Sophie Daniels is a trailblazing songwriting academic, setting a high bar in the design, delivery and development of further and higher education songwriting programmes across the UK. She began teaching songwriting when very few programmes and short courses were available. Since then, the sector has rapidly developed to include a host of programmes similar to the ones Sophie pioneered in the early days of songwriting education. She was honoured to be the UK’s first female Professor of Songwriting.

Early in her career, Sophie worked as a songwriter, performer and music teacher, and in marketing roles at major labels including Sony UK and S Records. At Simon Cowell’s SyCo, she was the product manager for Westlife and Michelle MacManus, and worked on Pop Idol season 2. She’s product managed albums by artists including Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond, as well as the multi-million-selling concept albums Classic Chillout and Music To Watch Girls By. She’s also worked with Jamie Oliver (Scarlet Division), Kelly Clarkson, Charlotte Church, Gareth Gates and Il Divo.

Now an esteemed music academic and Head of Songwriting at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP), Sophie has had the pleasure of guiding songwriting graduates including Foxes, Richard Fairlie and Jordan Shaw, as well as the bands Daughter, Bear’s Den and Rise To Remain.

As songwriting Professor, Sophie is responsible for overseeing all new and existing songwriting programmes at ICMP, recruiting and managing talented faculty staff and initiating industry partnerships with organisations such as The Ivors Academy, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), Belmont University, Berklee College of Music and the legendary Bluebird Cafe in Nashville.

Sophie’s recent songwriting industry work has seen her organise the UK launch of Song Suffragettes – a groundbreaking all-female country songwriter showcase from Nashville. Her research as a music professorcovers a range of themes including music and wellbeing therapy, music for grief, lived experience in music, creative expression and identity and songwriting. As a leading UK Professor of music, Sophie wrote a report for the Women and Equalities Committee in 2024 which contributed to the UK Government’s Misogyny in Music: On Repeat report on gender differences in songwriting.

Key career achievements:

• More than 20 years in the design, development and implementation of songwriting education programmes and modules.
• Qualifications including Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA) (2023) and Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS) (Level 4, 2009).
• An estimated 8,000 hours of songwriting teaching to date.
• Director at The F-List – a UK directory of female and gender diverse musicians.
• Launched ICMP’s MA in Songwriting degree – the world’s largest postgraduate songwriting programme.
• Worked with the Middlesex University Centre for Abuse, Trauma and Suicide (CATS) on a songwriting research project to promote positive identity with young care leavers.
• Researched therapeutic songwriting with Chiltern Music Therapy and networked with international colleagues.
• Guest edited Issue #3 of the Songwriting Studies Research Network Journal.
• Co-curated a symposium on hip-hop pedagogy to support Level 5 study at ICMP.
• As Liberty’s Mother, worked with UK charity Tommy’s and the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to promote awareness of baby loss.
• Raised £10,000 for baby loss charities performing as Liberty’s Mother at record launches, church services, events, on radio and TV, and at the UK Houses of Parliament, achieving national press coverage.