GTA radio stations

Updated 29 October 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

Every Grand Theft Auto game has in-car radio. The 1997 original had seven stations of music written by the developers. From GTA III onwards the stations gained DJs, fake adverts and talk shows, and from Vice City they leaned on licensed hits. Some of those songs were later removed when licences ran out. Rockstar has confirmed six GTA VI stations so far, including a returning Flash FM.

How does the radio work in GTA?

In every Grand Theft Auto game, getting into a vehicle switches on its radio, and the player can flick between stations while driving. The idea is to make a drive across the city feel like a real commute, with music, chatter and commercials in the background. Each station has its own style and usually its own host. Between songs you hear the host's patter, mock adverts for made-up products and, in later games, short news bulletins that react to the story.

Police cars are a small exception. In GTA III, according to the GTA Wiki, they play a police scanner in place of the normal stations, a habit that goes back to the police band track of the very first game.

Radio in the 2D games

The original Grand Theft Auto (1997) had seven stations and a police band. Wikipedia notes that each vehicle could only pick up some of them. The GTA Wiki lists stations such as Head Radio, N-CT FM and Brooklyn Underground FM, with 19 songs in total. All of them were written by the developers' own staff rather than licensed. GTA 2 and GTA London kept the same basic idea.

GTA III and the arrival of DJs and talk radio

GTA III (2001) turned the radio into one of the series' trademarks. Wikipedia says the game carries about three and a half hours of radio material, with real DJs voicing the hosts. The GTA Wiki counts nine stations plus a custom slot for the player's own MP3s on PC. Much of the music was written for the game, though Flashback 95.6 borrows songs from the soundtrack of the film Scarface, and Head Radio returned from the first game. The big new arrival was Chatterbox FM, a call-in talk show hosted by Lazlow Jones and the first talk station in the series.

Which are the most famous GTA radio stations?

Vice City (2002) is the game most players think of first. Its stations are packed with real 1980s hits. Flash FM, hosted by Toni, plays pop. V-Rock, hosted by Lazlow, plays hard rock and heavy metal. Wave 103 covers new wave and Emotion 98.3 soft rock ballads. Two talk stations, K-Chat and VCPR, poke fun at celebrity culture and public radio. Two years later, San Andreas moved the setting to 1992. Its line-up includes Radio Los Santos (West Coast hip hop with Julio G), K-DST (classic rock), K-Rose (country), Radio X (alternative and grunge) and the talk station WCTR.

GTA IV (2008) and its episodes share a long list of stations. Liberty Rock Radio, hosted by Iggy Pop, is the classic rock option. Vladivostok FM plays Eastern European music, a nod to Niko Bellic's roots. WKTT and Public Liberty Radio stand at opposite ends of the political talk spectrum. GTA V (2013) has Los Santos Rock Radio, hosted by Kenny Loggins, and the chart station Non-Stop-Pop FM. Wikipedia counts more than 241 licensed tracks across fifteen music stations and two talk stations at launch. Some music was written for the game, such as Flying Lotus's work for FlyLo FM.

Can you play your own music in GTA?

On some platforms, yes. GTA III on PC had an MP3 Player station. San Andreas added the User Track Player on PC and Xbox, which the GTA Wiki says can play files in order, at random or mixed with adverts like a real station. GTA IV on PC has Independence FM, and GTA V on PC has Self Radio, which reads music from a folder on the player's computer.

Why were songs removed from GTA games?

Music licences are often bought for a fixed number of years. When they lapse, later releases can lose tracks. According to the GTA Wiki, the mobile and later console releases of Vice City from December 2012 dropped songs such as Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" from Flash FM. Later releases of San Andreas from 2014 onwards lost 18 songs, including tracks on Radio Los Santos, K-DST and Radio X. In April 2018 the digital and PC versions of GTA IV lost a batch of tracks, with Vladivostok FM hit hardest. Disc copies of the older games still play the original line-ups.

What radio stations are in GTA VI?

Grand Theft Auto VI, set in Leonida and Vice City, is due on 19 November 2026. In early October 2026 Rockstar put audio previews of six stations on the game's official music page, as reported by Game Informer and EFTM. They are Flash FM (pop), Cocoteo FM (modern Latin music), Back Country Radio (country), AfroBank FM (African music), The Chamber 106.6 (metal) and Dirty South Classics (Southern rap). Flash FM is the first station brought back from the 2002 Vice City. Rockstar's trailers have also used licensed songs, such as Tom Petty's "Love Is a Long Road" in the first trailer.