It appears Rockstar Games are only offering a few thousand dollars to some artists to use their songs in GTA 6. One musician revealed this information and expressed anger towards Rockstar. This is because we all know just how many billions GTA Online and GTA V has made since launch.
In a couple of intriguing Tweets, Heaven 17 co-founder Martyn Ware lashed out at Rockstar Games for their fee. The musician said he received a message from Rockstar Games via his publishers.
The game studio were inquiring about using Heaven 17’s Temptation in Grand Theft Auto 6. This is likely for one of the many radio stations set to feature in the game. GTA Vice City previously featured Heaven 17 song Penthouse and Pavement playing on Wave 103.
Ware said he was actually “Naturally excited” due to the “the immense wealth that was about to head my way, I scrolled to the bottom of the email re the offer…” In another Tweet he followed up saying “IT WAS $7500 – for a buyout of any future royalties from the game – forever…”
He went onto say GTA 6 has grossed $8.6 billion. This is a typo and he means GTA V. Understandably, Ware was upset with the figure he received via email. “Ah, but think of the exposure… Go f*** yourself” he continued. We take it Temptation or any of the other music owned by Ware won’t be featuring in GTA VI.
It is worth noting we typically see music licenses in games, more so GTA games, last around 10 years rather than forever and ever. That’s why titles such has GTA IV had certain songs patched out years later as Rockstar could not come to an agreement with the music’s owner.
Reaction and division
Fans are split on the fee. Some are arguing the exposure is worth the money as tens of millions of players will hear it in GTA 6. Rockstar Games is known for creating iconic in-game radio stations, which feature a wide array of licensed music.
However, this incident suggests that not all artists are content with the terms offered, despite the massive exposure that a GTA title can provide. Inclusion in GTA V proved to be a big help for smaller artists or introduce a new generation to old classics giving them another lease of life.
Given how much GTA V has made since release, it is fair to say $7500 feels quite small. It also will have a budget of a few hundred million dollars. Perhaps Rockstar Games will come back with an improved offer that pleases Martyn Ware.
UPDATE 8/9/24:
Overnight, a lot of GTA fans have flocked to Ware’s Twitter account to tell him he should have taken the fee offered by Rockstar Games. Plus that they don’t know who he or Heaven 17 is nor is Temptation a good song.
In response to this backlash, Mr Ware posted a Tweet saying “For those claiming H17 should have accepted the extremely low offer for buyout for Temptation in GTA6 claiming ‘increased exposure’… An extra 1 million streams generates each writer a pitiful $1k each”. He then went onto say he asked for £75,000 (around $98,000). Also, this $7500 fee would be for each writer of the song and there are 3 according to Ware.
Artist ScHoolboy Q already confirmed his music will be in GTA VI. You can learn more here. Meanwhile T-Pain said Rockstar stopped him from playing GTA RP as he’s working on GTA VI in some capacity.
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