Sport music promotion specialists Shoot Music has announced its expansion into the European market with the launch of a brand new Amsterdam operation.
It’s a timely moment for Shoot Music to enhance its agency offering – connecting artists, record labels and sport to maximise audience reach and engagement.
Amid the World Cup fever and England’s strong showing in North America, the tournament has also been a major platform for music.
As well as an opening ceremony with Andrea Bocelli, Shakira and Katy Perry, the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Halftime Show will feature co-headliners Madonna, Shakira, Justin Bieber and BTS. Meanwhile, there’s a UK chart impact with Three Lions and Oasis’ Wonderwall pushing for No.1 this week, closely followed by official World Cup song Dai Dai by Shakira and Burna Boy.
Building on Shoot Music’s UK operation, the new European branch is led from Amsterdam by Diederik Van Zessen (pictured), commentator at AFC Ajax and KNVB. Van Zessen also brings a music and media background to the role, having previously worked as music director at Dutch national radio station NPO 3FM.
Throughout 2026, Shoot Music has been soft launching its offering across the Benelux market, promoting new releases through sports media, live events and club channels in the Netherlands and Belgium, while also developing collective promotional opportunities around the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The European operation has already amassed a client roster and portfolio of campaigns, including Shakira, the official FIFA World Cup 2026 album, Brussels-based hitmaker Lost Frequencies and Dutch rock group Kensington.
We’re excited by our expanding reach and the promotional opportunities available for the new football season across Europe
Tom Roberts
Shoot Music’s move into mainland Europe capitalises on the growing synergy between live sports and global music acts. The agency is already making an impact on the continent, having recently booked headline artist Dimitri Vegas for the EuroLeague Basketball finals in Athens in May.
Tom Roberts, CEO of Shoot Music, highlighted the strategic parallels between the UK and Benelux markets.
“Football infrastructure and culture in the Benelux region are similar to the UK,” he said. “There are many parallels, and we’re excited by our expanding reach and the promotional opportunities available for the new football season across Europe. This sits perfectly alongside our work in other key European sports, such as EuroLeague Basketball.”
“We have been developing our European strategy for some time, and officially made our first signings during ADE, where Diederik and I were part of a lively European sport panel at the annual dance conference,” he added.
Speaking about the opportunities in the region, Diederik Van Zessen said: “Dutch sports fans absolutely love their music, and the sports scene here is moving fast. Live events are drawing strong audiences, while new sports media and fan engagement initiatives are creating fresh opportunities for artists, labels and rights holders. We saw a fantastic response across several teams when we promoted a sports music trend from artists Sam Fender and Olivia Dean in the Benelux market.
“We are following these developments closely and are excited to help connect new music with the moments where fans are most engaged, across stadiums, radio, TV, live events and digital platforms.”
Shoot Music is now setting its sights on the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) 2026 in October. The agency plans to place a major focus on integrating dance music into the European sports scene throughout the summer and autumn.
PHOTO: Bastiaan Heus
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.musicweek.com ’
