Title: Meet PLVTINUM, the Musician Who Turned a Lo-Fi Side Hustle into $33,000 in a Year
If you’ve ever tuned into a YouTube video of “lo-fi beats to study or relax to,” chances are you’ve come across Michael Turner’s music. Turner, who goes by the stage name PLVTINUM, is a 26-year-old full-time musician who primarily produces pop music. However, in the past year and a half, he has discovered a unique and lucrative side hustle in the form of producing lo-fi music.
Producing lo-fi music: ‘much simpler than people realize’
With a band known as Bonsai Beats, Turner has managed to earn a substantial extra income of $33,139. The band consists mostly of Turner and guitarist Mike Bono. They have produced a total of 85 lo-fi tracks that have collectively earned them nearly $60,000 in the past year. What makes their production process unique is their approach of setting a timer for just two minutes to write, produce, and name each song.
Turner and Bono have found that the simplicity and low expectations that come with the lo-fi genre to be “kind of therapeutic.” Additionally, the minimal time investment is also attractive, with their 85 tracks only taking a total of approximately three hours to create.
However, production costs are nearly negligible. Turner and Bono make use of a guitar, a keyboard, and Logic Pro, a music mixing software. They utilize TuneCore, an online service that places their tracks on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and TikTok, with a subscription fee of $29.99 that allows them to retain all sales revenue.
‘This is a really exciting time in music’
The relatively low payouts from streaming platforms like Spotify have sparked conversations among musicians. Turner, however, views it as democratizing. He started Rebellion Records, aiming to help emerging artists by applying his production skills and online virality research, only keeping 25% of each artist’s royalties, rather than the industry standard of 50-60%.
This move is reflective of the changing landscape of the music industry, where Turner says streaming has attracted interest from traditional investors, with the potential to make it a serious space.
Turner remains optimistic about the future of music, stating that “This is a really exciting time in music.” He believes that it is a space open to professional and casual musicians who seek to turn their passion into a lucrative side hustle.
As Turner continues to experiment and innovate in the music space, he signifies that the music industry is itself evolving, opening new opportunities for emergent talent and a new, broader musical landscape.
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