LOS ANGELES — XBIZ, the Industry Source, is pleased to announce CCBill CEO Ron Cadwell as keynote speaker for its upcoming XBIZ LA Digital Media Conference.
XBIZ LA 2012 will be held Jan. 9-12, at the luxurious Sofitel Hotel in Los Angeles. The event’s premier sponsors include CE Cash, RedPass, PussyCash, Adult Webmaster Empire, EroAdvertising, GTBill, Fleshlight, Signature Card Services and Sofort. XBIZ LA will be capped by the annual XBIZ Awards show, set for Jan. 10, and presented by MyFreeCams.com.
“It is truly an honor to be asked to participate as a keynote speaker at XBIZ LA 2012,” Cadwell told XBIZ. “I have long considered XBIZ LA to be one of the best industry events of the year, and now with its move to early January, this event will surely offer our community the opportunity to begin the year with timely and innovative discussions to drive business success.”
Industry veteran, Wasteland CEO Colin Rowntree, will engage the head of one of the adult industry’s most widely used payment processing companies, in a candid and lively one-on-one session slated to cover the current and future state of the business along with the many hot-topic issues factoring into its ongoing evolution.
“I’ve known and worked with Colin for years and know that this will be a great meeting of minds,” Cadwell added.
“Rowntree was our top choice for this special keynote,” XBIZ president and publisher Alec Helmy said, noting that the two industry icons “share a relationship dating back to the advent of the adult Internet.”
“Searching for a better hosting company, I spotted a listing on Alta-Vista in 1996, called the number listed and got a chiropractor’s office,” Rowntree told XBIZ. “I talked to the chiropractor about letting me put Wasteland.com on the new server he had for the local business community in Phoenix, warning him that it was adult content.”
Then-chiropractor Cadwell asked Rowntree if he thought there was any money in it; and after consulting with his family, Cadwell returned Rowntree’s call the following day to give him the green light.
“Needless to say, Ron ran with the idea and over the next year, Cavecreek Hosting expanded into a little experiment he had dreamed up: CCBill,” Rowntree said. “Ron and I have been close ever since, as we grew our businesses over the past 17 years.”
As for the topics the pair plan to discuss at XBIZ LA, Rowntree says the discussion will focus on what is “converting” well in the current online adult entertainment market in terms of content, member retention, VOD, live chat, dating and other industry segments that rely on credit cards and alternative billing methods.
“Ron has the ‘Bird’s Eye View’ of what is going on as far as consumer patterns, and we will take a look at that through his special perspective,” Rowntree stated. “We’ll also touch upon the evolution of credit card billing in adult, from its ‘Wild West’ beginnings, to its current state, and then get Ron to take out his crystal ball for a look at what may be in store for the future of the adult industry.”
The session will also attempt to de-mystify the topic of “scrubbing,” with Rowntree determined to learn whether or not Cadwell really has a big red knob on his desk to dial CCBill’s scrub level up and down.
According to Rowntree, attendees will benefit from this session by gaining a great deal of historic and big picture information from Cadwell, who has been involved in nearly every aspect of e-commerce billing since day one of the online adult industry.
“They will also walk away with some fresh perspective on ‘how to build a better mousetrap’ with regards to creating sites and services that convert and retain, while keeping a low chargeback ratio,” Rowntree concluded. “And, perhaps most importantly, learn ways to monetize websites in the current world where everything seems to be free.”