A Lesson In How To Get Money feat. Pluck from Ink Music Group

"My name is Jorge Marquez, although known to most in the industry as Pluck. I am co-founder of MP Music and Ink Music Group.  My business partners are Miguel Cardoso owner of Mixtapeprinting.com and Lex Barero founder of the Dream Big Hustle Hard Firm. We offer different services to different artists depending on the need.  We manage and develop new artists as well as represent and shop music for songwriters and producers. We make sure our artist's music get the exposure needed. 

For over 10 years, I have helped brand and design for the entertainment industry.  I started off designing for clubs like Liquid, Shadow Lounge and independent labels like Luke Records and for various artists in the past including Pitbull, DJ's such as Ideal and DJ Drama. Years of working with unknown, local artists led me to meet Xplicit.  I saw a lot of talent and knew with my connections I could help. 

He's just landed his first major placement and feature on Diddy's "DIDDY BOP" track. He has pending some additional writing placements with artist like Trey Songz, Rich Boy and The Game. He's been working with producers like Jim Jonsin, Red Spyda and The FlipTones.

We also represent and work with local producer J Boogie of the Monsters and Midus of Golden Chyld Productions.  These are two up-and-coming producers who have several major projects pending. We've also worked with Isaac Opus the Producer for "Diddy Bop," who produced Xplicit's last single "We Get Mo" and his next single "Ms Robot."

We have three new artists we have begun developing from different genres; a folk rock musician named Eric Vick (www.ericvick.com) which is currently playing local shows in Miami, YouTube sensation Maria Z (www.youtube.com/user/MariaZouroudis), and Spanish rapper Wisdom.



Our job is to find out what artists or labels are in need of music.  Bad Boy actually contacted us with news that Diddy wanted a street/club banger. We contacted our producers and Xplicit banged out "Diddy Bop."  We presented the song to Diddy's A&R and the rest is history. Since the song was just a reference we didn't expect them to keep Xplicit on the hook, but Diddy liked his sound so much he decided to keep him on the track.  Xplicit is a very talented artist and people are slowly noticing.  Since the placement, he's been busy working on music for Rich Boy, The Game, Slip n Slide artists and some other secret projects.  
 
A lot of hip hop artists do write there own music, however most have help writing hooks. Most  (R&B/POP) artists do not write their own music.  In fact, most artists use several different writers when recording an album.  It's hard to find good singers that are also talented writers...It's always been that way.  That's why an artist like Ne-yo, The Dream and Keri Hilson are so respected in the industry because they are also great songwriters.

?Getting in requires talent, the rest is what you do with it.  Networking to meet the right people (artist, managers, publishing companies etc.), putting yourself where people will find you, etc... The money depends on how well a record does or the agreement you have with the label or artist.  It also makes a huge difference if the song you write ends up being a single or just a placement on the album.  
 
Most of the time songwriters do not get any upfront money but keep their writers publishing and credits. They make money depending on the sales of the song. This is so the label does not have to spend more money on a song that may or may not sell.  There are also cases where the song is purchased as a work for hire, meaning a writer is hired to help write a song or album and receives no publishing rights. But keep in mind, all artists and labels work differently and it really depends on the project. 

We are continuing to shop our music, aiming for major placements and developing our new artists.  Right now we have a lot of major labels contacting Ink Music Group for music for their artists so we are at a great place.  Even though Miami has never been home to major labels, I believe talent will continue to be discovered here because we live in such a cultured city where new things and sounds are constantly being created. 

?Of course keep your eye out for Xplicit; it's a matter of time before the world sees what a talented artist and songwriter he really is.  Producer JBoogie - he has a great sound and style which easily sets him apart from other producers.  He's also been working on big things with Xplicit.   Producer Midus of Golden Chyld has been working with Shonie from Def Jam; he's going to hit it big!  And when it comes to engineering, Stefan Johnson, head engineer at Studio Center in Miami, has some serious skills that will soon be noticed. 

Thanks to everyone who has helped us to date and continues to support us. Studio Center Miami, Artist Related, Mixtapeprinting.com, Dream Big Hustle Hard, WEDR 99 Jamz, Chop Shop Barber Shop, New Image Live, our design team Ravi One, MainSource, BDTWO.com and DeepSleepStudio.com.

If you are a new artist, please sign up at dreambighustlehard.com to get advice on how this business really works and help you get connected with the right people.

Be sure to check out inkmusicgroup.com for more information on our artists and what we do. The site will be up in the next few weeks.

We are always looking for reference singers for both R&B and Pop, so if you can sing, please send us samples of your work.  Any producers and songwriters that feel they have what it takes, feel free to send samples to [email protected]