新澳门六合彩内幕信息

新澳门六合彩内幕信息

Muma College of Business

Tampa | St. Petersburg | Sarasota-Manatee

News

image of mathew knowles

Photos by Lara Blanco Cavallieri, 新澳门六合彩内幕信息Muma College of Business

Music exec Mathew Knowles talks building the brand of Beyonc茅 at Conversation with a CEO event

TAMPA 鈥 Before he launched an all-girls group, Destiny鈥檚 Child, that included his daughter Beyonc茅, and before he started his own music management company and record label, Music World Entertainment, Mathew Knowles sold copiers. 
 
The 72-year-old music mogul began his career in sales at Xerox and quickly climbed the ranks, becoming the number one sales executive of medical equipment and diagnostic imaging worldwide. 
 
Decades later, that background in diagnostic imaging would save his life. Five years ago, five red dots on his shirt led him to ask his doctor to recommend a mammogram. Shortly after, Knowles was diagnosed with male breast cancer.

Knowles talked about that cancer scare, his jump into the music industry, his advice to his younger self, the three-second rule of spotting talent, and a host of other topics during an hour-long Campus Conversation with a CEO event on Monday at the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Muma College of Business.

image of audience clapping

He sat down with David Blackwell, the Lynn Pippenger dean, before a crowd of about 150 students, faculty, and community members.  
 
Not surprisingly, one of the first questions Blackwell asked was about how Knowles built the brand of Beyonc茅. 
 
Knowles, who earned his MBA and PhD, said he could spend a semester teaching a course solely on that topic. 
 
鈥淚t鈥檚 really complex to build a brand and understanding that marketing is not a step, it鈥檚 how you get your message heard,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about brand development. If you don鈥檛 have anything to brand, you don鈥檛 have anything to market. For me, marketing is everything. Without Destiny鈥檚 Child, there wouldn鈥檛 be a Beyonc茅.鈥 
 
Knowles said he set out to create strategic partnerships with companies like Loreal and Pepsi. To showcase his point, he played a Pepsi commercial starring Beyonc茅 that was aimed at expanding her brand to men.

image of mathew knowles

鈥淲hen you can put your song in the commercial, that鈥檚 how you build your brand. All of this was strategy. Think about the titles of the songs. Those songs are strategic. That鈥檚 how we build the brand around female empowerment,鈥 he said. 
 
He also shared that part of his artist development plan included practicing for when things go wrong. 
 
鈥淲e practice failure. So when they rehearse, they never know when the music was going to cut off, if a shoe would break, if the lights wouldn鈥檛 come on the stage,鈥 he said. 
 
Knowles is a distinguished music executive, entrepreneur and educator. As the founder of Music World Entertainment, he transformed the company into a global powerhouse with over 450 million records, managing some of the world鈥檚 most iconic artists including Earth, Wind and Fire, the O鈥橨ays, Kool and the Gang.  
 
Knowles said he likes to 鈥渒eep it real鈥 whether he鈥檚 teaching or speaking, and shared some advice for business and life.
 
On spotting talent: Knowles said he goes by the three-second rule. 鈥淚n three seconds, people sum you up. They say things like, 鈥極h, they know what they鈥檙e doing,鈥 They sum you up. In sales, people buy you first, not your product.鈥

image of mathew knowles

On advice he would give his younger self: 鈥淐ontinue to learn and build relationships. You gotta get out there and get known.鈥 
 
On the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs make: 鈥淭hey do too much too soon. This is not a microwave,鈥 he said. 
 
Knowles said entrepreneurs need to go through the creative process. Then build the right team, and answer those crucial questions around the who, the what, the why and the where.  
 
He shared other important life tips:

  • 鈥淎n internship is the most important class you take. You take what you鈥檝e learned and you apply it.鈥
  • 鈥滷ailure or mistakes are opportunities to grow.鈥
  • 鈥淵ou should ask yourself 鈥榃hat am I passionate about?鈥 When you live your passion, you never work a day in your life.鈥 

Return to article listing

About Business News

Welcome to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息Muma College of Business news. We are dedicated to sharing compelling stories about our innovative research, outstanding faculty, staff, and students, and significant accomplishments from all three campuses. Here we are one college, six schools, and all business.