This is a hell of a long read (page says about 58 minutes, which is about right) and provides some insight into Mick's experience crunching on Doom Eternal's soundtrack and the hell he's been through in the interim.
I remember seeing Marty Stratton's reddit post about this back in May 2020 and had kind of forgotten about the whole ordeal since then, but reading this is pretty stomach churning to see how poorly he was treated.
tl;dr:
Marty withheld crucial details from me until 13 days before my deadline, such as:
His statement was full of lies, disinformation and innuendo, and when challenged, his company offered me a six-figure sum to shut up about it. When I tried, time and time again, amid a torrent of abuse, harassment and threats, to resolve the matter more amicably, he constantly refused, worried how addressing the Reddit post would damage his own reputation instead.
But as far as I’m concerned, truth and honesty are more important: Marty’s words damaged my character and attacked my reputation. I have afforded him ample opportunity to address this issue, but his refusal to do so has left me with no option other than to issue this statement.
I remember seeing Marty Stratton's reddit post about this back in May 2020 and had kind of forgotten about the whole ordeal since then, but reading this is pretty stomach churning to see how poorly he was treated.
tl;dr:
Summary of Facts
DOOM Eternal
I haven’t been paid for over half of DOOM Eternal’s music: The game includes more than double the music I was contracted to produce. Rejects, mockups, demos, many of which were never meant for public release. I created this music as part of the development process and shared it with id Software in good faith. But id Software used the music in the game, marketing and soundtrack and still refuses to pay me for it.The DOOM Eternal OST was a mess
It was announced, with my name attached, and made available for pre-order before I was contracted to produce it. Despite my alarm and constant appeals Marty refused to do anything about the situation, leading to a nine-month delay before I could start work.- After seven months of inaction, I reported my concerns to Bethesda.
- Bethesda and I negotiated the DOOM Eternal OST directly, without Marty’s involvement.
- I received the contract on March 18, 2020, just 48 hours before DOOM Eternal was released. The delay was announced a week earlier before I was under contract.
Marty withheld crucial details from me until 13 days before my deadline, such as:
- Potential legal trouble they faced for taking pre-orders before it was under contract.
- Details about their internally-produced OST: an alternative edited from my in-game score, which they’d worked on for at least six months without my knowledge or involvement.
OST release
Their poor-quality release immediately drew criticism, and a worried Marty personally asked me for assistance in addressing the situation. I made myself entirely available to Marty and committed to satisfying disappointed customers with a better OST. Marty made it clear he wanted me involved, saying he wanted a positive outcome, had no ill intentions and wanted to resolve the issue professionally.- He offered to draft a joint statement addressing the situation and announcing plans to move forward.
- He requested I hold off on making further public comments until we could address the public together.
Reddit
Instead, days later, he published a 2500+ word “open letter” on a fan-run Reddit page that singled me out as the sole cause behind the botched OST. The post attracted thousands of comments and news articles and severely damaged my personal and professional reputation. Worst of all, he did it behind my back whilst leading me on with a bullshit story about working together on a professional solution to the problem.His statement was full of lies, disinformation and innuendo, and when challenged, his company offered me a six-figure sum to shut up about it. When I tried, time and time again, amid a torrent of abuse, harassment and threats, to resolve the matter more amicably, he constantly refused, worried how addressing the Reddit post would damage his own reputation instead.
But as far as I’m concerned, truth and honesty are more important: Marty’s words damaged my character and attacked my reputation. I have afforded him ample opportunity to address this issue, but his refusal to do so has left me with no option other than to issue this statement.
