GTA 6 soundtrack reveal reignites debate over digital-only music releases
The irony wasn't lost on fans. Rockstar announced a 34-track GTA 6 soundtrack album on CD and vinyl, releasing the same day as the game. The same game the developer decided not to put on a disc.
Travis Scott, Morgan Wallen and PinkPantheress are among the artists on the compilation. Rockstar called it a "genre-defying roster of the most exciting artists in the world." The first six tracks, published at the time of the announcement, include rapper Yung Lean, British DJ Fred Again and Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.
The physical album follows Rockstar's decision for a digital-only release of GTA 6. Players pointed out the irony on social media. A physical edition of the music, no physical edition of the game.
GTA games have always leaned on radio. Each installment features multiple stations, themed around a particular musical genre, which players switch between while driving. Past soundtracks were largely made up of licensed music from established artists, though original songs have also featured. For GTA 6, Rockstar promised a "dynamic score" and an "evolution of in-game radio."
Being on a GTA soundtrack moves numbers. Tom Petty's Love is a Long Road, used in the first trailer, saw Spotify streams increase by 36,979% after the clip was published. The Pointer Sisters' Hot Together, soundtracked to the second trailer, also saw a huge jump. A collection of tracks used in the recent Extended Look attracted new listeners in the week after it premiered on Netflix.
Music and gaming publication MusicEXP tracked the spikes. Captain & Tennille's 1980 track But I Think It's a Dream saw the biggest, jumping from 70 weekly Spotify streams to 80,744. Cliff Richard's Devil Woman was streamed more than one million times. Prefab Sprout's Cars and Girls jumped from 49K to 187K additional weekly streams. Music detection app Shazam also reported increased activity around tracks featured in the 26-minute broadcast.
Not every artist wants in. Martyn Ware of synth pop band Heaven 17 called Rockstar out on social media, accusing the developer of offering a "pitiful" deal to use the 1983 hit Temptation.
GTA 6 arrives 19 November. It is expected to be one of the biggest entertainment releases of all time. GTA 5 broke records when it came out in 2013 and has sold more than 200 million copies since. The two official trailers for the sixth game have almost 500 million combined views on YouTube. The Netflix "extended look" reportedly topped the streamer's charts, despite a string of leaks in the lead-up to its release.
Rockstar is also defending itself in an employment tribunal in Scotland against claims it illegally sacked a group of ex-employees for trying to form a union. The company strongly denies the accusations and says the workers were fired on the grounds of gross misconduct.
The 34-track compilation arrives on CD and vinyl on 19 November. The game, on that same date, arrives nowhere but a hard drive.
According to Joy Online.
