Staff

The dynamic people working at The Music Business Academy are:

Wiida Hamman is our enthusiastic administrator. She’ll be the one taking your calls and getting you sorted and ready to take on one of our courses. She is here to help you! Mother of one and aspirant business entrepreneur, Wiida Hamman is the administrator for MBAC. Wiida completed a BTech in hospitality management at Pretoria Technikon and since then, has been involved in administration in various forms. She has co-ordinated and run many successful workshops, as well as overseeing the co-ordination and management of various events. Hamman also owns and runs a corporate gifting company which supplies MBAC students with their workshop gear. An avid vocalist and former student of Rob Rodell, she has sung in the Cantate Chamber Choir as well as various other choirs, and has also been involved in musicals. One such musical was Rut, the 2003 musical done through the Moreleta Church in Pretoria, which was performed at the AULA at the University of Pretoria to rave reviews. Wiida is married to Nico and her musical journey continues…

Jonathan Shaw is a music business lecturer and record producer with many years experience. He is a music business researcher and consultant. He's tackled some of the most difficult music industry related questions and is up to the challenge of helping you understand this complex topic. Jonathan Shaw was born in Johannesburg in 1981. He attended the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree with Honours in Business Economics in 2004. He has also attained a certificate in sound engineering from Inhouse Audio Training in Johannesburg, while later completing Pro Tools courses at the Academy of Sound Engineering. Shaw is a music business entrepreneur. He is a music business consultant and provides business consulting to the music industry through his marketing company, Ibilion Music. He lectures a short course Management and Marketing for the Music Industry at Wits Plus, the Centre for Part Time Studies, at the University of the Witwatersrand, as well as at the Academy of Sound Engineering. He has spoken at numerous workshops and conferences, both nationally and internationally, on music business topics. Outside this, Shaw is a professional record producer who works with a multitude of artists and record labels in a freelance capacity. He runs his own recording studio called Shaw Music Studios. Music and recording have been his passion for most of his life with guitar, bass, vocals and piano being his trusted companions in his career. Shaw is also one the pioneering partners behind the Music Business Academy – a dedicated school for music business courses and workshops. He also conducted research for the Gauteng Provincial Government to inform the Gauteng Music Strategic Framework in 2009. Shaw has written many articles and columns, particularly for BPM Magazine, Muse Magazine, Music Industry Online, The Mail & Guardian and the South African Journal of Business Management. His book, The South African Music Business, sold out the first edition. It is the first comprehensive book on the business of music in SA.

Rob Rodell is a music business lecturer and singer\songwriter with many years experience. He is also a music business researcher and consultant. Rob has extensive experience in the singer\songwriter field and conducts the popular songwriting courses as well as being involved in the business side of the industry. Rob Rodell was born in Johannesburg in 1971. He attended the then Rand Afrikaans University, completing a BA (Honours) degree in communications. Furthering his studies at the University of Johannesburg, he completed his MA degree in marketing communications and, as of 2009, is working towards his D Litt et Phil degree in marketing communications, with his dissertation covering trends in music marketing and branding. In 2009, he became the first person in the world to complete his Licentiate in singing through Rockschool in London (the only accredited board for contemporary music examinations), which he passed with distinction. Rodell is a singer-songwriter, performing artist and vocal coach. In 2003, he and co-artist Tziporah (forming the singer-songwriter duo Namwaaka) were nominated in the top 20 in the Hansa Pilsener Songwriting Competition. In 2006, Platoon won the Top Billing Music Award and in 2008 released their debut album. Rodell is currently working on four other projects in studio, including his debut solo album, and The Purr Factory, a musical he co-wrote which is to be produced by the Song & Dance Company at the University of Johannesburg Arts Centre during 2010. Rodell partnered with Shaw to conduct research on the music industry in Gauteng and is one of the co-founders of the Music Business Academy. He started his own indie record label, Singers Inc., in 2002. Rodell has spoken at Moshito, the annual music industry conference in Johannesburg, and has also lectured marketing courses at the School of Business & Technology and the Global School of Business. Currently, Rodell also teaches vocals and music business courses at the Soul Candi Institute of Music, while judging the Emerging Sounds Battle of the Bands and various other music competitions around Gauteng. He has authored one other book entitled Flip Simon the Finger, which offers a candid look at why people who love to sing should do so.