One of the things that drives me crazy around the Cult of Beyonce (also known as the Beyhive) is the idea that Beyonce is single-handedly managing herself. She’s not. She never has been. Of course, it also irritates me when people act like Jay-Z is her husband/manager and she does whatever he tells her to do. That’s also untrue and vaguely sexist. Even in the days when Mathew Knowles managed her career, Beyonce still had a team of people around her, helping to manage her career. When she fired her dad, she hired Lee Anne Callahan-Longo. They’ve been working together for five years… but no more. Beyonce has thrown over her whole team and replaced them with some ballbusters.
Beyoncé has parted ways with her longtime business manager and hired a new team to promote her career and land her more lucrative deals, Page Six has exclusively confirmed. As the star prepares to perform with Coldplay at Sunday’s Super Bowl, we’ve learned that Beyoncé has split with her general manager of five years, Lee Anne Callahan-Longo.
Beyoncé is now working with Steve Pamon, who was JPMorgan Chase’s head of sports and entertainment marketing and masterminded the bank’s sponsorship of Queen Bey and Jay Z’s 2014 On the Run tour.
A source tells us, “Beyoncé basically cleaned house, got rid of her whole team, which included her cousin, and hired a new team. She wants to surround herself with business people who could take her career to an even higher level.” The insider added, “She has one album left to deliver before her deal is up with Columbia, plus she wants to make smarter decisions where it comes to touring, sponsorships and acting roles.”
Beyoncé brought Pamon over from JPMorgan Chase to her company, Parkwood Entertainment — which encompasses artist management, music production, tours, motion pictures, TV specials and apparel (as well as every facet of Beyoncé’s career ) — late last year. Former Universal Republic and Island Def Jam exec Peter Thea has also joined her team, along with Dan Ghosh-Roy, who heads up her digital operation.
Beyoncé’s rep, Yvette Noel-Schure, said in a statement: “Last year, Parkwood Entertainment created new departments and recruited new executives from the tech, business and entertainment sectors who joined the team to help grow Parkwood and its interests . . . Some senior staffers were given the opportunity to reposition and stay on. Some members . . . awakened [to] new interests and decided to follow personal routes. Lee Anne Callahan-Longo has worked with Beyoncé for the last 10 years. Their friendship supersedes business, and while she is no longer an employee of Parkwood, she will remain an imperative part of Beyoncé’s life.”
I think the most vital objective of Team Beyonce is to make Team Beyonce look effortless and silent, like Beyonce is doing it all herself. So I wonder how her new team will function, given that #1 objective. I also wonder if the new team will stick with the old team’s plan of “Beyonce will no longer speak on behalf of Beyonce,” because it is sort of a genius move and it will be interesting to see if she sticks with it.
Also: does anyone else think it’s strange timing that she did this housecleaning just BEFORE she releases a new album? Presumably, Bey will be releasing the new album in the next few months (enough time to allow her BFF Adele to shine). I’m guessing she wants to have a new team in place for her new contract negotiations with whatever label. Still, what happens if the new album bombs?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I bet she kept the hot bodyguard.
I would too, he he 😉
I can’t tell if Beyoncé is bad at public speaking, which can even affect intelligent people, or if she’s kinda dumb. Not going to fault her ambition and work ethic, but I don’t know how to reconcile her smart business decisions with the interviews I’ve seen.
I don’t mean to sound like a hater, but I truly believe she’s dumb and just gets good advice from a lot of people.
She is not dumb, she is inarticulate.
As for her new team ,I think it’s fantastic.Take it to the next level.
Counting down to the Super bowl.
Ah yes! That’s a much better description.
No, she really isn’t very bright. It hurts me to say that, but she just isn’t. You can tell when someone isn’t very articulate, but is still pretty bright. They have good concepts, but just don’t use proper wording. Any interview with Bey is quite the opposite. You can tell that there isn’t a lot of deep thinking going on, period. She works hard, has pretty clear ideas of what she wants, and has a lot of help putting it all together.
She doesn’t do well in interviews. That is for sure. I do think she is very creative but may not be the most intelligent person. To be honest, talent aside, had she not been born with such beautiful looks, would we even know who she is?
Dumb. There’s a difference between being inarticulate, and possessing the vocabulary of a 4th grader.
Beyonce will try to get a deal with Apple. They buy 2 million copies of her CD on the launch date.
Similar to Rihanna’s deal with samsung.
That’ll be a huge issue considering her affiliation with Tidal, so I would be surprised.
She doesn’t have to ,her fans will buy her music.As evident by “Beyonce” with sales of over 800K Worldwide in three days.
I love RiRi but her sales are usually under 300K in the first week.
And yet Rihanna has sold almost three times as many records as what Beyoncé has.
Beyoncé gets great numbers as all her super fans rush to buy her albums, but she flames out after the first few weeks. Rihanna holds steady for months, sometimes over a year.
She needed to do something. I hope it works out. She was steering toward ‘another fame hungry family’ and it wasn’t working for her one bit. Bey staying silent may work out wonderfully.
And, no way do I or have I EVER believed ANY ‘star’ makes their own decisions or is any type of business aplomb.
I agree with your last statement. Consider how few stars have any college education at all – why on earth would they be making big business decisions themselves?
I can’t imagine earning what she does with deals and all, and thinking hmm, I could be getting more, but if she thinks this will help her business, good for her. I’m not really a big fan, but she is incredibly successful.
I was thinking the same thing. More lucrative?! Isn’t she rich as f-k?
Seems odd to part with a team when you are on top of the world….
In the thumbnail pic I thought she was Laverne Cox. Never noticed how similar they look until now!
I take this to mean that she wants to get back into acting. She really, really wanted an Oscar nomination for a while there, even if for Best Song. Plus, she has to plan ahead for the future. She’s in her mid-30s now, and her touring is really dance-heavy. I wonder how well her body is holding up (especially considering that her reliance on heels implies that her achilles have tightened over time to the point where she needs to wear heels).
Blindgossip outed her as being almost illiterate. Idk if that’s true or not. I had a friend attend hs with her, who is pretty intelligent, but I suppose she never graduated and as a hs teacher, I know that some kids just get passed…
Not really a fan by I thought that JayZ is the brains behind most of her success. Interesting that she fired her Dad. That’ll be interesting family dynamic at family dinners.
OT: I can imagine the second disdainful side-eye look is at KK.
That would be the least of the drama between those two. I think the bigger elephant in the room would be the other child he produced while married and how he’s not supporting the boy.
I hope she fired her stylist too. These photos remind me just how bad her style choices were last year.
One thing Beyonce needs is a total make-over. She has been rocking the same type of look for far too long. I wish she would go back to her natural hair color and see how that goes.
She and Matthew have been on the outs for a long, long time, so there aren’t going to be any family dinners. And I don’t blame her on that one.
Now that she has “aged out” of the pop scene she will try to reposition herself as a jazz or soul singer or something more befitting her mature status. She sure doesn’t need the cash. Leave a bit for someone else already lol. I bet the new album is a stinker and that’s why the team is gone.
It does make you wonder when someone is THAT rich, why do they continue to work? I remember a long time ago she said she was going to retire at 28! She must just love music, or being famous or whatever, because if I had that kind of money, I’d have retired and enjoyed life with my husband and daughter. She must have a lot of pressure on her to put out an amazing album.
Could be they are spending more than they are bringing in. Their lifestyle is crazy expensive. If retirement was in the cards she would have to rethink things and I doubt either of them will do that.
Exhibitionist
What I get out of it is she is trying to reinvent herself which many singers/bands do so they don’t keep making the same record over and over again. However, that’s pretty hard to do when your target audience is very specific and only wants to hear the same music over and over. I don’t see her crossing over into any other genre successfully. She isn’t talented enough for jazz or soul. Her fan base doesn’t really expect much other than a good beat, so she never disappoints them. She should probably just stick to what she’s good at and what her fans want – like JLo. But she is in denial and hungry.
She is more than just inarticulate. Many question whether she actually even graduated high school. The last high school she attended offered GED tests. Considering one only needs a score of 150 to pass a GED test, that’s no indication of any kind of education. She is good at music and probably has learned a thing or two about the industry from JayZ, but other than that, sorry, but she is dumb.
I actually think she wants a trajectory like Tina Turner. Do a few movies here and there, still tour, still make the same type of music but it matures as you mature and as your audience matures so you still make buko bucks. I was such a hater of all things Beyonce for such a long time until I stopped and noticed that I had all of her albums, ha. I was going to walk down the aisle to “Flaws and All” and I still bump Beyonce (the last album) like everyday. I can’t say anything because I’ll be out there getting her new one when it drops.
Do you really think someone’s intelligence is based on their high school education? Wow. I mean, I’ve met some people who scored in the top 1% in highschool. They’re idiots when it comes to other aspects in life. Such as socially, emotionally & with basic common sense etc. What a ridiculous way to assess someone’s intelligence. She probably didn’t have time for high school with her training for fame with her parents constant pressure. Her parents pushed her into this industry. Though I think Beyonce in inarticulate, I don’t think she’s an idiot.
she can’t read – has the vocabulary of a 4 year old
verdict: idiot
IDK, something changed a while back. I don’t recognise the Beyonce at the Met Gala 2015. That Beyonce looked desperate for attention.
right? it screams insecurity. and why would that be?
What she really needs to to take a break! I believe she’s exhausted but won’t admit it and also, she scared of being forgotten… But then she’ll never admit that. The only way she can reinvent herself is to take a break, a huge one at that! She’s been doing this since her teenage years, it’s high time!
“Beyonce will no longer speak on behalf of Beyonce,” is not a genius move, it’s one of her major problems.
I can’t believe she posed like that 😂
THE REASON FOR THIS………….“Beyonce will no longer speak on behalf of Beyonce,”
is because she can’t string more than 3 words together
As I understand it, she can’t even read