Leading figures from games and music take up leadership roles at Reactional Music

03 October 2023 - Press release

 

• Kelly Sumner, former Take-Two Interactive CEO, joins as Chair
• Jacob Deshayes, ex-Spotify, appointed COO

 

Reactional Music today announced two key appointments. Former Take Two Interactive (NASDAQ TTWO) CEO Kelly Sumner has joined its Board as Chairman and Jacob Deshayes becomes Chief Content Officer, joining Reactional from senior leadership positions at Spotify (NYSE SPOT). 

Reactional Music is driving the commercial, technical and creative frameworks for next-generation musical experiences in gaming, connecting the two sectors creatively and commercially.

Sumner was one of the founders of Reactional Music, and was among several investors in the company’s recent pre-Series A funding round. As well as CEO of Take Two Interactive (Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption), he was also CEO of Red Octane (Guitar Hero) which was acquired by Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ ATV1) and Chairman of Mediatonic (Fall Guys) which was acquired by Epic Games (Fortnite, Rocket League, Unreal Engine). In his new position as Chair, Sumner will help the Reactional Board drive strategy, planning and partnerships. 

Newly appointed COO Deshayes will oversee Reactional’s music platform, managing partnerships, technical and operational programmes, curation and strategy. He has held several senior roles with Spotify, most recently as Senior Manager, Catalog Strategy/Promotional Programs, and has earlier experience with Sony Music Entertainment. At Spotify, Deshayes led the teams behind the product development of its Artist Pages, music delivery system, content CMS and more. He also oversaw the platform’s content launch initiatives, developed and implemented marketplace and promotional programs with label partners, and laid the foundations for its Content Operations team and practices. 

Commenting on taking up the role of Chairman, Sumner said: “I love what Reactional is delivering for the gamer and the developer; personalising a game with the music you love is an absolute game changer. This is only possible with the power of Reactional’s generative music engine and music delivery platform. Not only does Reactional massively improve the gameplay experience, it also fundamentally changes the relationship between music and games, allowing music to be monetised with the world’s three billion gamers for the first time.The potential for developers, publishers, music rights holders, artists and creators is immeasurable.” 

Deshayes said: “Generative music is the most exciting new area of music, enabling creators and artists to do incredible new things. It is both creatively and commercially the place to be. 

“In joining Reactional Music I am thrilled to have the opportunity to apply my experience on three of my foremost passions - music, tech and video games - as we unlock groundbreaking tools for a new innovative form of music creation, as well as ways for the world of gamers to personalize their musical experience. 

“While most game aspects and visuals now happen in real-time, currently music stands out as one of the last pieces to still be mostly hard-coded. I am very excited to be part of disrupting the status quo as we usher in the next era of interactive soundscapes.”

Reactionalis the world’s first rule-based music engine, music delivery platform and personalisation engine. It enables generative composable music. This means that it can allow any music to be brought into a game and the entire game’s visuals, music and sound to react live to that music. This is something that has not been possible before at scale. Reactional does not edit or alter the master recordings. 

Reactional’s technology will enable gamers to pay to personalise their personas and gameplay with their favourite music – in the same way they do with ‘skins’ and other in-game purchases. Reactional’s platform also opens up a faster and more efficient method for games developers to create and prototype music.

According to MIDiA Research the global games business is expected to be worth $188 Billion in 2023. In-game purchases drive nearly three quarters of the market with revenues accounting for $130 Billion. Music accounts for ~0 per cent of this in game revenue. 

In 2023 the total number of global gamers has reached three billion. Forecasts from MIDiA Research estimate 32 percent growth in worldwide gamers to 3.8 billion by 2030.