Reason Studios, the Stockholm company behind DAW software Reason, has been acquired by Canadian AI specialist LANDR.

According to the press release announcing the move, the acquisition will allow the two brands to, “combine their strengths to accelerate the evolution of Reason, expanding its reach, and deepening its impact across every major DAW environment.”

LANDR states that Reason Studios will continue to operate as its own brand, “maintaining its products, community, and creative DNA.” The announcement does say, however, that the two brands will ‘align teams across two centres of excellence’ in Montreal and Stockholm.

“This isn’t about changing Reason, it’s about giving it room to grow,” says LANDR CEO Pascal Pilon. “We’re preserving each brand’s identity and core market while unlocking new possibilities for creators everywhere.”

Reason was first launched in 2000 by Propellerhead Software, building on the success of the company’s virtual synth studio ReBirth.

Reason quickly gained popularity thanks to its distinctive UI, which emulated the look and workflow of an analogue studio setup, complete with a virtual outboard rack that could house a variety of instruments and effects. That faux-analogue design has been a defining feature of Reason throughout its history.

Despite its popularity, earlier versions were often characterised by what the DAW lacked as much as what it offered. The software was initially MIDI-only and had no audio capabilities until the launch of companion application Record, which arrived in 2009 and was later merged into Reason.

For much of its history, Reason was also entirely self-contained and had no plugin compatibility. Only in 2012 did Propellerhead open Reason to third-party developers, and even then it was only via the DAW-specific Rack Extension format. Full VST support eventually arrived with Reason 9.5 in 2017.

Despite these limitations, Reason has always had a lot of appealing features. The virtual analogue UI remains a fun and intuitive way to work, even in 2025. For our money, Reason has always had one of the strongest catalogues of virtual instruments, including classics like the Thor polysynth and Dr Octo Rex loop player, as well as more recent additions like the physical modelling synth Objekt.

In 2019, Propellerhead Software became Reason Studios. At the same time, the company launched Reason 11, which allowed the Reason Rack to be used as a plugin within other DAWs for the first time.

LANDR launched in 2014, initially as an AI-powered mastering service that used machine learning to automatically apply typical mastering engineer techniques such as EQ and dynamics refinement to tracks uploaded by users.

Over the past decade the company’s offering has expanded to include music distribution, sample and plugin storefronts, collaborative tools and online music making courses.

Reason Studios isn’t LANDR’s first acquisition. The company also owns Synchro Arts, creators of VocAlign and Revoice Pro.

According to its press release, the company will “gradually introduce new value for Reason users through deeper integrations, enhanced collaboration tools, and creator-focused, AI-powered features; all designed to make the creative process more seamless, inspiring, and accessible.”

LANDR has also announced the formation of a new Artist Council that will play a role in shaping the roadmap for future Reason updates. This council will apparently be composed of well-known producers and longtime Reason users, although no names have been revealed as yet.

LANDR VP of Strategy Daniel Rowland says: “Like a lot of producers, Reason was my first experience making music on a computer, and I’ve been a fan ever since. Reason has always been shaped by its community, and this council makes that official, giving power users a direct voice in shaping the tools they rely on, benefitting all of us.”

While it's difficult to predict exactly what this might mean for the future of Reason, witnessing one of the original music software trailblazers being acquired by a brand with AI at the core of its identity feels like a potentially significant moment for music technology.

The acquisition also sees Reason Studios’ former majority owner Verdane realise its investment in the business.

For more details on Reason, head to the Reason Studios website. Head to the LANDR site for more on the company’s other offerings.


Original Article:
https://www.musicradar.com/music-te...ired-by-ai-music-production-specialists-landr

 

The acquisition price has not been publicly disclosed. No official press releases or reports mention the deal value or amount paid by LANDR. Previous owner Verdane (a private equity firm that held a majority stake) realized its investment, but financial terms remain undisclosed—a common practice in private company acquisitions in the music tech space. Reason Studios reportedly generated around €9–10 million in annual revenue in prior years, which might inform estimates, but no exact figure is available.

 

They raised $26 Million in 2019, so probably will be less than half of that amount spent

 

Really sad news. First Rando then Reason. But Landr make really bad plugins imho.

 

I just overheard a conversation in the Reason canteen: The software programmer said he's already been fired because of AI, while the cleaning lady still has the most secure job until the cleaning robot also eliminates her job.

 

It is interesting how this DAW lost its popularity over the years, probably oversaturated market, I guess. Of course, popularity on its own is not the best metric, for example FL is the most popular, I think, but most of the user base is not using legit version, despite the generous updates

 

1 DAW = Monopolist (100% profit)

2 DAWs = The competitor (you now have to share profits)
7 DAWs = 6 more competitors (you now have to share 6 times more profits)

Depending on purchasing behavior and whether new customers can be acquired and new markets
opened up, the financial situation can range from bankruptcy to high profits to moderate profits!

 

Who in the wazoo is using LANDR?

 

Certainly not AudioSexPro users. I think it's a misconception that LANDR does the thinking and acting for these so-called musicians, for a price, of course. Once you join the LANDR church and pay, there's no getting out. Somehow, LANDR has cleverly managed to establish itself and attract a large number of idiots. Let's call them the lost sheep of the LANDR wolf.

 

Big fan of the Reason synths, I've bought Reason, Algoritm, Parsec and Complex. Just spent the last few days playing with The Legend + uhe Diva and can safely say that Complex can compete with both. It's wildly hard to jump right into and use it (for me at least) but it sounds damn good, it's high up on my to-do list to get more into it.
Can also say that the Reason sequencer is phenomenal but ppl dont seem to read the manual and actually learn it.. What Reason has been lacking for years now is modulation like Bitwig. Yes they have CV and cables but havent taken it further. Where's a new/updated stock CV device? It never came. Pulsar and Synchronous are very limited unfortunately.

 

Last edited: Jan 6, 2026 at 8:47 PM

Create Digital Music has a fairly good take on this: https://cdm.link/landr-acquires-reason/

I'm not personally seeing much of synergy here, but as I don't use LANDR or Reason (well, apart from Recycle) my stance is, as usual, wait and see.

 

I think they all need more paying customers, and since the intelligent ones are slowly dying out, they'll pick out the unsuspecting, naive young people and promise them the moon. The music will then be made cheaply by AI, so that AI mixes, releases, etc., resulting in homogenized mush instead of quality and poorly educated, helpless, internet-addicted young people...!

 

When ReWire was taken away from Reason (and everything else) that pretty much sealed Reasons' demise IMO... Landr is a so-so dev given its current line up - unimpressive at best. Reason won't change that.

 

your observation is correct. Reason synths and other tools are criminally slept on. (Complex-1 is my favorite west coast style modular synth.. I find it really easy to understand in comparison to some others in that direction)
And for some reason they all manage to keep my ancient computer stress-free, even the newest ones. Also some of the third party developers of REs are super tasty. Sadly not so many are active at this point, Eksperimental Sounds is one of them which has amazing offerings but you need to wait for a sale...
I only use the Rack Plugin, and even there your crticism is correct. Reason and the RRP would desperately need some quality of life improvements.

 

More like adding vst usage into the daw way to late. Every one was asking for it, but they kept sticking to their own synths. I know i know that was their selling point, but it wasnt enough

 

Landr is a joke. Scammy company with shit plugins. Hopefully its a good thing for Reason either way, always loved Reason, have been using it for 20+ years now, still use it somewhat often.

 

FL Studio is pattern-based and more suitable for beginners than other DAWs. FL Studio quickly realized that it only needed to undercut other DAWs on price. FL Studio's revenge was its ever-present olive green color scheme.

 

Seems like most of the interesting factory devices are in their subscription plan, which is like 20 usd monthly. It is very poor value compared to other DAWs like FL or Bitwig, especially when they are on sale and offer you tons of shit from other companies for free as vst and sounds.Buying them separately, idk, I bet most producers would rather get Thorn from PA for 25 usd on discount like the one right now, than Parsec for 130 etc.