Former Island Records president Darcus Beese is the subject of a new documentary charting his career to date.
Darcus Beese: In His Own Words is an intimate film about one of the most influential figures in British music. The documentary is available on 5's streaming service and the BET International YouTube Channel.
It follows the publication of his autobiography Rebel With A Cause in 2024.
Beese famously rose from the Island Records post room to become its first Black president, signing and working with key artists such as Amy Winehouse, Jessie J, Mumford & Sons, U2, Sugababes, Florence + The Machine, The Weeknd and more.
In 2014, he was awarded an OBE and four years later he moved to head up Island in the US. He was honoured with Music Week’s Strat Award in 2019.
Speaking to Music Week’s Karen Bliss in the current edition of the magazine, Beese said the documentary felt like being part of “lived history”.
“The premiere was surreal, having everybody turn up and be that interested,” said Beese. “It was the second time I’d seen it, but it felt like I was really watching it for the first time, rather than hiding behind my hands like I had before. But it seemed that it went down well with my family, my mum and the rest of the room.”
The film features artists including Taio Cruz, Michael Dappah, Jessie J, Ben Lovett of Mumford and Sons, John Newman, Jessie Reyez and Tinchy Stryder. Beese admitted to his “jealousy” when it comes to talent.
“I played saxophone, auditioned for stage school, did American tap dancing,” he said. “Maybe that’s why I do what I do, out of jealousy from not being able to make it as a performer. But what gets me up in the morning is that primal feeling you have when you hear that first thing by an artist. Everything else is a cherry on top.”
In terms of delivering great acts into the market, it’s now more about artists and their reputation
Darcus Beese
As one of the most successful A&Rs of his generation, Beese told Music Week how the development of artists has changed in recent years.
“If you look at artists like Olivia Dean and Lola Young, that’s patience,” he said. “You’ve got to have patience in their ability to grow. The business is always to sell records, by hook or by crook. So, in terms of delivering great acts into the market, it used to be about A&R and repertoire; I think it’s now more about artists and their reputation. It’s about developing their reputation, which is everything under the banner of their brand: the music, their live show, their narrative and, most of all, do you have someone ready to go on the journey?”
Beese underlined the importance of artistic integrity in forging a lasting career.
“I worked with Jessie Reyez on her debut,” he said. “She wanted to put the record to bed, and I thought it needed strings in some places. We went for dinner in LA, got down to the nitty-gritty, and I said, ‘I just want to talk to you about the record and the strings, I really think you should…’ She said, ‘No,’ and I was like, ‘Let me just finish because when we had this conversation with Amy [Winehouse] on Back To Black…’ and she said, ‘We’re not having this conversation.’ In that moment, where Jessie said no to the strings, that’s where she was telling me, ‘This is me as an artist,’ and the moment I think, ‘You’re going to have a career…’”
The former Island veteran also reflected on the key attributes to running a successful label.
“Making sure that everybody feels that they have agency, because then there should be no fear of failure,” he told Music Week. “If you give someone agency, you’re backing them. So, if you’re backing them to be brave, take responsibility and have accountability, and enjoy doing that at the same time, then you have a place where everybody wants to come in and nobody wants to leave.”
Following a spell at Warner Music as EVP and president of a JV, Beese has launched DAP (Darcus Artists Partnerships).
“We partner with them and go 50-50,” he said. “They own the masters; I have no wish to own your grandchildren’s masters. There’s no deal that signs us for life. If you want to go again, we go again.”
As the documentary marks some of his career highs, Beese singled out one key moment – winning The Strat trophy at the Music Week Awards in 2019. The honour goes to a game-changing music executive.
“I was in America [as president of Island US], still in the shitstorm of all of it,” he recalled. So, at that time, when I picked up the Strat at the Music Week Awards, I was like, ‘Whoa, I’m in there with [previous winners such as] Chris Blackwell, Lucian Grainge, Sarah Stennett and these great people.’ It’s only now that I’m like, ‘Yeah, I am in there with these great people. They’re in there with me.’”
Subscribers can read the full interview here.
