How to Use Custom Music in GTA 5

There are many reasons why the recently released PC version of Grand Theft Auto V is superior to its console-based predecessors, and one of those reasons is custom music. The Grand Theft Auto series has long included a great variety of music in the form of genre-based radio stations, but previous entries in the series have also allowed players to create a custom “Self Radio” station based on their own collection of digital music files. While that feature was absent from console versions of the game, it has made a welcome return in the PC release.

To use custom music in GTA 5, you’ll need audio files in MP3, AAC (m4a), WMA, or WAV formats. Other formats such as FLAC, OGG, or copy-protected AAC (m4p) didn’t work in our testing. You’ll also need at least three separate audio files, as the game won’t create the custom radio station with only one or two tracks.

Gather your music files and then navigate to the GTA 5 Custom Music folder in the location identified below:

C:\Users\[User]\Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA V\User Music

Simply copy your compatible music files into this folder and then launch GTA 5. When the game is loaded, pause the game and navigate to Settings > Audio.

Select Perform Full Scan for Music and the game will process for a moment, the length of which is based upon the number of songs in your GTA 5 Custom Music folder. When it’s done move the selection up to the Self Radio Mode option and select one of the following settings:

Radio: creates a truly custom radio station by playing your songs in a random order with DJs, advertisements, and news updates automatically interspersed in your playlist.

Random: plays only your GTA 5 custom music tracks in a random order without any interruptions from DJs, commercials, or news.

Sequential: as above, plays only your GTA 5 custom music tracks without interruptions, but in sequential order as they are sorted in the Custom Music folder.

With your selection made, return to the game and enter a vehicle. Use the radio station selection wheel and you’ll see a new station called “Self Radio” appear at the top of the radio station circle. Select it to hear your custom music tracks based on your “mode” selection above.

If you add more tracks to your GTA 5 custom music folder, just return to the Settings > Audio location described above and select either a Quick or Full scan for new music (we sometimes had trouble with the Quick option detecting all tracks, so use the Full option when experiencing issues). You can also enable the Auto-Scan for Music option, which will automatically perform a Quick scan each time the game is launched.

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