Darcus Beese

Darcus Beese OBE (born 1969) is a British music executive and the former president and chief executive officer of Island Records from his appointment in 2018 till his departure on 3 February 2021. Beese, who has been described by Music Week as "one of the great A&R people of his or any other generation", subsequently joined Warner Music UK as executive vice-president.

Background Darcus Beese grew up in Fulham, London, the son of Barbara Beese and Darcus Howe. He has said: "The music in my household growing up was definitely a mixture of reggae, soul and calypso. My father was from Trinidad and my mother was of mixed heritage. So, yeah, my upbringing musically ranged from soca to reggae." Leaving school early, Beese worked in a hairdressing salon before eventually being employed in 1993 as a tea boy in the promotions department at Island Records, where he progressed upwards through various jobs, including A&R Director, and in 2008 co-president of the label, until in July 2013 he became president of Island Records. Among his key signings were Amy Winehouse, Jessie J, Taio Cruz, Florence & The Machine, Mumford & Sons, Describing Beese as someone who "has impeccable creative instincts and takes a long-term view of artist development", the chairman and CEO of UMG, Lucian Grainge, said: "Few in the music industry have Darcus's track record of creative and commercial success.... I'm excited to support him in signing, developing and breaking many more artists."

Awards and recognition In 2013, Beese was made an Honorary Fellow of Falmouth University.

In 2016, he was named European Executive of the Year by MUSEXPO Europe.

In 2011 and 2015, The Guardian named Beese to their list of the most important people in the British music industry.