Moodswing Music representing Dj Sliink, Brenmar, Zak Leever, Shiftee, Benzi and more is leading the soccer, music, lifestyle movement in the US in a big way. Fresh off their work with International Champions cup Moodswing was been commissioned to provide music to support a variety of programming needs including live entertainment, walk out anthems, and campaigns soundtracks to curate the fan experience at these world class events. With ICC 2018 complete, Moodswing looks ahead to the 2026 World Cup and the growth of the soccer in the United States as major opportunities to continue work in this space. Read more below after the jump!
- How did Moodswing Music get involved with Soccer?
Happened organically. adidas Soccer had a couple of our guys on their radar as possible DJ’s for their events. We had a few emails and a couple calls and finally ended up locking Dj Sliink to play an adidas Soccer Pop Up Party in NYC. The event went great. We ended up building a relationship, and working on a couple additional events, connecting music & soccer culture for Tango League, Here To Create, then also with an Adidas Football / Major League Soccer campaign.
- How did Moodswing get involved with International Champions Cup?
Early in the spring, the ICC creative team reached out to inquire about Brenmar curating music for their press season kick-off event in Miami. We ended up confirming the press event, where Brenmar deejayed the “House Of Soccer Event”, in addition to curating the actual music played for the press event live broadcast.
With the tournament going live in July ICC needed music for their digital and broadcast advertisements as well as in game audio. After reviewing Moodswing’s portfolio they ended up syncing a handful of our songs for use in global advertising. Moodswing was also asked to compose the ICC 2018 Soundtrack. Moodswing crowd sourced the project internally utilizing a range of styles and production techniques from it’s producers to produce an original “Walk Out Anthem”, Soundtrack, and “In Stadium Sound Effect Sample Pack”.
This project is extra special as we were able to utilize so many of the the talented producers from the #MoodswingFam (DJ Sliink, Brenmar, Shiftee, Zak Leever, etc) , in addition to a former European & MLS pro soccer player Marcus Tracy, and our other brilliant music and cultural minds.
- Can we anticipate Moodswing working on additional sport events?
Our catalogue of music is very syncable within current mainstream culture, and specifically as a cultural tie into sports. Club Music, specifically Jersey Club – is one of the sub genres of music that we have been pioneering for years. There's something about the energy of 140bpm and then a half time drop to 70 bpm that seems to work very well with high speed and slow speed tempo changes in sports. Within the game of soccer specifically, the pace can go from explosive to slower paced quickly, and we feel our artists and music works well within that space.
AT&T / Direct TV also recently used our published title “Higher” by Dj Sliink (out via Skrillex‘s OWSLA imprint) for their March Madness campaign. The up-tempo and epic sounding horns and drums play well with the “pump up/ celebration” vibe the ad was going for. Music and sports both convey emotion and if a song can compliment the energy of the fans and its players, then it’s a perfect match.
- How do you see sports, particularly soccer influencing the music scene here in the US?
It's a really exciting time. Soccer culture is exploding in the states. MLS is expanding. The youth program focus from years back is starting to turn out the best homegrown talent we have ever had. – And guess what all these young new pro players are into outside of soccer? Lifestyle, Music, and Fashion culture.
Soccer inspired street wear is impacting mainstream fashion. We saw this grow throughout 2018. We see this with the Nike / Virgil Abloh inspired fashion line around World Cup, to hip hop and nightlife culture integrating with the soccer fan base in Atlanta. The role of music in developing meaningful marketing platforms that connect to fans is becoming so much more important. Sports, Music, and Lifestyle culture go hand and hand. Authentic relationships between them are essential to current and future consumers. Even Nike’s Jordan Brand is developing a soccer focused line. There is a ton of growth in the field.
- With the FIFA announcing the World Cup in NA in 2026, what can we expect from Moodswing, and what’s next for you guys?
Moodswing’s strength lies in our ability to work on unique projects with our partners from the ground level. Our original music has been used on a variety of formats in 2018 including Netflix to HBO, MTV, Comedy Central, Universal Pictures and for major brands such as adidas, Major League Soccer, V-Files, International Champions Cup, Samsung, Direct TV, Amazon, and more. With the World Cup coming in 2026 we expect that brands will continue to invest in culture and seek music partners with the freshest music and lifestyle outlook. We look forward to working on campaigns surrounding the World Cup that tie music, sport, and lifestyle culture together. There is a lot of work to do in the space and we’re excited to be part of the continued connection between sports and music culture.
