Why Kate Bush’s Viral Success from Stranger Things is Radical

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Kate Bush’s 1985 song, “Running Up that Hill (A Deal With God),” has climbed to the top of music charts in 2022 and reached nearly 500 million streams. This song’s revival after 37 years is largely thanks to season 4 of Stranger Things, where (spoiler alert) the song serves as a talisman for one of the characters to protect herself from the demons of an alternate universe. But what makes this song’s overnight success even wilder is the fact that Bush owns the copyrights to her own recordings, which means she may be keeping as much as 80% of her earnings, a very unusual scenario for musicians today. So what does “Running Up that Hill” tell us about the history of music royalties? How has Kate Bush been challenging the music industry since the 70s? Resources: Switch On Pop. Kate Bush, Stranger Things, and a hit song four decades in the making. https://switchedonpop.com/episodes/kate-bush-running-up-that-hill-stranger-things Amplified. The Most Unique Female Artist Ever? | Kate Bush Under Review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jaZOFFddng Fortune. Kate Bush has now made $2.3 million from her 37-year-old song featured in ‘Stranger Things,’ according to one industry estimate. https://fortune.com/2022/07/07/kate-bush-running-up-that-hill-stranger-things/ Credits: Director: Dolly Li Producer: Tien Nguyen Consulting Producer: Danielle Bainbridge Associate Producer: Mia Faske On-camera appearances by: Julia Holter, Lucy O’Brien, and Nate Sloan Written by: Dolly Li and Tien Nguyen Voiceover by: Kiana Taylor Director of Photography: Brian Inocencio Gaffer: Seth MacMillan Sound Mixer: Casey Minatrea Online Editor: Travis Hatfield Editor: Eurie Chung Assistant Editor: Josaen Ronquillo Motion Graphics: Jonathan Gil, Travis Hatfield Research Assistant: Kiana Taylor Makeup Artist: Shannon Trigger Set Designer: Tori Laxalt Fact Checker: Yvonne McGreevy Post-production services & facilities provided by: Flash Cuts Executive Producer for Flash Cuts: Eurie Chung Executive Producers for CAAM: Stephen Gong, Donald Young Supervising Producer for CAAM: Sapana Sakya Coordinating Producer for CAAM: Czarina Garcia Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing Guests: Julia Holter Lucy O’Brien Nate Sloan