Mathew Knowles sat down with Black Enterprise and put his spin on why he and Beyonce no longer work together...
You’ve set the blueprint for R&B girl-groups with Destiny’s Child and R&B/pop phenoms with Beyonce, yet you’ve expressed interest in solely focusing on gospel/inspirational music. Why have you chosen to ditch secular music?
First of all, I never use the word “secular” because I believe there are just different genres of music. The reason I chose to focus on faith-based and inspirational music is because of the message and hope and it gives people. Folks, especially young people today, want hope. [Music World’s] goal is to get that message across for the masses. There’s tremendous growth potential for the faith-based inspirational community in digital, production, branding, endorsements and merchandising. I believe we can share 20 years of knowledge and successes to make that happen.
After 20 years working as a successful team, you and your No. 1 artist—daughter Beyonce—decided to part ways. As her father and manager; will not having her under your wings be a difficult transition for you?
Interesting enough the transition started way before the official announcement. If you’re strategic, which we are, you don’t make a decision like that before you start dialogue. That dialogue started nine months ago. At the end of the day, I’m Beyonce’s father first and her manager second. Remember, this is 20 years I’ve been doing this. She’s almost 30 years old and if she says, "I want to run my business," I think she’s smart enough that she will get the right team. Beyonce is smart enough to know what she knows and what she doesn’t know, and that takes an even smarter person to admit that. And she knows she can call me anytime. It takes a lot of hours and a lot of staff to run the business of Beyonce. (Laughs)
How has Beyonce’s departure affected Music World’s momentum and relevance?
To give that comparison, I evaluate my email activity, which has gone up 100 emails today. Now I’m really focused and I have activated myself in such a way to embrace new opportunities. I’m so grateful and blessed to have had so many successes. I pinch myself sometimes to think of this country boy who has accomplished so much from my career at Xerox to be the No. 1 sales rep, have talented daughters and a wife, the creation of Destiny’s Child, a No. 1 female artist. And I don’t know if folks know this but of all the artists in the world in a decade, Destiny’s Child and Beyonce are on that Top 10 list. I’ve achieved and accomplished more that I could have ever dream.
