Heaven 17 Member Tells Off GTA6 Maker For Lowball Sync Offer
Rockstar Games will not singlehandedly spearhead the Heaven 17 revival — not unless they’re willing to pay up, anyway. Right now, the gaming world eagerly awaits the release of Grand Theft Auto VI, the latest in a long-running blockbuster series. The game got a splashy trailer with a Tom Petty soundtrack last year, and it was supposed to come out in fall 2025, but it still doesn’t have a release date. According to Hypebeast, the game’s release is rumored to be delayed until next year. And according to Martyn Ware, leader of new wave greats Heaven 17, the company behind the game tried to make an insulting offer to include one of his group’s hits on the GTA6 soundtrack.
Martyn Ware co-founded both Heaven 17 and the Human League, and he co-produced some of Tina Turner’s early-’80s comeback singles. Over the weekend, Ware tweeted that Rockstar Games sent his publisher an offer to include Heaven 17’s 1983 classic “Temptation” in GTA6, but the offer was for a mere $7,500 — not exactly generous, considering that the GTA games routinely bring in billions. Here’s what Ware wrote:
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…
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
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
— Martyn Ware (@martynware) September 7, 2024
For those claiming H17 should have accepted the extremely low offer for buyout for Temptation in GTA6 claiming ‘increased exposure’…
An extra 1 million streams generates each writer a pitiful $1k each
— Martyn Ware (@martynware) September 8, 2024
As anyone who ever cruised around Vice City to Toto’s “Africa” and Mr. Mister’s “Broken Wings” can tell you, music has always been a huge part of the GTA games, but that only works if Rockstar Games pays the rock stars their rock star money.
