Renell Shaw is an English Songwriter, Musician and Producer who has collaborated, recorded and toured alongside artists such as Rudimental, Jess Glynne, Skepta, Maverick Sabre, Aloe Blacc, Nitin Sawhney and Speech Debelle amongst many others.
Companies he has worked with include Google, Barclays, BBC, Levis, U.N.E.S.C.O, V&A Museum, Hackney Empire Theatre and London Philharmonic Orchestra.
He is also an ACM graduate, and aside from his work in the music industry, Renell believes in the importance of the creative arts for young people; he supports this development through his work as a musical director and creative consultant.
We managed to grab some time with Renell to talk all things music…
Hey Renell! Can you tell us a little bit about your previous music industry experience and why you chose to work in this industry?
I’m a Songwriter, Musician and Producer. I’ve been touring, performing and composing for over 10 years. I wanted to work in the music industry because it has this atmosphere of entrepreneurial excitement; I wanted to be a part of it.
Tell us about what you’ve been involved with since leaving ACM?
I’ve been involved in albums by artists such as: Rudimental, Jess Glynne, Speech Debelle, Carleen Anderson and Knox Brown to name a few. At the end of last year I was involved in a collaborative project between Skepta, Levis and the V&A Museum. I’ve also been focusing on creative consultancy with a few companies. I’m currently working on some exciting stuff for this year but can’t say much about it at the moment!
What are your aspirations for the future?
To give back.
How did your course prepare you for life in the music business world?
My two main goals while at ACM were to understand what it meant to be an entrepreneur and how to protect myself in the music industry. The business course gave me both.
Do you have any advice for those looking to get in to the industry?
The less you know about the mechanics of the music industry, the more people you’ll have to depend on to know for you. I’m not saying you have to be a know it all (that’s annoying) but understand how your industry works. It’ll help you figure out who you need around you when you’re developing a product and who’s just syphoning your time, money and energy.
What motivated you to come and study at ACM?
It was (and probably still is) the best music business course in Europe. Both my best friends were studying in Guildford at the time and Keith Lowde (my lecturer) gave me more valuable advice in my interview than I’d received at most of the music seminars I’d been to.
What was the best part about studying at ACM?
How current the information on my course was. I remember one of my modules changing half way through the term because the laws on streaming and copyright had changed almost overnight. What we were studying was no longer useful so they changed it… can’t get more up to date then that!
RenellShaw.com
If you’d like to be a student at ACM and start to build your career in the music industry like Renell, please call our Admissions Team on 01483 500 841 or visit www.acm.ac.uk/open-days/ to book a place on an ACM Open Day today.
