a pretty lean organization with only three full-time employees. Right now we’re funded mainly by a fellowship that my [CASH Music] partner Jesse von Doom was awarded last spring from the Shuttleworth Foundation. We have a long-term plan for membership, but the tools will always be separate from that.”

CASH’s Seattle summit takes place 12:30 pm Saturday, November 15 at Vera Project and 11 am-4 pm Sunday, November 16 at Rhapsody. The former will involve a discussion day hosted by John Roderick, who’ll be talking about CASH with Shelby Earl, Chris Sutton (Hornet Leg, Gossip), Sean Nelson (ex-Harvey Danger, Stranger arts editor), and Glenn Fleishman (The New Disruptors, Boing Boing). The latter will tackle several topics that will give musicians, developers, label bosses, fans, etc. what CASH is all about. Both confabs are free, but you need to RSVP here.