Rockstar has removed one song from the GTA 5 radio for certain: Moloko's "The Time Is Now", from Non-Stop-Pop FM, in a hotfix on 15 September 2026. Fans also report that a Kano song left Space 103.2, but no source confirms it. Claims that GTA 5 lost many more songs have no list behind them. GTA 4 is the game that lost dozens.
Which songs were removed from GTA 5?
This table holds every change to a GTA 5 song that a source records. Only the first row is a confirmed removal.
| Song | Station | What changed | When | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moloko - "The Time Is Now" | Non-Stop-Pop FM | Removed from GTA 5 Enhanced | 15 September 2026 hotfix | Confirmed |
| Kano - "Can't Hold Back (Your Lovin')" | Space 103.2 | Reported missing by fans | 2021 report | Not confirmed |
| Morcheeba - "Tape Loop" | Non-Stop-Pop FM | Original mix replaced by the "Shortcheeba Mix" | Heists update on consoles, Diamond Casino & Resort update on PC | Replaced, not removed |
| Cassie - "Me & U" | Non-Stop-Pop FM | Not on PS3 and Xbox 360, added on PS4, Xbox One and PC | Enhanced release | Added back |
GameRant wrote in 2021 that fans "recently noticed one song has been removed from the Space 103.2 radio station without any announcements from Rockstar". Grand Theft Wiki still lists the Kano song in the Space 103.2 playlist. Until a patch note or a datamine confirms it, the Kano case stays open.
Why did Rockstar remove "The Time Is Now"?
Rockstar gave no reason. TheGamer wrote: "While no reason for the song's removal has been shared", the removal "is widely assumed" to come from an expired licence. Tex, a Rockstar dataminer, found the change in a GTA 5 Enhanced update on Steam.
A music licence for a game usually runs for about ten years, and GTA 5 came out in 2013. GTA BOOM puts it this way: "When a license lapses and is not renewed, the track has to come out." The song was one of the 42 tracks on Non-Stop-Pop FM. You can see the full station playlist on the Cara Delevingne in GTA 5 page.
Did GTA 5 lose songs on Radio Mirror Park and Channel X?
No source shows it. A 2023 Steam thread says that "some tracks have disappeared from radio stations such as Radio Mirror Park, Channel X, Space 103.2, Rebel Radio". The thread names no song. A reply in 2024 asks: "is there any actual evidence of this? afaik no songs have been removed from GTAV that were in since launch. They only did that to IV."
Some songs were never in the game at all. The game files name songs that Rockstar planned for Radio Mirror Park, but these songs did not come out in the 2013 release. A cut song is not a removed song.
Which GTA games lost the most music?
GTA 4 lost the most. On 26 April 2018, ten years after its release, an update removed licensed songs from GTA 4 and its two episodes. GameRant counted "more than 35 songs across 10 radio stations". Vladivostok FM, the Russian station, lost the most, and Rockstar added new songs to it.
| Game | When | What left the game | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| GTA 4 and Episodes from Liberty City | 26 April 2018 | More than 35 songs on 10 stations | The ten-year licences ran out |
| GTA Vice City | Later releases | Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" on Fever 105 | Sony Music Entertainment blocked them on grounds of copyright |
| GTA San Andreas | Later releases | "Express Yourself" and Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down a Dream" | Expired licences |
| GTA 5 | 15 September 2026 | Moloko's "The Time Is Now" | No reason given |
Will more songs leave GTA 5?
Probably. GTA BOOM writes: "Expect more of these removals as GTA V ages." The songs can go one at a time, as "The Time Is Now" did. The same clock starts for GTA 6, which comes out on 19 November 2026. Read what the new game has, and has not, confirmed about its radio on the DJ Cara in GTA 6 page.
Can you still hear a removed song in the game?
Sometimes. GTA BOOM says that physical discs and older offline installs "tend to keep the songs longer".
The hosts stay when the songs go. For the full list of stations and the people who voice them, read GTA 5 radio DJs and who voices them. To hear a new line from DJ Cara, type it into the DJ Cara voice generator. That voice is an AI recreation of the radio character, not Cara Delevingne, and Rockstar has nothing to do with it.
Sources
- https://gta.wiki/w/Non-Stop-Pop_FM
- https://www.thegamer.com/gta-5-song-removed-september-2026-update/
- https://www.gtaboom.com/rockstar-just-pulled-a-song-from-the-gta-5-radio-and-more-will-follow-d652
- https://gamerant.com/grand-theft-auto-rockstar-remove-music-radio-stations-licensing/
- https://www.grandtheftwiki.com/Space_103.2
- https://steamcommunity.com/app/271590/discussions/0/3818530649092430615/
- https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2018/04/26/here-are-the-grand-theft-auto-iv-songs-removed-today.aspx
- https://www.grandtheftwiki.com/Radio_Mirror_Park