The Reality Of Being a Music Entrepreneur w PLV Music – Boomcast Ep.14

Dive into the world of being a music entrepreneur with musicbylukas, Noize London, and PLV Music in this candid and enlightening discussion!

What does it truly mean to be a music influencer in today’s digital age? How can you navigate the opportunities and challenges that come with this unique role? In this video, we join forces to give you an insider’s look into the reality of being a music influencer. With PLV Music’s experience as a renowned music influencer, along with our combined industry knowledge, we provide a comprehensive and authentic perspective on the subject.

In this conversation, we explore: 

• The ins and outs of being a music influencer
• The impact of social media on music influencers
• The role and importance of authenticity and personal branding
• The balance between creativity and commerciality
• Strategies for building and nurturing an engaged audience
• Advice for aspiring music influencers

LISTEN: Spotify | Apple Music

 

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Video Transcript: The Reality Of Being a Music Entrepreneur w PLV Music – Boomcast Ep.14

00:00:00:01 – 00:00:06:09
Noize_London
Hi and welcome to Boomcast, the podcast from the home of collaboration, Boombox.
I’m Fabio from Noize.

00:00:06:09 – 00:00:07:09
MusicbyLukas
And I’m MusicbyLukas.

00:00:07:10 – 00:00:15:03
Noize_London
Today, our special guest is incredibly talented. A music producer, singer and YouTuber. MusicbyPLV.

00:00:15:08 – 00:00:16:17
MusicbyPLV
Hello!

00:00:17:23 – 00:00:31:11
MusicbyLukas
So, Fabio, you were just at a conference for a Boombox.io, and you got to find out some, like, top secret stuff. That’s coming up. So what is it that you found out that you’re excited about that people need to know? What are the updates coming from Boombox?

00:00:31:12 – 00:00:47:21
Noize_London
So if you are a user of Boombox or thinking about becoming a user of Boombox, there are some really exciting new features, including Desktop Sync, which means that you’ll be able to synchronize your DAW files, and something I know that you’re very excited about, Lukas, which are artist profiles.

00:00:47:21 – 00:01:08:14
MusicbyLukas
Yes. So the artist profiles, I think are the coolest feature coming from Boombox, which is where you’re going to be able to create your own profile so that people can find you to collab with you, but also so you can search for other artists, vocalists, engineers, etc., to collab with from different genres. You’re going to be able to add all your information and it’s just going to be such a cool feature, I think, to help people be able to connect and collab.

00:01:08:14 – 00:01:10:01
MusicbyLukas
So I’m super excited for it.

00:01:10:02 – 00:01:16:08
Noize_London
Don’t forget that every month Boombox is giving away $500 and all you have to do is comment down below with:

00:01:16:11 – 00:01:23:03
MusicbyLukas
Who’s your favorite music influencer producer on Instagram or YouTube, etc?

00:01:23:03 – 00:01:26:04
Noize_London
Bonus points if you write Music by Lukas, just saying.

00:01:27:16 – 00:01:43:04
MusicbyLukas
So let’s hop into it. I think this is a really cool chance for us to be able to, you know, we’re all in different countries right now. We’re all in different parts of the world. And the coolest thing, I think, is that we have all proven that, you know, anyone can really be able to make a name for themselves online.

00:01:43:09 – 00:01:58:15
MusicbyLukas
Like, PLV, you’re always talking about how you don’t need to go to music school to become someone successful in the music industry. And I did want to touch on that. And maybe that’s a good place to start. Like how you got started, you know, what your background was and how you got to where you are now?

00:01:58:15 – 00:02:28:23
MusicbyPLV
Yeah. So I started literally when I had absolutely zero knowledge about it and that is why I decided to start when I did, because I really wanted to show everything since day one, basically. So and the only thing I had before, like, I think I started two months after learning what a DAW was. And before that, when I was really, really young, I did like a little bit of choir and like music theory for like two years or something.

00:02:29:07 – 00:02:49:13
MusicbyPLV
And then I was going to do some piano, but at the time I decided to go to sports. So I kind of forgot about music, but the goal was too strong. And at some point I was like, “No, I really want to make music.” I was listening to music literally every single day. 24/7, I was dreaming about making my own songs, really singing my own songs.

00:02:49:14 – 00:03:08:29
MusicbyPLV
Yeah, basically that’s it. And when I wanted to start learning music, I tried to look for advice. But I realized that no one shows the beginning, that everyone arrives and is like, “Hey, I’m a genius at making music.” Right? And so no one shows like the ten years that it takes before, you know, being really good at it.

00:03:09:13 – 00:03:14:07
MusicbyPLV
So I decided, you know, let’s document my journey, maybe I’ll help some people on the way, you know.

00:03:14:21 – 00:03:27:21
MusicbyLukas
Have you always been extroverted like that? Because I think a lot of people are nervous to show the struggles and the hard times. So like what pushed you out there? Was there anyone that inspired you to do that or was it just the fact that no one was doing it?

00:03:27:22 – 00:03:45:29
MusicbyPLV
I actually there’s two things that did the spark or yeah, that did the spark in my head is I was reading the book, The Compound Effect… because I had so many things I wanted to do, but I was not focusing on one. So I was just average on everything. And I wanted to be really good at one thing.

00:03:45:29 – 00:04:08:12
MusicbyPLV
And so that book made me understand that I was just having to commit to one thing and Crush It by Gary Vee said something like in his book like document rather than create and that’s what flipped the switch in my brain where I was like you know what he’s so right. Like, I would have loved to see how the Beatles started making music or how they learned how to make music.

00:04:08:12 – 00:04:41:26
MusicbyPLV
It would have been amazing. Not saying that I’m going to become that, by the way. It’s just an example.

Yeah. It’s just those two things. And, you know, I’m often showing as well my very first video recording, which was very, very bad. But it just gets easier as you do it. And I think as well, I started when I was already like 25 or something, so I had already read a lot about, you know, self-development and all, which in a way helps me, you know, get over my fear of judgment, which made me start this.

00:04:42:17 – 00:04:45:29
MusicbyPLV
I think I wouldn’t have had the courage to start at like 18, for example.

00:04:46:06 – 00:04:53:06
Noize_London
At what point did you decide that you wanted to start a brand, and what does PLV stand for?

00:04:53:16 – 00:05:15:16
MusicbyPLV
Oh, that’s for this tattoo that I have: P, L and V. It’s for Paris, London and Vancouver, which are the cities that I lived in. And I had this tattoo, like, way before starting this PLV thing. It’s just when I was looking for an artist name, I just. I was like, PLV sounds good, you know? And it represents me. And who I am because of all the evolution I had.

00:05:15:16 – 00:05:16:01
MusicbyPLV
So. Yeah.

00:05:16:20 – 00:05:19:26
MusicbyLukas
So which country are you moving to next and are you going to keep adding the letters?

00:05:20:05 – 00:05:27:12
MusicbyPLV
Yeah, I was supposed to. That’s why there was an empty spot here. But no, I think Vancouver is my spot.

00:05:27:19 – 00:05:35:15
Noize_London
Just to follow on with that question, what made you want to build a brand and go full time as a content creator?

00:05:36:04 – 00:06:04:10
MusicbyPLV
Well my job that I had before was a visual effects artist for movies, and so it’s just like the video aspect, you know, movies. And that’s why all my videos are more like cinematic documentaries, storytelling style with like b-rolls and they’re all, mixed with music and, you know, sound effects and all that. Which is like my two passions linked together, which I really enjoy.

00:06:04:14 – 00:06:31:22
MusicbyPLV
And I think I’ve really enjoyed this aspect so much. And when I get comments from people saying that I’m that I’ve inspired them and motivated them by showing what the real journey is, it really makes me happy. It makes me happy to hear this and that’s what makes me happy. So I wanted to continue this YouTube content creation style. It just makes me feel like I’m helping people; like I’m doing a positive impact.

00:06:31:22 – 00:06:33:05
MusicbyPLV
And that’s something I really care about.

00:06:33:14 – 00:06:47:12
MusicbyLukas
A lot of producers struggle with social media in particular, and it becomes a thing that’s like an extra chore that they have to do but they don’t want to do. What’s your advice for producers to get past that and to make social media a little bit more authentic, a little bit easier for them?

00:06:47:18 – 00:07:08:01
MusicbyPLV
I think at first I’d say, like, don’t try to aim, for like what they say, like post once a day or whatever. Just do it to enjoy it. Make the videos that you want to make, you know, make it you. Because this way if you make it enjoyable for you, then you’ll probably want to do more and you’ll get into the habit of doing content.

00:07:08:06 – 00:07:25:12
MusicbyPLV
Yeah. Also, I think right now social media is so important for producers. Like that’s how Jake got discovered, for example. Like that’s how artists get discovered everyday. So, but yeah, I think just go about it, chill out first, make it enjoyable for you.

00:07:26:04 – 00:07:27:27
Noize_London
You’re not so chill about it now.

00:07:28:23 – 00:07:29:04
MusicbyPLV
No.

00:07:29:04 – 00:07:34:24
Noize_London
So what challenges are you facing with the amount of content that you’re creating at the moment?

00:07:35:12 – 00:07:57:26
MusicbyPLV
Right now, it’s definitely to keep up because it gets really tiring at some point, you know, posting every couple days and newsletter on Tuesday. YouTube community post here and there, YouTube videos on Sunday… Like it’s so much that sometimes I’m really getting tired and I do feel the need to step out from social media here and there.

00:07:58:19 – 00:08:16:03
MusicbyPLV
Like, right now, last month I took like a mini two-weeks vacation, which really helped. And now I’m really like, I’m ready for it again. So it just comes and goes; like it is hard. It’s just like a roller coaster, ups and downs and yeah, just ride it.

00:08:17:05 – 00:08:50:14
MusicbyLukas
One issue that a lot of artists also face, I think, is that they get so caught up in social media and marketing their music and doing, like you said, newsletters and all these different tasks. As an artist, you might lose time for your own musical things that you want to do with your own music.

Like you don’t have time to actually, you know, get in the studio and make the tracks, or maybe you have another, you know, hobby that you have to block out time for because you got to do the newsletter or whatever instead. How do you balance all that?

Do you have any advice on that topic?

00:08:51:09 – 00:09:49:18
MusicbyPLV
I’m not the best at it, to be honest. Right now I’m putting myself in more of a rule that every day after like six, seven, I’m done, like no more work. It’s time for either music or other hobbies. Like, really hobbies. I’m not making music for you to video or for me. I’m really, like, giving myself, like, hard rules and hard boundaries.

It’s really hard, but yeah, otherwise I would say for someone that still has a full time job, like the way I did it when I had a full time job, is to use a Google calendar and block my time. It really helps because at the end of a day at work, you can be so tired that you don’t want to think like, oh, what can I do? Should I work on this part of my song? Or that one, or maybe this one, if you know it ahead of time, you go straight to it. And it’s way easier to find time to make music because you organize your life around what you want to do.

00:09:49:25 – 00:09:58:07
Noize_London
Are you more of a morning or evening person?

MusicbyPLV
Morning.

Noize_Londong
What what kind of tasks do you like to prioritize in the morning then?

00:09:58:21 – 00:10:07:04
MusicbyPLV
In the morning I do a lot of writing and brainstorming. Everything that takes a lot of brain resources. I like to do fresh in the morning.

00:10:08:04 – 00:10:14:17
MusicbyPLV
Because then after I get tired. Like the editing, I’ll do it in the afternoon, stuff like that.

00:10:15:19 – 00:10:20:23
MusicbyLukas
The more, the more stuff that’s robotic ish, you know, like the click of the buttons.

MusicbyPLV
Yeah, exactly.

00:10:20:24 – 00:10:38:09
Noize_London
For those of you watching or listening, PLV has got some amazing products out there. So I suggest you go to her Instagram, check out the link in bio. What I want to know is how you decided to create the products that you have and maybe let our audience know what you have created, too.

00:10:38:09 – 00:10:58:25
MusicbyPLV
Yeah. I mean, the most popular one right now is like the 12 month plan to learn music production at home. And it basically follows what I’ve done that first year of when I started to learn music production and that I had to, you know, figure out everything on my own with YouTube videos and resources online and all this.

00:10:58:25 – 00:11:32:12
MusicbyPLV
Like, it takes so much time, right? So I basically divided all this in 12 months. Every month is one focus to, you know, to learn new genres, to produce more songs, you know, to finish songs, to start social media, find people to collab with. Like, I’m really going through every single aspect of the introduction to being a music producer.

And it’s just month by month and people can just follow it. And it’s way easier than having to figure out yourself, you know, for like two years online. So yeah, I was just trying to help like that.

00:11:32:13 – 00:11:43:18
MusicbyLukas
That’s a good point. And do you because you’re so busy with all the different things going on, have you gotten to the point where you’ve started, you know, outsourcing and started building your own team to assist with things like editing and, you know, the general day to day?

00:11:43:29 – 00:12:05:14
MusicbyPLV
Yeah, I did with one person, which is a music producer friend that I met when I did my first online class. And since day one, he has been supporting me. And I then learned after that he was like me, a visual effects artist at the time, and that he knows video editing and all this. So now he’s helping me with video editing.

00:12:05:14 – 00:12:25:12
MusicbyPLV
I’m probably outsourcing like 1 to 2 videos, like YouTube videos a month. And I started this like, you know, here and there last year and now it’s more every month. But yeah, that’s definitely one. And then he has another friend that helps me with some Instagram reels here and there, but I’m still, I think, not delegating enough.

00:12:25:12 – 00:12:35:02
MusicbyPLV
And that’s one thing about being the entrepreneur that I’m starting to learn. I think I need to because my video is taking me like 20 hours to edit, right?

00:12:35:04 – 00:12:37:24
MusicbyLukas
Oh, oh, man. Yeah, yeah. That’s a lot.

00:12:38:27 – 00:12:40:29
MusicbyPLV
So, yeah, I definitely need to do it more.

00:12:41:12 – 00:13:00:14
MusicbyLukas
All right. And now it is time for our Out-of-the-box question where we ask an off topic question. And today – actually it’s kind of on topic – but it’s also off topic because it’s not about music. But since we’re talking about entrepreneurship, my question for you guys is if you could start another entrepreneurial business that has to have nothing to do with music, what would be this other business that you would start?

00:13:03:07 – 00:13:27:12
MusicbyPLV
I think for me, I know because it’s something I have in my head. But I think it’s a clothing brand. Yeah. Like sportswear, like galaxy type of things, definitely. Yeah. I kind of already have designs in my head and names and all and that’s kind of something that I have in the back if this doesn’t work. [laughs] But yeah, you know, entrepreneurship minds always think about business ideas.

00:13:33:18 – 00:13:39:00
Noize_London
Mine would be one of two things: a sunglasses brand. I mean, it makes sense and is an easy sell. I get asked every day where they’re from and the reason I haven’t told people where my glasses are from is because this brand refuses to give me a sponsorship. They said, “we don’t do sponsorship deals.” And I’m like, “Why?”

MusicbyLukas
So, you’re like, not telling anyone that brand.

00:13:54:23 – 00:13:57:03
Noize_London
Yeah, exactly. [laughs]

00:13:57:18 – 00:14:14:14
Noize_London
And the other thing would be a restaurant for sure. My girlfriend and I both love to cook. She’s American but of Korean heritage. And so we fuse our flavors together.

00:14:14:21 – 00:14:15:14
MusicbyLukas
In life and in food.

00:14:15:14 – 00:14:21:20
Noize_London
Exactly. Korean, Schezwanese and Italian.

00:14:21:27 – 00:14:44:16
MusicbyLukas
I would start a coffee shop. I’ve always wanted to, and I think I still might, honestly. I’ve been into coffee for a very long time and I get really into the specialty blends. Like if one of my favorite brands of coffee comes out with a one-of-a-kind, whatever. I’m like a sneakerhead, but with coffee.

00:14:44:23 – 00:14:57:26
MusicbyLukas
And then in my coffee shop, I’m going to sell PLV’s merch and clothes, and I’m going to sell Noize London sunglasses. It’s going to be a collaboration. It’s the Boombox of coffee shops.

00:14:59:10 – 00:15:22:09
Noize_London
Obviously
You expressed earlier that you’re introverted and we’re kind of touching on the question that I want to ask now, which is what challenges have you faced working alone and being an entrepreneur? Because obviously art is so important to us, even the content, right? We consider our own art. And when we delegate, we give up a little bit of that control.

So what challenges do you face when working alone, and how do you manage sharing your work with other people?

00:15:30:22 – 00:15:41:21
MusicbyPLV
Right now, I’d say it’s figuring out what I should focus on to grow my business, to grow my music and all this because you don’t have your boss telling you what to do anymore.

00:15:41:21 – 00:15:43:04
MusicbyLukas
Right. So you’re your own boss.

00:15:43:05 – 00:16:22:07
MusicbyPLV
Exactly. Yeah. It is really hard because sometimes, like, I don’t have any trouble at work. Like, I’m working a lot every day. Like, I’m not chilling on the couch. I’m good with self-discipline, but it’s just sometimes at the end of like a ten, 12 hours day, I’m like, was it worth it? You know, like, was it the best I could do today?

Because I don’t know, you know, maybe it was useless. So that’s the one thing that I’m really struggling with: delegating my work. It definitely took me some time and I think I’m still having this problem for the Instagram reels. Right now I have like four or five films, but I just don’t send them to my other editor because I don’t know, because I like doing it.

00:16:24:06 – 00:17:33:03
MusicbyLukas
Well, it’s really interesting because there is a book that I’m reading, I haven’t finished yet, I’ll be honest, but it’s really interesting. It’s called The E-Myth, and in this book, I don’t know the author’s name off the top of my head, but he explains “the entrepreneur myth” the E-Myth. He’s explaining that every entrepreneur is actually three people in one.

And this is the reason why most entrepreneurs fail. Because you’re the entrepreneur, which is the one that has the big ideas and wants to, you know, plan out the next phase. You’re the manager who has to manage the day to day and has to also make sure all the tasks get done. And you’re the technician, which is the one who actually does the work.

So the one who produces the music, who sits there on the calls, etc.. And he’s explaining that all three types of, you know, manager, entrepreneur and technician all need different things. But a lot of times we don’t give ourselves the room or the resources to be able to be in all three areas. So you have to look at which one is your strength.

Are you more of a big idea person? Are you more the one who just wants to sit down and get the work done? Or are you more the one who wants to manage and delegate? And if you can figure out which one of those three that you are, then you can start to outsource the other two and it can make it easier for you to be able to get things done.

So I thought that was really mind opening for me.

00:17:35:26 – 00:18:14:29
MusicbyPLV
Yeah. No, it’s genius. It’s absolutely where I am struggling right now. And more and more and more, I realized that I really need to start delegating all the editing, like literally all the editing. And it did take me some time. Like I know last year it was like here and there and it did take us some time to get the workflow of working with an editor put in place.

Now I know that I can send the video and I almost have to say nothing. It’s all good. I just need feedback. I give feedback here and there. But it did take us like a year to really get into the routine. And I tried probably like a few different editors until I found the one I really needed that understood what I wanted.

00:18:15:12 – 00:18:19:24
MusicbyPLV
So yeah, it was a struggle and I’m still struggling with it, but I’m working towards it for sure.

00:18:20:12 – 00:18:27:28
MusicbyLukas
How can music artists make money in 2023? What are the different avenues besides just selling my beats? What would you tell them?

00:18:28:14 – 00:19:38:23
MusicbyPLV
Yeah, I mean, the thing is, now these days, there’s so many different avenues and that’s the thing like now it’s not just about, you know, making it to the top class DJ and producers and touring. You can definitely make your music online, but yeah, you can sell your own digital products, you know, like sample packs, preset packs, whatever, vocals, guitar loops.

If you’re a really good guitarist, then you can sell your services on Fiverr, Upwork and stuff like this. Definitely affiliation and sponsorship that’s one that I’m doing, you know, as being a content creator, you know, about music. I know for example, yesterday I was in a coaching session and the guy wanted to release an album, and all of his content is going to be about wearing this cyberpunk kind of clothing.

So to release and do all the promotion of his album, he’s going to reach out to that brand. You don’t even have to be a content creator. If just as a music producer, if you have a project like this, you can reach out to a brand that makes sense for your album, and that’s also a way that you can do it.

As I said, coaching as well that you can do. You know, if you have if you’re really good at sound design or really good at whatever, you know. Obviously there’s royalties, still. I have a friend who does a lot of those like lo-fi chill beats. Yeah. I mean like he releases every week and now he’s able to go on to those big playlists and, and it compounds over time.

And now he lives off of royalties and he’s absolutely not known whatsoever. Yeah, he’s just a kid making music in his bedroom, releasing lofi beats, like every week, and living from that, which is amazing.

00:20:18:24 – 00:20:25:17
MusicbyLukas
Yeah, that’s amazing. Yeah. Royalties are no joke. I have music royalties I get for songs I wrote years ago and I still get them. So yeah.

00:20:25:25 – 00:20:30:00
Noize_London
PLV, thank you so much for being a guest on our podcast. It was an absolute pleasure.

00:20:31:01 – 00:20:32:13
MusicbyPLV
Yes, me too, thank you for having me.

00:20:32:23 – 00:20:51:26
MusicbyLukas
Yeah. And I’ve really enjoyed your answers. I think they’re going to help a lot of people. And also, don’t forget to comment below who your favorite music YouTuber or Instagram or music entrepreneur is down in the Youtube comments because every month Boombox is picking someone to give a $500 gift card to for your studio or software, whatever you need.

00:20:52:02 – 00:20:56:25
Noize_London
Thank you so much to everyone for watching and listening. I am @Noize_London.

00:20:56:25 – 00:20:57:29
MusicbyLukas
I’m @Music by Lukas.

00:20:58:23 – 00:21:00:01
MusicbyPLV
I’m @MusicbyPLV

00:21:00:17 – 00:21:03:07
Noize_London
And we’ll see you very soon. Peace. See you very soon.