Full Sail Stories

Full Sail grad Duarte Figueira developed a love for music as a young boy. Growing up in Lisbon, Portugal, the 34 year old recalls listening to artists like Carl Cox, George Michael, Sting, and Donna Summer. His brother later introduced him to punk rock and reggae. As he got older, he became interested in surfing and bodyboarding, a community often associated with reggae and dance music. He knew he wanted to help artists in some way, so his first job was handing out flyers at a reggae concert.

“Reggae really opened all the doors in terms of music for me,” says Duarte, who is nicknamed “Duda” after a Brazilian soccer star with the same nickname.

As a teenager, he helped launch Fyah Box Sound – a Portuguese reggae, dancehall, and hip-hop group – in which he served as MC. He went on to co-manage Richie Campbell, a popular reggae and R&B artist. By 21, he was managing other artists around Portugal and touring Germany, Spain, and other parts of Europe.

“I've never been a musician myself,” he says. “I've always been a backstage kind of guy.”

As time went on, he was determined to learn English and knew adding this language to his repertoire would help lead to more opportunities in his career. He also wanted to learn more about American record labels. When researching music business programs at American universities, Full Sail was the first one to pop up on Google. He began studying music business in November of 2014.

Coming from Portugal to Florida, he wasn’t sure what to expect, but he is extremely grateful to have been welcomed with open arms on campus.

“I made friends for life. As an international student, I felt included, supported, and just part of a big family,” he shares.

In Duarte’s words, Israel Vasquetelle, the Program Director for music business, and all of his instructors were very encouraging. The Career Development team also supported him both during his studies and after graduation.





“I loved the experience,” he says. “I [also] loved the idea of having just one to two courses a month. You just focus your head on those concepts and topics for that month and give your 100 percent to them.”

He easily rattles off his graduation date – June 3, 2016. Upon completing his coursework, he picked up and moved across the country from Orlando to Los Angeles without knowing anyone. He eventually connected with Sebastian Krys, a Full Sail University Hall of Fame inductee with many credits to his name in the Latin music genre.

Together, Sebastian and Duarte launched Rebeleon Entertainment. They won four Latin Grammys in 2017 alone and have been part of some additional Grammys. This included working with Luis Fonsi on his international hit single, “Despacito,” along with Elvis Costello, Feid, Karol G, Sebastian Yatra, Mon Laferte, La Santa Cecilia, and others.

Thanks to support from Sebastian Krys, Duarte landed a job with Universal Music Group in 2021.

“Sebastian is a father figure, mentor, everything,” Duarte says. “I owe him a lot, but I know that I also worked really hard. He never just handed me anything.”

He points to Sebastian and other Full Sail connections he has worked with who seem to possess a similar work ethic.

“Every time I run into people that went to Full Sail… We have this DNA that separates us from others. There's a big [desire] for quality and a concern for excellence.”

Now residing in Miami Beach, Florida, Duarte serves as the Director of A&R for Universal Music Latino under the Universal Music Latin Entertainment division. He oversees several artists and describes himself as a bridge between an artist and the record label.

“I protect the artists from a creative standpoint, and I protect the label from a commercial and financial standpoint,” he explains.

This multifaceted job involves him listening to demos, organizing tracks, handling paperwork, and managing budgets throughout the entire production pipeline. He collaborates with artists, managers, producers, engineers, and songwriters to accomplish these tasks.

“I try to put [the artists] in positions to create songs that will best expose their creativity. I’m a catalyst and an enabler of creativity. We are aiming for the best music possible, and I always want quality over quantity,” he explains.

To him, making a positive impression on music consumers is the most rewarding aspect of his work.

“When my sister or friends call me and say that they were listening to a song that I was a part of, it has a much greater impact on me than knowing that a song reached number one or won a Grammy. For me, it's still that joy of music being people's soundtrack to their lives and helping them in moments of sadness, making them happy in moments of joy. I love to see the impact that music has on people's lives.”

And what is Duarte’s biggest piece of advice for students interested in pursuing a career in the competitive music industry?

“Never forget to keep watering the plants around you,” he advises. “The relationships you have, keep those relationships alive, and always be friendly, nice, and respectful toward others.”