“PHASE 1”: how Rockstar and Spotify built the GTA 6 album announcement in three days

First the artists posted game artwork, then Spotify covered Los Angeles, New York and Miami in billboards, and on the third day the record arrived. What actually happened, and what people assumed without proof.

How the album was announced has been talked about as much as the album itself. Rockstar did not drop a trailer or a press release: it let the story build by itself, in phases, with Spotify in the middle. Here is what happened, in order.

15 September: the artists move first

Travis Scott, Keith Richards, Rauw Alejandro, Future, Metro Boomin, Yung Lean, Morgan Wallen and CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso posted unseen illustrations in GTA 6's visual style — each with their own character — tagging Rockstar. None explained what it was. Travis Scott added two words that said everything: "PHASE 1".

16 September: Spotify's billboards

The next day that same art hit the street, on huge billboards in Los Angeles, New York and Miami, this time in extended versions and with the Spotify logo beside them. Spotify's official account posted photos of the boards with a single character as the entire explanation: 👀.

It is a music-campaign playbook, not a video-game one: artists first, then the platform, and the announcement last. It also fits what Rockstar did with Netflix to premiere the extended gameplay.

17 September: the album

With the ground prepared came Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album: 34 original songs with Atlantic Records, six singles released at once, and CD and vinyl editions. The six artists on the billboards were, indeed, the first six tracks. We covered it here, and the full list lives in every confirmed song.

What people have assumed, and should not

Worth pumping the brakes. From Spotify's billboards, two conclusions have been jumped to that nobody has confirmed:

• That GTA 6 will have Spotify integration so you can play your own playlists in game. Neither Rockstar nor Spotify has said this. It is an internet theory.
• That there is an exclusivity deal between them. All that is proven is that Spotify paid for billboards and posted some photos.

Both sit in our rumour tracker as unverified, and there they stay until someone with authority speaks.

Why "PHASE 1" matters

If the record was phase one, phase two is still to come. Rockstar has already said the game's score and radio stations will be detailed later, so that is the logical next hit. There are 28 album songs still unannounced.

Will there be more billboards?

Rockstar has an approved street campaign in Miami Beach, so more physical advertising is likely as 19 November approaches.

Will you be able to play Spotify inside GTA 6?

Nothing is confirmed. The in-game radio stations are Rockstar's and have not been detailed yet.

Sources: the billboard campaign and its link to the artists' posts, via Dataconomy; the album announcement, on the Rockstar Newswire. Image: Rockstar Games.