These days, with all the streaming platforms and easy-to-use music software, it's gotten a lot easier for musicians to make money from their skills. Michael Turner, a 26-year-old full-time musician who goes by the name PLVTINUM, has found a pretty profitable side gig in the world of lo-fi music production.
Michael's setup is pretty simple, and he focuses more on quantity than quality when he's making tracks. But it's paid off - over the last year, he's managed to earn an extra $33,139 just by spending a few hours here and there creating lo-fi songs.
In this article, we're going to take a closer look at Michael's journey into the lo-fi music scene. We'll talk about the strategies he uses, and we'll also explore how other musicians might be able to follow a similar path and make some extra money on the side.
The Lo-Fi music genre
Lo-fi, short for "low fidelity," refers to music that lacks the high production value typically associated with professional recordings. This style of music has become really popular in recent years, especially on YouTube. There are tons of channels dedicated to making lo-fi beats for things like studying, relaxing, or falling asleep, and they've built up millions of subscribers and views.
The appeal of lo-fi music is that it provides a nice, calming background soundtrack for all kinds of activities. It's easy to just have playing in the background while you do other things.
For Michael Turner, the appeal of making lo-fi music goes beyond just its popularity. He finds the process of creating these tracks to be really relaxing and therapeutic. It lets him take a break from the expectations and pressures that come with making more mainstream pop music. The simplicity of lo-fi, combined with the potential to earn a lot of money from it, has made it a great side gig for Michael and his collaborator, guitarist Mike Bono.
The two-minute track challenge
One of the most interesting things about Michael and Mike Bono's lo-fi music side gig is how quickly and efficiently they're able to create their tracks.
They work together under the name Bonsai Beats, and when they're collaborating on a lo-fi song, they set a timer for just 2 minutes. In that short time frame, they try to finish the whole process - writing the music, producing it, and even naming the song.
This fast approach means they're focusing more on quantity over quality. Their main goal is to build up a big catalog of tracks that people can use as background music, even if the individual songs aren't super polished.
But it's really paying off. Over the past year, Michael Turner and Mike Bono have created 85 of these 2-minute lo-fi tracks. And that catalog has earned them almost $60,000 in total in 2023. The fact that they can make all those songs in just 3 hours of total work time shows how potentially lucrative and efficient this lo-fi music side business can be.
The simplicity of lo-fi music production
Michael says that making lo-fi music is a lot simpler than many people think. The basic setup you need is pretty basic - just a guitar, a keyboard, and some music mixing software.
The low barrier to entry is one of the most appealing aspects of lo-fi music production as a side hustle. With minimal equipment and software requirements, anyone with a passion for music and a willingness to invest time can start creating and publishing their own lo-fi tracks.
Distributing and monetizing lo-fi music
Once the artists have created their lo-fi tracks, the next step is getting them distributed on different streaming platforms. Michael uses a service called TuneCore to do this.
TuneCore will take those tracks and get them distributed on streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, YouTube, and TikTok. TuneCore has different pricing options - there's a basic free version, or you can pay $49.99 per year for a subscription.
The big advantage of the subscription is that TuneCore won't take any of the sales revenue from the tracks. A lot of traditional music distribution companies can claim up to 85% of the earnings. But with TuneCore, the musician gets to keep it all.
This widespread availability of easy music distribution platforms like TuneCore has really democratized the music industry. Now independent artists like Michael and Mike can much more easily make money from their creations. And if the music resonates with listeners, they can start earning money from it right away, with very little upfront cost.
The potential for passive income
One of the really attractive things about this lo-fi music side gig is the potential to earn passive income from it. Michael has seen some of his musician friends have a lot of success in this area.
For example, one of his friends put out a lo-fi track designed for sleep and relaxation. It ended up getting almost 20 million streams, which translated to around $100,000 in earnings. People just kept playing that song on repeat as they were falling asleep.
Another friend of Michael's, who's a writer and producer without a steady job, recently sold the rights to his whole catalog of passive listening tracks for $1.68 million. This shows how big institutional investors are getting interested in the streaming music market. They see the value in those recurring streams and the long-term earning potential.
The rise of lo-fi music investing
The fact that big investors are getting so interested in the lo-fi music scene really shows the earning potential of this genre. As Michael points out, if you can build up a substantial number of recurring streams on your tracks, you might even get an offer from traditional investors to buy up the rights to your whole catalog.
This has really turned the lo-fi music world into a serious, lucrative space - not just for the musicians themselves, but for investors too.
This new model of lo-fi music investing has created new moneymaking opportunities for the artists. Instead of just relying on the initial streaming revenue, musicians can now build up a big catalog of tracks that generate consistent, ongoing streams. Then they can try to sell the rights to that whole catalog to an investor for a big lump sum payment.
This gives musicians an exit strategy and a way to cash in on all the hard work and creativity they've put into building up that catalog. It's a whole new revenue stream beyond just the initial streaming earnings.
Launching his own record label
Inspired by his own success in the lo-fi music scene, and his passion for making the music industry more accessible, Michael decided to start his own record label called Rebellion Records back in August 2023.
His goal is to use his production skills and his knowledge of how to make music go viral online to help up-and-coming artists succeed in the really competitive music indusrty.
What makes Michael's label stand out is that he's offering artists a much better deal than the traditional record label model. Normally, record labels will take 50-60% of an artist's royalties. But with Rebellion Records, Michael is only keeping 25% - so the artists get to keep a much bigger share of their earnings.
This lines up with Michael's vision of really empowering and supporting musicians, and giving them the tools they need to thrive in the current digital music space.
Conclusion
As the music industry continues to grow, the rise of lo-fi music production and the democratization of music distribution have opened up new opportunities for musicians to monetize their skills and creativity. Michael Turner's success story serves as an inspiration for aspiring musicians looking to turn their passion into a profitable side hustle.
The simplicity of lo-fi music production, combined with the potential for passive income and the growing interest from institutional investors, makes it an attractive option for musicians of all levels. As more artists embrace this genre and explore the possibilities of streaming platforms, the future of music looks increasingly diverse and accessible.
Michael Turner's journey from being a full-time musician to becoming a successful lo-fi music producer and label owner shows just how much potential the lo-fi music scene has as a lucrative side hustle. By taking advantage of the simplicity of lo-fi music production, the way music distribution has become more democratic, and the power of streaming platforms, anyone can literally earn a really good income while only spending a few minutes a week creating tracks.
