Band blasts Rockstar over music license offer for Grand Theft Auto 6

The music that plays on the radio stations has been a big part of the Grand Theft Auto games over the years. Many have discovered smaller artists through these games. However, not many artists like being paid in ‘exposure', something that has become abundantly clear after one band went public with Rockstar's low-ball offer to use a track in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6.

Martyn Ware, of the band Heaven 17, revealed over the weekend that the band's management was contacted by Rockstar about the possibility of including the group's song, Temptation, in the Grand Theft Auto 6 soundtrack. The offer was for a one-time cash payment of $7500, at the cost of waiving any rights to royalties.

IT WAS $7500 – for a buyout of any future royalties from the game – forever…

To put this in context, Grand Theft Auto 6 grossed, wait for it…

$8.6 BILLION

Ah, but think of the exposure…

Go fuck yourself

— Martyn Ware 🦉 (@martynware) September 7, 2024

Ware made is feelings about this offer extremely clear in a post on X, pointing out that Grand Theft Auto 5 (misspelled as Grand Theft Auto 6), made over $8 billion, before telling Rockstar to go and pleasure itself.

It is unclear if other artists received a similar offer, but chances are, Rockstar will offer larger amounts to more known musicians. It is also unclear if there was room for negotiation here, but after Ware's public comments, it is highly likely that Rockstar's licensing team will swiftly be moving on to secure other acts for the game's radio stations.

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KitGuru Says: I don't think Rockstar has given up royalties based on game sales to any artist in the history of GTA, so this reaction does seem a bit over the top to me. That seems like the sort of thing that Rockstar wouldn't budge on for any artist. Still, if the company is asking for a perpetual license to use music, then it may need to bump up that initial offer a bit, as everyone is well aware of the historic amounts of cash Grand Theft Auto 5 brought in. 

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