At Amsterdam Dance Event we hosted a panel on behalf of Buma Music in Motion (the music & moving image arm of Buma, the Dutch collective rights organisation). Diederik van Zessen sat down with three professionals who operate every day at the intersection of football and music: Marc Nipius (Tribe Company / KNVB), Tom Roberts (Shoot Music, UK) and Grayson Repp (FIFA DJ & producer).
What once started as spontaneous terrace chants has grown into a deliberate, creative discipline in which DJs, producers and marketers work together to shape emotion. A few highlights from the panel:
The global sound of football
FIFA DJ Grayson Repp took the audience to the biggest stages in the game. He played at some of the world’s biggest matches, including the World Cup final.
“In that moment I just wanted to build the tension. I think 10,000 hours of DJing led up to that point — it felt like a black-out until the next day, when I realised what the impact had been.”
For that match, Repp’s choices included ‘Intro’ by The xx, played just before the decisive penalty shoot-out.
Larger Than Life
During the conversation, Marc Nipius gave the audience a behind-the-scenes look at how the track ‘Larger Than Life’ came together. The song was part of the KNVB’s EURO 2024 campaign and was (in part) recorded at the Dutch national team’s hotel. How did it happen?
“We tied three goals to it: first, the players had to embrace the song — it had to feel like theirs. Second, it had to be something fans in the stadium could sing along to. And third, it had to reach the wider public — radio, ideally a high chart position.”
They brought in global star Armin van Buuren and popular Dutch band Chef’Special.
“We started in Armin’s kitchen in Leiden — that was the starting point. He and Joshua (Chef’Special) immediately had a great vibe, and together they made the track. But we needed to know whether the players would actually embrace it, so we organised a writing camp at Hotel Zeist (the Dutch national team’s traditional training base).”
When the players were played the song, they ended up wanting to contribute themselves. The result was a radio hit. Mission accomplished?
“Of the three KPIs — players, stadium and the wider public — we hit two completely. In the stadium you get groups singing along, but not always the whole stand. In the end, people still want the big anthems.”
From the Premier League to playlists
Tom Roberts described how, in the United Kingdom, the relationship between football and music is now organised on a professional footing. His company Shoot Music connects artists to clubs, leagues and media, making sure tracks find their way into stadiums and onto television.
“Football is the biggest live entertainment platform we have,” Roberts said. “Millions of people discover new music through the sport — often without realising it.”
In his view, clubs increasingly understand that their brand is not just a logo, but also a sound.
“Fans notice immediately when a track has been picked by someone who does not get the culture.”
About the panel
Beating the Crowd: How Music Moves the Game took place at the Amsterdam Dance Event 2025, as part of the ADE Pro Conference programme.
With Marc Nipius (Tribe Company / KNVB), Tom Roberts (Shoot Music) and Grayson Repp (FIFA).
Moderation: Diederik van Zessen.