Mar 26, 2026
Sony Music is Helping Artists Grow Through Gaming – Sony IMS GM Brad Spahr, Sony’s Distinguished Engineer, Explains How
In today’s entertainment landscape, where audiences crave deeper, more interactive experiences, Sony Music is leading the way in helping music artists connect with fans through immersive digital environments. At the center of this innovation focus is Sony Immersive Music Studios (Sony IMS). In this article, we explore its work and vision through an interview with Brad Spahr.
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Brad Spahr
Distinguished Engineer
Sony Immersive Music Studios
Sony IMS launched in 2020 with a clear mission: to build high-quality, artist-driven audiovisual experiences that meet fans where they already are—inside games, virtual concerts, and shared digital spaces.
Whether it’s a performance inside Fortnite or a journey in Roblox, Sony IMS is providing artists with tools, resources, and technical support to reimagine what’s possible.
“Fans want to see their favorite artists represented authentically in these virtual worlds—and the artists do too,” says Brad Spahr, General Manager of Sony IMS and a Sony’s Distinguished Engineer. “The artists we work with have vivid creative visions—world-building concepts, color palettes, emotional tones. Our job is to help them realize those ideas authentically and ensure they carry through visually and narratively in these new mediums.”
Spahr’s team has supported artists including PATYNEXTDOOR, Myles Smith, JADE, Sleepy Hallow, Farruko, Iniko and Madison Beer deliver innovative projects. These experiences range from photorealistic virtual concerts to interactive storytelling inside gaming platforms, each designed to deepen fan engagement and expand creative possibilities.
Create Infinite Realities: Where Music Meets Gaming [BTS] | Sony
To go behind-the-scenes with Sony and Sony Immersive Studios, watch this short video to learn more
Building at the Speed of Music
In the traditional gaming industry, timelines are often measured in years, but Sony IMS operates on a much faster clock—one dictated by the pace of the music business.
“We have to move at the speed of the music industry,” Spahr explains. “Our Fortnite projects, for example, have ranged from ten to fourteen weeks from start to finish—that’s unheard of in game development.”
This rapid development cycle is made possible by a lean, cross-functional team that blends creative vision with technical expertise. From Unreal Engine developers to music experts, the studio brings together diverse skill sets to execute complex projects quickly and efficiently.
“We pride ourselves on building exceptionally fast while hitting a high-quality bar and keeping costs low,” Spahr says. “We’ve built a technical pipeline that lets us rapidly develop high-quality immersive experiences.”
Behind the scenes, that pipeline centers around 3D asset creation, digital human construction, animation, and optimization. The team has used techniques such as markerless motion capture, FACS scanning and machine learning solvers for facial animation to deliver the best possible results as quickly and cost efficiently as possible. Many experiences are built in Unreal Engine (including UEFN for Fortnite) to translate artistic direction into interactive, high-fidelity experiences.
A Culture of Collaboration
As part of a broader ecosystem within Sony Music and across Sony that includes multiple entertainment businesses, such as games and films, Sony IMS leverages the collaborative culture of Sony to tap into cutting-edge technology, share best practices, and co-create experiences that span multiple entertainment formats.
Brad Spahr, GM at Sony IMS, was nominated Sony Corporate Distinguished Engineer in 2025.
“This is the best synergy I’ve seen in my entire time at Sony,” Spahr says. “It’s a huge advantage. A lot of it comes down to knowledge-sharing. I spend time with colleagues at Sony’s entertainment businesses such as games and films and R&D teams across the world to learn about new innovations and share what we’re working on. Sometimes those conversations inform our own R&D roadmaps or inspire new collaborations.”
“Those exchanges make all of Sony stronger and each division more effective,” Spahr says.
Storytelling for a New Generation
At the core of Sony IMS’s work is a belief that immersive media represents the next evolution of storytelling and fan engagement. By blending an artist-first ethos with technological curiosity, it is working with Sony Music's creative centers to explore new formats, platforms, and storytelling methods—and creating space for artists to innovate at the intersection of music, gaming, and interactive media.
“Building inside a game engine like Unreal created a new kind of artistic format—fantasy worlds shaped by the artist’s creative direction,” Spahr explains. “The artists we’ve worked with love seeing themselves in the Fortnite art style. When they play the game, they know the audience and context. Their reactions have been incredible.”
Rather than replacing traditional formats, immersive experiences offer artists a new canvas to express themselves and connect with fans. “Artists, especially musicians, connect with fans through relatability and authenticity,” Spahr explained. “That’s what makes their fan bases passionate. Our role is to ensure that carries through visually and narratively in these new mediums.”
In the virtual world, those constraints disappear, he adds. “You can create what we call at Sony ‘Infinite Realities’.” Fans get new ways to experience music and relate to their favorite artists.
This shift from passive consumption to active participation is especially resonant with younger audiences, who increasingly use platforms like Fortnite and Roblox as social spaces.
Spahr has built a career on connecting artists, engineers, and audiences through new forms of digital experience. Today, as Sony’s Distinguished Engineer, and General Manager of Sony Immersive Music Studios, he leads a team exploring the future of music through game engines, virtual environments, and interactive storytelling—all with the speed and creativity of the music industry.
“Kids use these platforms as social networks—they hang out, talk, explore worlds together,” Spahr says. “When they enter music experiences, they want to do things together.”
He adds: “Technology is evolving so that it’s becoming easier to tell stories and reach people in new ways… It’s also about having talented engineers and artists who can translate a creative idea into technical execution. To do groundbreaking things, you have to go places no one’s gone before and trust that you can execute the creative vision.”
And his advice for future innovators?
“Show up. Be curious. Build things. Try things. Talk to people. Go to conferences. Be brave. Learn, experiment, fail, and try again. When you do that, you develop instincts and figure out what truly interests you.”
That persistence has been a defining trait throughout his career. “It took me over a year to get hired at Sony,” he recalled. “But I was persistent. When I finally joined, it wasn’t by accident—it was deliberate.”
Today, that same determination drives his approach: “Humans are always in a state of becoming something,” he said. “Technology is no different. The market is always evolving, and you have to evolve and adapt with it.”
