Meet Julian Duque | Digital Music Expert & Human

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julian Duque and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julian, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk is probably one of the most important factors not only in business but in life. Being able to take risks depends on many factors but the sooner you take risks the most risk averse you will become. It is not easy to take risks, but as you take more risks, you learn to follow your instinct and trust the universe. For me, taking risks have played an important role for where I am right now. First, I took the risk to get into debt to come to the United States and follow my dream of getting a master’s degree in Music Business from New York University, my second biggest risk has been to go full time on my company after being laid of from my previous job during the beginning of the corona virus pandemic. It seemed a little bit crazy, but I was determined to follow my dream one more time. This decision for sure payed off and 2 years later I’m still hustling with 2 part-time employees and a creative team of 4 people. We all work remotely and have weekly meetings to follow up on projects.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Immigration Records is a digital marketing and distribution company helping independent artists navigate the digital world.

Traditional record labels are something from the past, the new era of music is called digital distribution. Even major record labels are working as distribution companies and act as partners for smaller labels or artists offering marketing services based on what the artists need. What sets our company apart from others is that we are still a small distributor offering everything a bigger distribution company offers, including digital marketing, content creation, strategic planning and a tech platform where artists can see their statements and track analytics. Since we are still small, we can offer strategic guidance and personalized services to our artists. We are a company right in the middle of Distrokid and Awal focused on independent Latin Artists.

Getting here was not easy, it took 5 years of understanding how the music industry works right now, previous entrepreneurial experiences and a few failures back in Colombia. Working for The Orchard (Sony Music) and ONErpm, taught me everything I know in the digital distribution world.

The most important thing about Immigration Records is our purpose. We want to help immigrant artists on every stage of their career, from navigating the digital streaming world to finding a gig or getting an artist visa. Since I am an immigrant, I’ve been in their shoes before. We want to offer anything that can make their lives easier while finding their way in this country. We have strategic partners that can help them on every aspect along the way.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If you are visiting Miami, you can’t miss Lagniappe and have some craft beer or wine with a charcuterie board. They always have some of the best indie jazz artists in the city. Cviche 105 is a must if you want to try amazing Peruvian food. For coffee, Panther coffee is a great spot and for dessert, you can’t go wrong with The Salty Donut. Momosan is an amazing restaurant that does ramen and other Japanese dishes. For drinks, stop by The Anderson and Veza Sur. Las Rosas and Gramps are my favorite underground bars with great music and people you would never see in South Beach, real people. Center for Subtropical Affairs is a bar/plant store in Little Haiti with Jazz on Thursdays and live music shows on a regular basis. If you are in Miami you have to hit the beach, the best area in my opinion is in front of the Faena Hotel, not too crowded and close to everything.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First and foremost my parents and siblings. My father has always been a hustler, he taught me to be brave and resilient, my mother was supportive and caring, my sister showed me the path to travel the world and start dreaming. My brother is the main reason I decided to create a record label, he was working on a school project and as part of the work he had to ask someone about his biggest dream and turn that dream into a physical product. He ended up creating a Gold Album plaque with my name on it and gave it to me. Almost 10 years later, here I am, living my dream.

Website: www.immrecords.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/immigrationrecords/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immigration-records/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/immigrationrecords

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC71FBNFecTyLIOr3JGHrbmA

Image Credits
Al photos are provided and owned by Immigration Records