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04th Jul 2022

Kate Bush has reportedly made $2.3million since ‘Running Up That Hill’ appeared in Stranger Things

Charlie Herbert

'Running Up that Hill' earns Kate Bush $2.3m

Don’t worry, there are no finale spoilers here

Kate Bush has reportedly earned an estimated $2.3m (£1.9m) in streaming revenue from ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ as a result of its use in Stranger Things.

The song – which was first released in 1985 – features heavily in the latest season of the epic Netflix show, and has spent three weeks at number one in the UK.

Music data website Luminate has now put a figure on what this revival has meant for Bush’s bank balance.

They estimate that the boost in royalties from the song has delivered her about $2.3m between May 27 and June 23. This is largely thanks to the fact that she still owns the copyright to her recordings, so has pocketed the majority of the money earned from its resurgence, according to music industry publication Music Business Worldwide.

The song will undoubtedly continue to be streamed across the world though with the final two episodes of Stranger Things 4 having only been released on Friday (July 1). It’s no spoiler to say that ‘Running Up That Hill’ does get another play in these episodes.

In a statement to CBS, Rob Jonas, the CEO of Luminate, said: “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.”

The following clip does contain spoilers for the Stranger Things 4 vol. 1, but we’re assuming you’ve watched that by now

On Friday, ‘Running Up That Hill’ secured a third consecutive week at number one, something Bush said was “a bit surreal.”

She said on her website: “I just can’t believe it – No. 1 for the third week. We’re all so excited! In fact it’s all starting to feel a bit surreal.

“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. 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.”

By reaching number one in June, Bush broke three Guinness World Records.

The British singer now holds the record for the longest gap between number one singles (her last was in 1978 with Wuthering Heights), the longest time taken for a single to reach number one (37 years since its release) and the oldest female artist to reach number one.

The song also reached number one in Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland, and gave Bush her first ever top 10 single in the US.

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