Synth-pop band rejects Rockstar’s GTA 6 music offer

GTA 5 has grossed more than $8.6 billion over its lifetime, which appears to have ruffled the feathers of Heaven 17’s Martyn Ware who threw a $7500 offer for the rights to use the synth-pop band member’s song “Temptation” back in Rockstar’s face. Martyn isn’t the first musician Rockstar has approached for GTA 6 music, but he is the first to take a stand against the company on the grounds of an “iniquitous” offer. 

According to Ware, Rockstar approached the musician via his publishers about the possibility of using the 80s classic hit “Temptation” in GTA 6. However, when Ware discovered how much Rockstar were willing to offer him for the song, his attitude pulled a 180 degree turn from excited to furious. 

Ware states that Rockstar offered each of the rights-holders $7500, amounting to $22500 before fees and taxes. Ware was quick to compare this figure with the total amount grossed by GTA 5, comparing the $7500 offer to little more than “do it for the exposure.”

Subsequently and in no uncertain terms, Ware told Rockstar to “go **** yourself.”

In follow-up posts, Ware clarified that he approached Rockstar with a counter-offer, demanding $75000 dollars or a royalty deal, which Rockstar soundly rejected.

Commenters were split on whether Ware’s decision was a wise one, with numerous tweet responses stating that the exposure from GTA 6 could have boosted the song’s popularity massively, while others pointed out that many companies who license songs pay next to nothing for content.

As a direct comparison, Tom Petty’s “Love Is a Long Road” reportedly saw a 37000% increase in streams on Spotify following its inclusion as the first confirmed GTA 6 song in the December 2023 trailer. How this increase in streams translates to income and how much the rights holder of “Love Is a Long Road” was paid is unknown. 

Exposure is a controversial form of payment, and nearly impossible to quantify, but, ironically, this explosive post has done just that: provided Ware with free exposure.

While Ware might not be working on GTA 6, other well known artists working on GTA 6 include singer-songwriter T-Pain who had to give up his hobby just to work on GTA 6, and ScHoolboy Q who heavily implied in a tweet that his music would be present in-game. It is unknown how much these artists have been paid for their work, so it is difficult to gauge if Rockstar’s offer to Martyn Ware is on par with what other artists are receiving for their work. 

Regardless, GTA fans are still hungry and waiting for Rockstar to announce something about their upcoming 2025 GTA 6 release date. We, for one, are dying to see the second GTA 6 trailer, but it likely won’t arrive for another couple months unless we’re really lucky.