All 21 songs missing from radio stations in GTA San Andreas Definitive Edition (and why)

GTA Trilogy (The Definitive Edition) was met with mixed reviews due to issues with the soundtrack back in November 2021. Specifically, San Andreas lost several iconic songs due to licensing issues, and while the PC version reportedly contains all the missing music, it is unclear if they were accessible in the official release.

Licensing issues have been a recurring problem for the Grand Theft Auto series and have previously led to the removal of songs in re-releases and updates. The presence of unlicensed music in the files also raises legal concerns for Rockstar Games, the company behind the franchise.

This article aims to educate the audience about the 21 removed radio station tracks from GTA SA: Definitive Edition and why Rockstar had to remove them.

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Rockstar Games' long battle with licensing music, this time in GTA San Andreas: Definitive Edition

Which songs were removed from the radio stations?

The new Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition, which includes GTA San Andreas, underwent a visual facelift, but some of its soundtracks had been left behind due to licensing issues. The PC version reportedly contains all the music that was no longer licensed, as well as uncompiled code with developer comments.

Many popular songs, including those by 2 Pac, Rage Against The Machine, and Tom Petty, were not allowed to be played in GTA San Andreas that time around. Unfortunately, it lost more tracks than its trilogy partners in its transition to this new remaster, which contributed to the negative early impressions of the GTA Trilogy.

Here's a list of all 21 tracks that were removed from the game:

1. "Don't Let IT Go To Your Head" by Black Harmony
2. "Express Yourself" by Charles Wright
3. "Express Yourself" by N.W.A.
4. "Funky President" by James Brown
5. "Grunt" by the J.B.'s
6. "Hellraiser" by Ozzy Osbourne
7. "Hot Pants" by Bobby Byrd
8. "I Don't Give A Fuck" by 2 Pac
9. "I Know You Got Soul" by Bobby Byrd
10. "Killing In The Name" by Rage Against The Machine
11. "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown" by Augustus Pablo
12. "Loopzilla" by George Clinton
13. "Ring My Bell" by Blood Sisters
14. "Rock Creek Park" by The Blackbyrds
15. "Rock Me Again And Again" by Lyn Collins
16. "Runnin' Down A Dream" by Tom Petty
17. "Running Away" by Roy Ayers
18. "The Payback" by James Brown
19. "Woman To Woman" by Joe Cocker
20. "You Dropped A Bomb On Me" by The Gap Band
21. "Yum Yum (Gimme Some)" by Fatback Band

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More about licensing issues: Why the tracks were removed

The tracks were removed from the game due to licensing issues. When a game developer acquires licenses to use certain music tracks in a game, there's typically a limited duration.

Once the it expires, the developer must either pay to renew it (if possible) or remove the tracks from the game. It's possible that some of the artists or rights-holders did not want their music to be used in the remastered version of the GTA game, or that the licensing fees were too high for Rockstar to renew them. As a result, some of them had to be removed from the game.