Mixtape will not be delisted in the future over music licensing issues, Annapurna confirms

Mixtape publisher Annapurna Interactive and developer Beethoven & Dinosaur say players don’t need to worry about the game being delisted over expiring music rights, as they have paid for the soundtrack licenses in perpetuity.

The details:

• Speaking with Kotaku, creative director Johnny Galvatron said that the team “paid extra to maintain licenses for each track in perpetuity,” meaning there’s no contractual end date after which songs would have to be removed or the game pulled from sale.
• In a post on X, Annapurna also confirmed that the licensing of music from bands and artists such as Iggy Pop, The Smashing Pumpkins, and DEVO will not be a problem in the future. “We heard some people say MIXTAPE would be delisted due to music licenses expiring. That was a lie,” the publisher wrote. “Have a great weekend, everyone.”
• It’s likely that acquiring perpetual licensing for the game required a hefty upfront payment compared to the standard licensing deals that permit the use of copyrighted music for a set period of time. When the licenses expire, developers are typically forced to either remove or replace the in-game music, which happened with the likes of Grand Theft Auto IV, or remove the game from sale entirely.