Island Records has a “super-solid” partnership with the US label under newly-appointed president Darcus Beese, Alex Boateng has told Music Week.
While the UK label maintains its affiliation with Republic in the US, including the Post Malone album and the record-breaking Scorpion from Drake, Boateng said Darcus Beese’s move from Island in the UK to become president of the US label would open up further opportunities.
“It’s going to be super-solid and that’s going to be really exciting,” said Boateng in the latest issue of Music Week. “It just solidifies the whole Island brand around the world.”
Boateng identified artists including Ray Blk and Scarlxrd as having obvious potential for the US.
“We know that, rather than wait for a hit that will travel, we’ve got a team and a president at the other end of the Atlantic who will put the work in straight away, which is exactly what you need because there’s no such thing as just a local artist anymore,” he said. “Once we mourned and got over the gap that he left, we realised what an opportunity it provided.”
He stressed that Republic is an “amazing partner” and that collaboration will continue, in particular on the Drake campaign.
Boateng was recently promoted as part of a reshaping of the management structure under new president Louis Bloom. Label veteran Jon Turner is heading up the Island Life division.
Former Island US president and CEO David Massey is to revive the Arista label at Sony.
To read the full interview with Alex Boateng on the Drake campaign pick up the latest issue of Music Week – or subscribers can click here. To subscribe and never miss a big industry story click here.
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