Kate Bush has reportedly earned a huge sum since a revival of her song “Running Up That Hill” was sparked by the Netflix series Stranger Things.
The song featured prominently in the hit show’s anticipated fourth season, leading the song to break numerous records by reaching the top of the UK charts, almost 37 years after its release.
Luminate, an entertainment data and insights company, estimated that Bush’s streaming royalties totalled $2.3m (£1.9m) since she owns the entire recording copyright to her music.
“While we’ve seen a notable increase in catalogue music streams in recent years — with an annual 20% growth alone in 2021— the Kate Bush story has taken the phenomenon to a new level,” Rob Jonas, the CEO of Luminate, said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch.
He added that “Running Up That Hill” has become the most streamed song both in the US and globally.
The Independent has reached out to Spotify and Bush’s representatives for confirmation on the figure.
In a post titled “Still up on that Hill” which was shared on her website on Sunday (3 July), Bush celebrated her song being at No 1 for a “surreal” third consecutive week.
“I was so delighted that the Duffer Brothers wanted to use ‘RUTH’ for Max’s totem but now having seen the whole of this last series, I feel deeply honoured that the song was chosen to become a part of their roller coaster journey.”
You can read The Independent’s spoiler-free review of Stranger Things season four volume two here.
