The Huffington Post Interviews Mathew Knowles About His New TeenNick USA Reality Show "Breaking From Above"

From The Huffington Post:

Mathew Knowles Talks New Destiny's Child Album, Blue Ivy, Reality Television

As this year marks the 20th anniversary of Mathew Knowles' Music World Entertainment, the industry titan is showing no signs of halting the label's track record of success. In recent weeks, Beyonce's dad premiered his international reality television show, "Breaking From Above," in America as part of a joint venture with MTV International. The series, which initially aired last November in 160 countries, follows Knowles’ latest girl group, From Above, as they navigate the mogul's artist development program.

During a recent interview with The Huffington Post, the Fisk University graduate and former Xerox executive opened up on his latest foray into unscripted television, and offered some details on the release of two new Destiny's Child albums and his love for his grandchildren, Juelz and Blue Ivy.

Congratulations on the recent U.S. premiere of "Breaking From Above." Are you planning on shooting additional episodes of the show?

Yes, we're absolutely thinking about doing that. We’re in the discussion phase right now. This is all a part of a joint venture with MTV International and so Teen Nick falls within their Viacom system. And it’s the older demo for the channel [13 to 21], with a sweet spot around 18, 19-year-olds. Which is also the sweet spot from my girl group, From Above.

Where do you envision From Above in terms of making an impact on today’s music scene?

We have to look at more creative ways to rolling out albums. And we’re still in discussions with having that strategic partner that we need. It’s my belief that you can’t put out albums today just in a vacuum without having a strategic partner. And that was the reason why we were so successful with Destiny’s Child and Beyonce, because we always had L'Oreal, Walmart, clothing lines, etc. etc. So we’re still a work in progress with From Above.

Is this your first experience working on a reality show?

This is actually my second. I did my first one about six years ago with Channel 4 over in the U.K., which is one of their larger networks. However, this is the first show that I’m the creator of. And we’re looking to do more of that in the future, because TV is the new radio for music.

What are your thoughts on so many record executives, such as yourself, transitioning over into unscripted television?

I think they offer a lot of knowledge, and so I think that they’re the right people for those roles that they’re playing. Maybe I’ll get a call one day for “American Idol” [Laughs].

You can read Huffington Post's full interview with Mathew Knowles here on the official Huffington Post website,