According to Martyn Ware, a founding member of Heaven 17, Rockstar Games has reportedly offered the band $7500 to use the band’s song ‘Temptation’ in Grand Theft Auto 6.
UPDATE – Ware has recently clarified that the price was $7500 for each of the three writers, putting the total at $22500, meaning that his original claims were misleading.
Ware recently made the claim on X (formerly Twitter), where he said, “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. Naturally excited about the immense wealth that was about to head my way, I scrolled to the bottom of the email re the offer…”
He continued, “IT WAS $7500 – for a buyout of any future royalties from the game – forever… To put this in context, Grand Theft Auto 6 [Ware meant Grand Theft Auto 5 here] grossed; wait for it… $8.6 BILLION Ah, but think of the exposure… Go fuck yourself.”
For those unsure of what exactly this entails, it would mean that Heaven 17 would permit Rockstar Games to use its song ‘Temptation’ in GTA 6 for $7500, but the band will not get any future royalties. It’d be a one-time payment, and that’s it. It’s likely that the use of the song would be for the radio stations in GTA 6.
Ware’s tweet has sparked some pretty lengthy online discussions on whether the sum is worth it. Reddit user /u/HomeInternational69 said, “Is this really that cheap? What’s a more fair price to pay? On top of the $7500, the artists are also getting their music exposed to a massive audience.”
Whereas Reddit user /u/-Aone said, “7.5k for “any future royalties… R* trying to do a daytime robbery”
Either way, Heaven 17 has seemingly made up their mind that $7500 is not enough to have its song featured in GTA 6, regardless of the potential exposure and whether or not such a sum is worth it is up to the artists themselves.
For more from Insider Gaming, check out the new images of Blizzard’s canceled survival game Odyssey, which have leaked online.
To be fair I have searched some I’ve heard on GTA games before so the exposure could be very profitable
Complete L for him and hear the song it’s trash! Rockstar is just robbing people the actual artists aren’t taking these shitty deals! Right now the time for a real GTA like would love a Sleeping Dogs 2 or a new True Crime.
Just a fucking music. They gross 8b, but have tons of music and talent to pay. It’s way better than using AI and flipping the finger at all music artists.
Song sounds bad if this is the music to expect count me out
They have got to be sped to think this is even remotely sane. They are so self satisfied and diluted they think artist shouldn’t make royalties because it’s in thier stupid game and they could potentially make some money to. Yes I said stupid, GTA 5 was in fact, stupid, lazy and a downgrade from the previous installments.
I could understand maybe putting something in there where they can’t come after them for royalties when it’s played in the game. People have tried crazier things. Flat out denying any future royalties and buying their song flat out for 7500 is asinine and borderline insane. Anyone justifying this stating “exposure” as a justification is also insane.
I mean, I guess they’ll just remain unknown then.
“Unheard of band rejects offer to be in worlds most popular game”
New headline in 18 months.
Heaven 17 we’re actually fairly big topping the charts in the 80s/90s. Not my taste in music but I’m sure they still make money on royalties so £7500 probably did feel like an insult to them.
Lol Heaven 17 are well known and the song Temptation was a huge hit in the 80s. 7500 is probably what they make a month just in radio plays
They have not had a hit since the remix of the song in question over twenty years ago, and are not well known outside of the UK, especially decades after their prime. Though, as a musician, I normally say that anyone mentioning “exposure” should be punched, because it usually means “I don’t want to pay the band” and the exposure to a few people in whichever venue does absolutely nothing for the band.
But in a case like this, this is massive. Bands used to PAY(ola) for this kind of exposure/promotion on radio stations. This will be heard by million of people repeatedly. If some of those millions of people like the song, they will look up the band and may buy their material. Had they taken this offer, I imagine they would have made far more than $7500 in renewed interest and sales. But they choose to bite off their nose to spite their face. They have to realise that it certainly won’t be Temptation by Heaven 17 that will make anyone buy this game. Had they accepted the offer, it would have been the cheapest promo they have ever done, being paid to promote their music to millions of people.
Daniel Sherlock – right, I am sure they have plenty of dough rolling in daily from that one big hit 40 years ago. They certainly don’t want millions of potential new fans, nor any renewed interest in their music, nor the spike in album sales that would be a result of millions of new listeners. Why would they? That one hit has them rolling in dough and they never have to work again in their lives. You say they are making $7500 a month from that song? That goes FAR when split three ways. They can definitely afford to blow off this offer, even though they have only cracked the top 40 only six times in their own country in the 44 years of their existence (I am not counting the second time Temptation was on the charts) and never even made a blip on the Billboard Hot 100 (which for some reason is the only chart that matters globally).
Yep temptation was huge at7500 it is a insult. Maybe if they offered 60k to put it in the one game and not use it outside radio station. Still.
Seems reasonable given they have what 100-150 songs in a game plus the other costs (not to mention the vast, vast majority of the cash was online micro transactions rather than sales)
Well, off you count $4 for every thousand streams on spotify, H17 make about $7500 every 6 months from Spotify sales. So, including exposure on one of the most profitable and most viewed forms of media of any sort, ever, I’d say that’s a pretty good deal.
Grand theft audio
It’s a bit of an oldie. But what’s crazy, is that Rockstar has given evert sign that GTA6 is going to be far more than 60$
They can’t afford to give these guys 10cents of every sale? That alone would amount to millions. Lol