Kate Bush Has Earned Around $2.3 Million In Royalties Thanks to 'Stranger Things'

Kate Bush has seen a $2.3 million boost in streams after "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" was featured on the fourth season of Stranger Things.

Kate Bush can officially cash in Stranger Things. After her 1985 hit "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" was featured in season four, episode four of Stranger Things titled "Dear Billy," the English musician has seen a $2.3 million boost in streaming royalties.

According to CBS News, between May 27 (when the first seven episodes of Stranger Things 4 premiered on Netflix) to June 23, Bush generated a $2.3 million streaming increase. The "Dear Billy" episode has also introduced Bush to a Gen-Z audience, with "Running Up That Hill" being a popular song on TikTok. As Bush owns copyright to her recordings, CBS News also mentions that the musician can likely take home "80% or more of recorded music royalties generated by her recording masters."

“While we’ve seen a notable increase in catalogue music streams in recent years — with an annual 20-percent growth alone in 2021 — the Kate Bush story has taken the phenomenon to a new level," Luminate CEO Rob Jonas told CBS.

On her official website, Bush shared a blog post last Friday (July 1) giving thanks to Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers in time for the two-episode season finale.

"I’ve just watched the last two episodes of Stranger Things and they’re just through the roof. No spoilers here, I promise. I'd only seen the scenes that directly involved the use of the track and so I didn’t know how the story would evolve or build," Bush wrote. "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. I can’t imagine the amount of hard work that’s gone into making something on this scale. I am in awe. They’ve made something really spectacular."

The full fourth season of Stranger Things is available on Netflix.