Mathew Knowles
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| Mathew Knowles | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 9, 1952 Gadsden, Alabama, United States |
| Occupations | CEO, executive-record producer |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Labels | Music World |
| Website | Mathew Knowles |
Mathew Knowles (born January 9, 1952) is an American music executive and manager.[1] He is the former manager of Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams & Destiny's Child.
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[edit] Career
[edit] Corporate Executive
Before Knowles became a star-maker in the music business, he had a distinguished career in sales of office and medical equipment. Knowles moved to Houston in 1976, and began working for the Xerox Corporation, where he had a highly successful 10-year tenure, primarily as part of an elite sales force in the medical systems sales division. Knowles was the number one sales representative for medical systems for three of the four years he worked in that division. When Xerox closed its medical systems sales division, Knowles worked as a CT/MRI specialist, selling diagnostic imaging equipment to hospitals and health facilities for two other major medical equipment companies. He also worked as a neurosurgical specialist, where he provided neurosurgeons with a wide range of devices and solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders. In 1992, Knowles left his career in corporate and medical sales to turn his attention full time to his growing music company.
[edit] Manager and producer
Mathew Knowles was the manager of Destiny's Child and has worked as either a producer or an executive producer on many of the group's projects. Under Music World Artist Management, Destiny’s Child became a global phenomenon and was named the Best Selling Female Group of All Time in popular music, selling over 100 million records and collecting nearly 200 awards, including GRAMMY Awards, World Music Awards, American Music Awards, MTV Awards (U.S., Europe and Asia), Billboard Awards, BET Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and countless others. Billboard magazine ranked the group as one of the Greatest Trios of All Time and, in 2008, inducted them into the All Time Hot 100 Artists. Destiny’s Child was named on Billboard magazine’s Top 10 Artists of the Decade (2000-2009) and, as a solo artist, Beyoncé was crowned Billboard’s number one Artist of the Decade—Female (2000-2009) and number 4 Top Artist of the Decade (2000-2009). During that time, Knowles also launched and managed the solo careers of the other members of Destiny’s Child: Michelle Williams, Kelly Rowland. In addition to his work in music, Knowles is also one of the executive producers of the 2009 thriller Obsessed, which stars his eldest daughter Beyoncé. He has also ventured into television. Knowles executive produced and is featured in two international reality series: UK’s #1 rated show, Chancers, and the new series Breaking From Above, a six-episode program based on the British girl group From Above and their struggles to stay on top. The series airs on MTV International.
[edit] CEO
Knowles founded Music World Entertainment in 1992. MWE is one of the world’s leading music and entertainment conglomerates, with record sales exceeding 300 million worldwide. Its worldwide platforms include record label ventures; management services for recording artists and producers; artist development services; endorsement and partnership deals, performance and event facilities; a master catalog series; film and television ventures; licensed merchandise products; and investment and property holdings. Knowles established several recording imprints under Music World Music, including Music World Gospel, Music World Kids and Music World Country/Compadre.The label has produced many artists such as Beyoncé Knowles, Solange Knowles, From Above, Sunshine Anderson, Trin-i-tee 5:7, The Pastor Rudy Experience, and J. Xavier.
Knowles also established joint ventures with Sony Music, Interscope/Geffen, Fontana/Universal, Integrity Africa, Fontana International and Sony Brazil. In addition, Knowles has negotiated mega endorsement deals and strategic partnerships with Fortune 50, 100 and 500 corporations across various industries, including Wal-Mart, BET, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, ESSENCE Communications, American Express, L’Oreal, General Mills, Verizon, Pepsico (Pepsi), McDonald’s, Nintendo, Giorgio Armani (Emporio Armani Diamonds), DirecTV, Chesebrough-Ponds (Vaseline), Ocean Pacific, Soft Sheen-Carson, Crystal Geyser, Samantha Thavasa and others.
In 2002, Knowles founded Spirit Rising Music, which is now Music World Gospel, as a faith-based record and management company under Music World Music. Music World Gospel is the largest owned and operated African American Gospel label in the world. Music World Gospel features a roster of award-winning recording artists, joint ventures and special projects including Trin-i-tee 5:7, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Brian Courtney Wilson, Micah Stampley, Juanita Bynum, Le'Andria Johnson, Amber Bullock, Andrea Helms, and Elder Goldwire, as well as ESSENCE Gospel, Ultimate Gospel, the Most Powerful Voices, The Gospel Superfest, Spirit Rising and The Pastor Rudy Experience brand compilations CDs. In 2007, through Music World Music, Knowles acquired the country music catalogue of Compadre, which includes recordings of GRAMMY award-winning artists and unique country music compilations featuring artists such as country singer and cultural icon Johnny Cash, as well as Billy Joe Shaver, James McMurty, Trent Willmon and Kate Campbell, among others. Knowles also launched the family oriented music imprint, Music World Kids. The label has released youth projects that include: Baby Jamz, Krazy Kuzins, Kid's Rap Radio and the Music World Kids CD 5-pack. The venture also has released music from Nickelodeon’s popular cartoon series, Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!
[edit] PersonalLife
Born in Gadsden, Alabama, in 1952, Knowles is a 1974 graduate of [Fisk University]] in Nashville, Tennessee, where he earned both a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. While studying at Fisk he held membership in a number of student and social organizations, among them the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, Eta Beta chapter at UT Chattanooga. He received a Doctor of Humane Letters from Fisk at the University’s 2008 Commencement Ceremony. Knowles holds a professorship at Texas Southern University, where he teaches a course on the entertainment industry in the School of Communications. Knowles is the recipient of the Century Award of Excellence (1911-2011) from the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. He also received the 2011 Living Legends Foundation Award and was named the "2007 International Executive of the Year" by the Greater Houston Partnership. Knowles is an active and longtime voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and serves on its GRAMMY Board Committee. In 2011, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Gospel Music Association.
Knowles was married to stylist and House of Dereon owner Tina Knowles in 1980. Together, they had two daughters, R&B singers Beyoncé and Solange Knowles. On November 11, 2009, Tina Knowles filed for divorce after several reports about Mathew's affair with actress Alexsandra Wright had surfaced. The reports went as far as claiming that Wright was pregnant with Knowles' child. After Wright's son Nixon was born, she requested a paternity test from Knowles, who had admitted to having an affair with her. The paternity test was positive and Knowles was ordered to pay child support to Nixon and Wright.[2] Mathew and Tina Knowles' divorce was final as of December 2011 ending their 31-year marriage.
[edit] References
- ^ Norment, Lynn (September 2001). "THE UNTOLD STORY OF HOW Tina & Mathew Knowles Created The Destiny's Child Gold Mine - Interview". Ebony. FindArticles.com. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_11_56/ai_77556552/. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
- ^ Bachelor, Blane (March 25, 2010). "BUZZ: Paternity Test Confirms Beyoncé's Dad a Dad Again". People. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20354547,00.html.
[edit] External links
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