Recently, Kate Bush’s 1985 single, “Running Up That Hill” jumped up the Billboard charts and appeared in 1.8 million short videos on TikTok. The song was set to a dramatic scene in the Netflix sci-fi hit, “Stranger Things,” where Sadie Sink’s character outran this season’s demonic enemy, Vecna. Bush wrote on her website that the show has given the song “a whole new lease of life by the young fans who love the show.”
Luminate (formerly Nielsen Soundscan) estimates that Bush has made $2.3 million in streaming royalties between May 27, when the fourth season debuted, and June 23. She also made $1 million from streaming alone between June 16 and 23. And unlike many other artist, Bush owns her own masters. The final two episodes of season four were released on July 1. Metallica’s legendary tune, “Master Of Puppets,” has also gotten the “Stranger Things” bump by being featured in the season finale. The Eddie Munson character performs what he calls “the most metal concert ever” in the dark, alternate universe of the show as he tries to help his friends vanquish the show’s penultimate villain.
As a result of being the show, “Master Of Puppets” has climbed to No. 26 on Spotify’s Top 50 Global chart. Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo also revealed that his 17-year-old son, Tye, contributed “additional guitar tracks” to the version of the song that appears in “Stranger Things.” The song served as the title track for the band’s landmark 1986 album which has sold more than six million copies in the United States. It’s the last record to feature iconic bassist, Cliff Burton who died later that year in a bus crash.
