An ingenious service in GTA IV will allow you download the real-world music you hear on Liberty City radios with the help of your cell phone and Amazon.com. If you hear a song you like as you’re tooling around the streets, you can “mark” it by calling ZIT-555-0100 on your cell phone, and soon receive a text message with the song and artist names. If you also happen to be a member of the Rockstar Games Social Club, Rockstar’s community site for GTA IV and all future titles, you’ll receive an email with a link to download the song from Amazon for less than a buck. The songs are DRM-free, so you can play them on whatever you like. GTA IV’s soundtrack boasts more than 150 tunes, so there’s bound to be something you’ll want to add to your playlist.


Golf clap for the sheer brilliance of this scheme. GTA’s music has always been a strong part of the series’ appeal, and making it that much easier for players to identify and download the songs they like is a savvy combination of fan service and business. Citing the success of downloadable music sales as implemented in Rock Band as an inspiration, but boasting the ability to take songs outside of the game, Amazon and Rockstar are looking for similar results from players of Grand Theft Auto 4. The game is set to launch on April 29 for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3.

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