Former chairman and CEO of Sony BMG Europe will support Armada’s burgeoning growth in newly formed position
New York, NY – May 13, 2025 – Armada Music Group, the parent company of Armada Music, BEAT Music Fund, and Armada Music Publishing, today announced the appointment of Maarten Steinkemp as Interim President in a newly formed role, effective immediately. Steinkamp, who has worked closely with Armada as an interim board consultant for the past several months, will now play an integral part in driving growth and shaping the company’s future.
Steinkamp comes to Armada Music Group with extensive international experience across the music and media industries. In addition to his proven track record in music, he brings strong entrepreneurial expertise in scaling businesses and driving structured growth. He has previously held several senior leadership roles, including Managing Director of BMG Benelux, EVP of BMG ASEAN in Singapore, CEO of BMG Germany in Munich, and President of BMG International in New York, where he was also a member of the global executive board. He later served as chairman and CEO of London-based Sony BMG Europe.
“Maarten’s leadership, strategic insight, and deep understanding of our industry is second to none,” said Maykel Piron, CEO of Armada Music Group. “With Maarten’s continued support, I’m confident we will unlock new opportunities together and take Armada Music Group to even greater heights.”
Steinkamp’s work will focus primarily on preparing the company for its next phase and ensuring Armada’s back-end departments are equipped to support its continued growth. He will report directly to Piron and is based in the Netherlands.
"I’m thrilled to begin this new chapter with Armada at such an exciting time for the company and our entire industry," Steinkamp said. “I look forward to working alongside this passionate team and building on the incredible work they’re doing in the dance space.”
Armada Music Group is the parent company of the world’s biggest independent dance music label, Armada Music, the first-ever dance investment fund, BEAT Music Fund, and its dedicated publishing division, Armada Music Publishing. Armada Music was founded in 2003 by Armin van Buuren, Maykel Piron and David Lewis (AR-MA-DA). A seven-time winner of the EDMA’s for ‘Best Global Label,’ Armada Music boasts the globe’s biggest dance music catalog of over 50,000 tracks and a mouth-watering artist roster. Promoting dance music all over the world from its offices in Amsterdam (HQ), New York and London, Armada Music represents and cultivates the creative exploits of some of the biggest players in the electronic music game, including Armin van Buuren, Lilly Palmer, ARTY, Audien, Miss Monique, D.O.D, Ferry Corsten, Yulia Niko, Jan Blomqvist, Loud Luxury, and Tensnake. Through this star-studded dance music army, Armada Music collects over 1 billion streams per month, secures weekly airplay on the biggest nationwide broadcasting stations (such as BBC Radio 1 and Sirius XM), and frequents the top spots of the U.S. Mediabase Dance Airplay charts. Continually bringing out the best in its artists has led to various high-magnitude achievements, including Armin van Buuren’s Grammy nomination for “This Is What It Feels Like,” Lost Frequencies’ Diamond Award for exceeding the mark of one billion streams on Spotify and the huge success of Loud Luxury and Brando in the U.S. and beyond.