The Situation Between Bethesda, Marty Stratton, and Mick Gordon!
-For the Uncensored!
As Jonathan Swift once said, “If a proud man makes me keep my distance, the comfort is that he keeps his at the same time.”[1] The understanding of this situation that is based out of fact, but understanding between both texts that both Marty Stratton, leader of Id studios, and Mick Gordon, the composer for both Doom (2016) and Doom: Eternal (2020). A video game franchise created in the early 90’s. But for historical sake, the history of Doom will not be covered. The text between both men and an analysis of holes that both men share in their letters.
Doom Eternal, according to Mick Gordon, had lots of scheduling difficulties, as he was forced to make constant rewrites to the music without any visual aid provided by the developers so that he could fine tune the music to fit the gameplay. Also, Mick’s assertions of not being paid could be very real. And it’s understandable. As he is a “contractor” I can understand as I was a contractor for a while. (Disclaimer: I do not work for said company anymore, so I can talk about it)
(My favorite track out of the Doom Eternal soundtrack as it’s used in the Slayer Gate battle arena mode)
Mick Gordon, as he asserts that he was getting into arguments with Marty Stratton, is not provided in his “info dump” on medium, as he only posts a misunderstanding response. Maybe the full context of the email couldn’t be revealed but his polite wording doesn’t give any real credence that there was a real dispute between him and the management at Id studios. Maybe the email listed in Mick Gordon’s response, is not allowing the full conversation to be seen. Taking Mick Gordon’s word to be Mick’s Gospel alone.
While the claims of not being paid is a sad to hear in Mick’s journey in the Doom Eternal Saga, and I understand why contractors are often pushed to their creative peak, only to be fired or leave out of frustration, is common in the entertainment industry. It has happened before, but one video game or entertainment industry is common among all media. As John Steinbeck said about the book business, horse betting is safer, compared to the industry. Steinbeck is not that far off. To rob a man of payment and only pay him for twelve tracks is more than just salt in the wound. It’s doused with vinegar.
But Marty Stratton’s implication of Mick Gordon taking too long is a hole in the story, because the conviction in Marty’s letter is true. Mick Gordon, who is a talented musician, can only do but so much without some collaboration, to help fine tune the material to match the game. But it’s not easy working in the entertainment industry. But Mick does blame Marty Stratton for lying “about the circumstances surrounding the DOOM Eternal Soundtrack and used disinformation and innuendo to blame me entirely for its failure.”[2]
Marty Stratton, in his own words, didn’t want Mick to leave Id. It would mean both Id and Bethesda lost out on a major musical talent. In his own words of praise: “ Mick has had near limitless creative autonomy over music composition and mixing in our recent DOOM games, and I think the results have been tremendous. His music is defining - and much like Bobby Prince’s music was synonymous with the original DOOM games from the 90s, Mick’s unique style and sound have become synonymous with our latest projects. He’s deserved every award won, and I hope his incredible score for DOOM Eternal is met with similar accolades – he will deserve them all.” As “The terms of the OST agreement with Mick were similar to the agreement on DOOM (2016) in that it required him to deliver a minimum of 12 tracks, but added bonus payments for on-time delivery.”
Marty, in his own letter, let Mick have more time to deliver the soundtrack. Marty provides no claim about money or whether he had been paid, or not. All that Marty’s claim are in response to is whether Mick “edited and “mixed” only 12 of the 59 tracks on the OST - the remainder being edited by our Lead Audio Designer here at id.”[3]
As someone who has had deadlines before, this is an unprecedented amount of respect laid at Mick’s feet. It’s hard to say whether money was not paid, because Mick nor Marty provide receipts regarding whether payment was delivered or not. Now, in all business ventures, a man must be paid for the work that he has completed. Childish questions come out of this debate. Is the scenario between Mick Gordon and Marty Stratton new in the world of entertainment business, creating one simple question. Is it better to pursue a normal life than one of the arts? If you’re a contract worker, you, the artist, have no negotiation power. But Mick Gordon had completed 5 previous albums before, and anything can happen in a consistently changing entertainment business schedule.
As Mick wanted to redo the Doom Eternal Soundtrack, it was only under the concession of Marty Stratton’s post being removed, and clarification added. That wasn’t going to make Mick’s case either. As Mick’s original soundtrack was being rejected constantly and being forced to work under a tight schedule. Adding that Marty’s words hurt his professional career.
In the long and short term, nothing Mick could have done would have worked, even if Mick hired the best lawyers that he could. Now, it’s not fair to say that Mick might pursue more litigation after November 21st, 2022. But the condition is that both text represent two men’s persona, Mick as an individual, and Marty Stratton, as the company man.
The point is, both are lying. A medium post, by Mick Gordon, doesn’t automatically guarantee he’s telling the truth, nor is Marty Stratton’s reddit post, either. The community has two texts to go on, but to place blame entirely on Marty Stratton or Mick Gordon is up to the individual and their perceptions. Both men have their pride. Mick as a musician and Marty as the leader of Id studios.
But as pride comes before a fall, a man’s empty stomach cannot complete a task. And a schedule and term limits must be made in any artistic agreement. And contract workers should be respected just as any company man is.
[1] https://www.forbes.com/quotes/theme/pride/. Found 11.21.2022.
[2] https://medium.com/@mickgordon/my-full-statement-regarding-doom-eternal-5f98266b27ce. Found 11.17.2022. Medium.com. 2022.
[3] https://www.reddit.com/r/Doom/comments/gdg25y/doom_eternal_ost_open_letter/. Found 11.19.2022. Reddit.com. 2019.
-Louis Bruno is the author of more than 20 books, including, The Michael Project, The Michael Project: Book 2: The Lost Children of Eve, Thy Kingdom Come, The Disintegrating Bloodline Part 2: Chaos, The Data Chase, The Disintegrating Bloodline part 3: Solvè, The Disintegrating Bloodline (and the original text re-released in 2019), Apocalypse Soldier, The Data Chase, Selection: The First Book of the Life and Death Saga, and Blinking Eyes: The Second Book of the Life and Death Saga, Hierarchy of Dwindling Sheep, The City of Sand, The God of Curiosity, To the Moon and Back, The Villain Lives and The Villain Lives: The Divided Pinpoint, Come Home, Young One. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from University of Phoenix. His books can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Lulu. He can be found on Gab, https://gab.com/thereallouistbruno, Minds https://www.minds.com/lbruno8063/. Instagram @lbrruno8063 and @louisbrunoofficialbook. Twitter: https://twitter.com/LouisBr88881650. He has written for the Intellectual Conservative and Ephemere. His newest book, The Voices Are Alive is out now: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/louis-bruno/the-voices-are-alive/hardcover/product-mvggdg.html?page=1&pageSize=4. Also, if you can’t subscribe so that you can get members only content, please be sure to share the articles, as well. If you do Subscribe, you have long term access to the paid articles that some readers won’t get to see or access after the articles/books go private. If that doesn’t tickle your pickle, I am also selling merch from t spring, if you want to help support me in other ways. I sell hoodies, shirts, phone cases, and trying to find something there loved ones would like. Links here: https://thereallouistbruno.creator-spring.com/listing/too-many-strings-not-enough. https://thereallouistbruno.creator-spring.com/listing/duck-fuckery. https://thereallouistbruno.creator-spring.com/listing/headless-corpo. Every little like, subscribe share, helps. Thanks for reading.