Who is Howard Jones? (MidwestHubTV)
Emerging creator and culture influencer Howard Jones started his company MidwestHubTV started in October 2019.
“MidwesthubTV is an on-demand digital TV network. We cover hip hop music videos and TV shows of some of the hottest independent to emerging signed hip hop recording artists in the culture today. We are the home of the hip hop audio visual playlist experience.
MidwestHubTV is currently liaison for 300 Entertainment and their network of partners. MidwestHubTV artists on the rise and the culture today. Jones has gotten co-signs and inspiration from the industry greats such as Kevin Liles at 300 entertainment, and other industry leaders like Tuma Basa at Youtube Music and Spotify’s Carl Chery.
Hype: Where are you from and when did you fall in love with hip-hop?
MidwestHubTV: I’m originally from Atlanta, Ga, Dekalb county, then in my teens I relocated to Indianapolis, In. I grew up in a household where our black culture and music was center stage. My love affair with the art form has always been a part of my life. I use be an independent recording artist myself. The culture and music is the embodiment of who I am as a person.
Hype: What does television and music look like in the 21st Century?
MidwestHubTV:On demand streaming is the future for long form video content consumption. By 2025 many are projecting it to be a 100 billion dollar environment. I believe for Hip-Hop music and the culture as a whole it is a huge opportunity for expansion. Using the power of YouTube music and curation I believe that on demand TV subscription model is the natural evolution for hip-hop music videos and all related visual content.
Hype: How did you come about with your platform?
MidwestHubTV: So yeah, it kinda happened on accident. My goal was to find a way to help hip-hop artists from the Midwest and Atlanta that I believed in to get more music industry exposure. I wanted to create a unique environment to showcase talent and connect the Midwest to other markets. A creative HUB. My wife Rehema McNeil and I cooked up the idea together. She handles curation for most content from women in the culture and I handle all the rest.
Hype: What’s your biggest motivation?
MidwestHubTV: Being a good father and husband. They push me to get up everyday and be the best version of myself. I’m also an artist advocate at my core. Encouraging the creation of more opportunities for artists to monetize their content pushes me to go out and get it done for them.
Hype: You’ve gotten nods and co-signs from heavy hitters in the music industry, what keeps you humble?
MidwestHubTV: My mentors and I are all about service. If you aren’t bringing something into the world that serves the needs of our people and culture then you don’t deserve to lead.
Hype: What is MidwestHubTV, and what separates you from the rest?
MidwestHubTV: We are a real hip-hop music video network available on AppleTV, Roku devices and Amazon fire stick TV. We are bringing hip hop music videos and related content responsibly to the subscription on demand TV market. I like to think of MidwestHubTV as the prototype for the music industry. As a business we must contend with clouds created by inauthentic numbers and view counts that can be purchased. The digital TV app environment gives us more opportunities to see real numbers and create more streams of income for independent labels.
Hype: How important is artist development with independent artists?
MidwestHubTV: Artists development means different things depending on who you talk to. I believe the world of independent recording artists today forces them to develop themselves to the point that they can successfully monetize their content in their own networks. There are so many artists with potential that I think now we need more platforms willing to curate them at a high level. More entrepreneurial development for them is what’s needed.
Hype: What are some challenges that you’ve overcame and how far would you like to go in music television programming?
MidwestHubTV: My biggest challenge is proving that I belong in this space. I work as a liaison for record labels to encourage more marketing partnerships between emerging acts and other platforms. So it can be challenging to get people that I think would be ideal to work with each other to link up. I’ve observed that we can be a little too cliquish at times. In a post Covid world I believe TV apps is a perfect place to develop more real connections with your fans. I see a world where something like Young Thug’s own TV subscription for his record label and his related artists makes perfect sense. Influencers can organize their hard core supporters around their long form visual content through their own TV subscription services.
Hype: What’s the most important lesson about branding you can give to emerging artist?
MidwestHubTV: Think Big. Sometimes artists can get lost in their own self contained bubbles. They can be too preoccupied with their local scenes that they can unfortunately alienate potential supporters from other markets. Everyday we wake up to a smaller world because of social media and new apps and technology that connected us globally. With the right team, hip hop artists can give their brands a chance to break through to larger audiences and to other influential platform owners. The artists who have aligned themselves with the best curators will ultimately get more opportunities.
Hype: Who would you like to work with in the future?
MidwestHubTV: I want to work with everyone with potential. If you have hot music then I want to work with you. Frfr. It’s that simple for me. Easy.
Hype: What’s next for you?
MidwestHubTV: Perfecting my business model. Learning new techniques and building good relationships with artists, other like minded curators and record labels. We are building a beautiful future for the culture and I look forward to more partners to join the revolution. More Black excellence and black ownership is what’s next for what I call black owned culture.
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