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/ka...

Amplified. The Most Unique Female Artist Ever? | Kate Bush Under Review
   • The Most Unique Female Artist Ever? |...  

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-b...

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