Professional Overview
Tracy Chan serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Splash, an Australia-born AI music company specializing in AI-based tools and games for music creation and performance, particularly on the Roblox platform. He assumed this role effective March 2024, succeeding Stephen Phillips who transitioned to Chairman. Splash features its flagship Roblox game “Splash,” which has amassed over 480 million players since launch, averaging approximately 3 million plays and 2.8 million performances per month. The company secured $20 million in Series A funding in 2021, supported by notable investors such as the Amazon Alexa Fund, Khosla Ventures, Bitkraft Ventures, and King River Capital.
Industry Expertise and Role Responsibilities
Tracy Chan is recognized for his extensive leadership in music technology and interactive media, with significant roles at SoundCloud, Twitch, Spotify, and YouTube prior to joining Splash. At Splash, he spearheads an innovative approach blending human creativity with generative AI, focusing on ethical AI use by compensating artists for music used in AI training. His strategy centers on creating immersive music experiences where users interact and co-create music within gamified environments, deepening fan-to-artist connections.
His approach underlines a shift from passive music consumption to active creation, particularly targeting younger generations (Gen Z), who prefer participatory engagement over traditional media consumption. He has articulated that music’s future hinges on engaging superfans and empowering creators through collaborative AI models, each trained by commissioned musicians, effectively simulating artist collaborations for users.
Previous Leadership and Product Achievements
- SoundCloud (2022–2024): Served as Chief Content Officer overseeing music content, licensing, intelligence, and creator strategy. Led product launches including the "Fans" tool for artists, mobile direct messaging, comments tool enhancements, member benefits, and a global licensing deal with Merlin.
- Twitch (2019–2022): Held leadership as Head of Music, enabling artists to monetize through virtual concerts and interactive fan engagement, especially during COVID-19 disruptions in live music. Instrumental in hosting music festivals and spotlighting emerging artists.
- Spotify: Directed product management for creator platforms, with emphasis on building analytics tools such as Spotify for Artists, helping artists track performance data and monetize effectively.
- YouTube: Began career as Product Manager, launching YouTube Insight, the company's flagship analytics platform supporting content creators.
- Founder of CrowdAlbum, a social aggregator of photo and video content from musical events, acquired by Spotify in 2016.
Thought Leadership and Industry Recognition
Tracy Chan is an advocate for responsible integration of AI in music, emphasizing ethical considerations around AI training data and artist compensation. He has spoken publicly on the industry’s generational shift and the transformative potential of AI combined with interactive gaming platforms to redefine fan engagement and artist sustainability.
He holds multiple industry honors including:
- Billboard’s 2023 Indie Power Players
- Fast Company’s Creator 25 (2022)
- Rolling Stone Future 25 (2020)
- Billboard Power List (2022)
Personal Network and Influence
Based in San Francisco, California, Chan maintains substantial influence within the music-tech and creator economy sectors, with over 11,000 LinkedIn followers. His career progressively advanced through critical TV, streaming, and gaming platforms, enabling him to navigate complex negotiations while balancing creator and stakeholder interests. He is lauded for collaborative leadership, strategic foresight in music tech, and authentic team management.
Company Context – Splash
Splash operates at the intersection of AI, music, and gaming, leveraging a proprietary AI model trained exclusively on a self-created and owned music library to avoid copyright conflicts. Splash's vision is to make music fun, interactive, and accessible, enabling millions of players on Roblox to co-create and engage in music experiences. Under Chan's leadership, Splash is positioned to capitalize on the expanding creator economy and the evolving digital music consumption patterns, targeted especially at younger demographics who are both consumers and creators.
This detailed professional profile reflects Tracy Chan’s pivotal role and influence at Splash and the broader music and tech industries, highlighting his expertise in product innovation, ethical AI use, and creator-fan engagement strategies.
