Heaven 17 declined an offer from Rockstar Games to have one of their songs feature in GTA 6. The figure Rockstar offered was insultingly low.
It is no secret that GTA 6 might be the most anticipated game of all time. The exposure one could get from having just one song play on the GTA radio could be enough to make the streaming numbers skyrocket. But should artists expect more than mere exposure?
Martyn Ware sparked a lot of turmoil on X by refusing Rockstar Games' insultingly low offer to use a Heaven 17 song.
“Think of the exposure… Go f*** yourself”
Martyn Ware is part of the band Heaven 17, and they have been making music since the 80s. One particular song seemed to catch the eyes of Rockstar Games, “Temptation”.
So the company offered Martyn Ware $7500 to have the song included on the GTA 6 radio. The catch was that the contract would have been royalty-free, so after the initial sum, there would be no additional money coming in for the band.
This is also why Martyn Ware declined the offer, as he states in a post on X.
I was recently contacted by my publishers on behalf of Rockstar Games re the possibility of using Temptation on the new Grand Theft Auto 6Naturally excited about the immense wealth that was about to head my way, I scrolled to the bottom of the email re the offer...
— Martyn Ware (@martynware) September 7, 2024
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 BILLIONAh, but think of the exposure…Go f*ck yourself
To clarify, he means that GTA 5 grossed $8.6 billion.
The comments vary between people understanding his choice and others, who say that he missed out on a great opportunity.
I don’t know who you are, but you’ve probably made the worst decision of your life, $7500 seems little to you? Maybe, but your music could have been part of the most anticipated video game in history. You’ll regret it.
Bro thinks he’s him lol, Rockstar isn’t paying 10k for a hotdog because they made billions, that’s not how it works
I have no idea who you are, but after featuring in GTA 6 I might have…
In my opinion, it is perfectly justified to ask for more money. I think there's many people, who don't grasp the difference inscale between 1 million and 1 billion. I'm saying this because paying these artists more money wouldn't put a dent in $8.6 billion.
What do you think? Did they just take a massive L? Or was it smart to decline the offer?
Tell us in the comments!