According to EurWeb, Radio One has made the acute decision to take all Matthew Knowles related songs off the air.
Radio One founder Cathy Hughes reportedly made the decision because of a on-going lawsuit associated with the Essence Music Festival.
Matthew Knowles’ Music World Music is listed in the lawsuit because his company brokered the deal for the Essence Music Festival that’s broadcasted on TV One. His company is being accused of re-issuing the content to BET, MTV and BET’s Centric Network despite TV One’s four-year exclusivity agreement.
TV One is the sister company to Radio One, which also owns Interactive One and a string of online publications. Radio One is the largest distributor of Gospel music that broadcasts FM quality radio signals.
EurWeb spoke to an anonymous Radio One employee who shed light on the radio ban.
“All Radio One personnel were told to pull all Music World artists out of rotation immediately and indefinitely! We were told that the mandate came straight from Ms. Hughes and that there would be ramifications for anyone playing or mentioning a Music World artist or song on air.” The Radio One employee spoke under the condition of anonymity.
Previous bans placed on artists have left radio hosts without jobs just for playing songs that were banned by Radio One. Their contracts with the network allow for termination without question.
Removing all of Music Worlds songs is a tough pill to swallow. The artists on Music Worlds roster are some of the most popular Gospel artists in the country. Not only are they known for their music, but for their warm spirits as well. Without radio plays, CD sales are dramatically impacted.
Currently Music World Gospel boasts a roster that includes Trin-i-Tee 5:7, Brian Courtney Wilson, Juanita Bynum, Le’Andria Johnson, Micah Stampley, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, and Sunday Best winner Amber Bullock.
Additionally, all songs from Destiny’s Child have also been pulled. The ban does not include Knowles’ daughter Beyonce and Kelly Rowland’s latest solo albums since they were not under Matthew Knowles’ label at the time.
“Le’Andria Johnson’s song ‘Jesus’ was in heavy rotation on Radio One stations one day and the next day she wasn’t getting any spins.” “New music by Trin-I-tee 5:7 and Micah Stampley, as well as recurring hits by Brian Courtney Wilson have been pulled as well,” the source added.
This is truly a sad development and PATH hopes all parties named in this lawsuit will resolve the matter peacefully and fairly. It’s not fair to the hardworking artists, and people that are saved through their music.
Matthew Knowles is scheduled to make a statement soon addressing the ban and lawsuit.
