Rockstar told "go f*** yourself" by 80's band Heaven 17 after receiving GTA VI soundtrack offer
Martyn Ware, a member of synth-pop band Heaven 17, has revealed that he turned down a $7,500 offer to include the 1983 hit "Temptation" on the Grand Theft Auto VI soundtrack.
The details:
In a post on X, Ware revealed that the band's publishers contacted him on behalf of Rockstar Games, which wanted to include Temptation on the soundtrack of GTA VI with the song’s writers being offered just $7,500 each. “I was recently contacted by my publishers on behalf of Rockstar Games re the possibility of using Temptation on the new Grand Theft Auto 6,” wrote Ware. “Naturally excited about the immense wealth that was about to head my way, I scrolled to the bottom of the email re the offer… 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.”
While some users understood Ware's disappointment at such a low offer, many others argued that the songwriter should have accepted the $7,500 as the game could result in a surge of new fans streaming and purchasing their music, making it a "long-term win." Ware responded, calling the offer "iniquitous," and explaining in a follow-up post that one million streams of the song would net its writers only $1,000 each.
Ware also claims to have made another offer to Rockstar: "$75K a buyout - or no advance required for a reasonable royalty." This was reportedly declined by the developer.
Given GTA V's billions of dollars in revenue and an alleged $2 billion budget for GTA VI, a $7,500 offer for a song seems to be on the low end. However, some fans argue that paying the hundreds of artists featured in the soundtrack $75,000 each could result in high costs up to $67 million, while others believe it is an acceptable expense.
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