New Report Breaks Down Just How Massive the GTA VI Music Bump Really Was

A fresh data report has put hard numbers behind something GTA fans already suspected: getting featured in the Grand Theft Auto VI Extended Look trailer was rocket fuel for the artists involved.

Music industry analyst Mat Ombler of MusicEXP dug into streaming and social platforms to quantify the fallout from the trailer, covering the week of August 27 to September 3. The results paint a picture of a marketing moment with real, measurable commercial weight — not just hype among the game's own fanbase, but a crossover effect that reached deep into artists' actual listener numbers.

Spotify Numbers Went Vertical

The headline figure: artists featured in the Extended Look saw their monthly Spotify listener counts jump by an average of 670% week-on-week. Some individual spikes were staggering — Birdman's audience grew 4,791%, Kodak Black's by 1,880%, and Chk Chk Chk (!!!) saw a 1,429% surge.

In terms of raw new listeners gained, three acts pulled ahead of the pack:

1. Bob Moses — 450,243 new monthly listeners (+19.5%)

2. Cliff Richard — 230,501 new monthly listeners (+12.5%)

3. The Bellamy Brothers — 225,257 new monthly listeners (+9.6%)

The individual tracks featured in the trailer weren't left out either. Across the more than dozen songs used in the Extended Look, streams rose by an average of 7%. The standout gainers:

1. "But I Think It's a Dream" — Captain & Tennille: 80,744 new streams (+71%)

2. "Se Me Nota (Agárrame)" — Chimbala & Omega: 2.47 million new streams (+12.7%)

3. "Inner Light" — Elderbrook & Bob Moses: 4.1 million new streams (+3.3%)

The Trailer Also Drove a Social Media Spike

The bump wasn't confined to streaming platforms. Featured artists saw their Instagram followings grow by an average of 976% week-on-week, with Phil Collins and Elderbrook each picking up more than 5,000 new followers on the platform. TikTok growth was even sharper, averaging 1,650% week-on-week — Chimbala alone gained over 18,000 new followers there.

Shazam activity also spiked hard, as viewers scrambled to identify what was playing during the roughly 26-minute video:

1. "Inner Light" — Elderbrook & Bob Moses: 377,402 new Shazams (+57.5%)

2. "Se Me Nota (Agárrame)" — Chimbala & Omega: 245,424 new Shazams (+51.8%)

3. "But I Think It's a Dream" — Captain & Tennille: 3,429 new Shazams (+33.1%)

Part of a Bigger Pattern

This isn't the first data point suggesting the Extended Look had an outsized real-world impact. Earlier reporting already showed Spotify and other platforms registering a jump in plays tied directly to the trailer's release, and the reveal has separately been linked to a surge in console sales and pre-orders as anticipation for the game builds.

Taken together, the numbers suggest Rockstar's marketing push for GTA VI is doing more than exciting its own audience — it's actively reshaping listening habits and boosting the profiles of artists who, in several cases, had been largely dormant on the charts for years.