Get the latest gossip

How Interscope Pioneered the Modern Label’s Approach to Sports

Interscope's David Nieman leads a more immersive integration between athletes and artists — and has helped pioneer the modern label's sports approach.

Nieman and his team have also orchestrated unorthodox moments, like working with MLB to create 30 custom vinyl iterations of The Rolling Stones ’ 2023 album, Hackney Diamonds, representing each team in the league or leveraging preexisting athlete-artist friendships ( 6LACK and the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, Rob49 and the Cincinnati Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase) for video pieces that felt not just authentic, but sincere. Interscope hosted a listening session with the Los Angeles Chargers and several of the label’s artists in which the team came to the studio to hear unreleased music, with a few players even entering the recording booth themselves. That sparked an idea that became NFL Career Day: Interscope invited 20 current and former players — legends like Harry Holt and present-day stars like Derwin James and Darren Waller — to its offices to experience a day in the life of the music industry, building and extending relationships among the players, the label and its artists.

Get the Android app