The streaming numbers for two iconic Prince songs have skyrocketed thanks to their placement in the season finale of Netflix’s Stranger Things.
According to new Spotify data, “Purple Rain” has seen a 243% increase, while “When Doves Cry” increased 200% (via Variety).
Many of the streams can be attributed to Gen Z listeners — meaning people born between the years 1997 and 2012. Both Prince songs were released on his Purple Rain album in 1984.
How Netflix Executives Managed to Include Prince Songs in ‘Stranger Things’
Matt and Ross Duffer, the twin brothers who created Stranger Things and have directed the show since 2016, knew that earning permission to use “Purple Rain” in particular might be challenging.
“[Prince’s] estate does not generally allow that song to be licensed outside thePurple Rainmovie,” Ross recently explained to Netflix.
“[We]were told that it was a real long shot, so we just crossed our fingers,” Matt added. “Thank God they agreed.”
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In part, the Duffer brothers have Kate Bush to thank. Back in 2022, she allowed her 1985hit “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” to be used in Stranger Things, sparking a similar surge in streams and putting the 1985 song at the No. 3 spot on the Billboard 100. (Many other ’80s era songs have been used, including tracks by thePolice, Metallica, the Clash,Duran Duran,Toto,Bon Jovi,Peter Gabriel,JourneyandKiss.)
Without spoiling too much of the final episode, Ross noted that “Purple Rain” felt exactly right for the moment it appears in the show.
“Once we came up with the idea that the record was going to be the trigger for the bomb, we knew we needed an epic needle drop, and so many ideas were thrown around,” Ross said. “I think there’s nothing really more epic than Prince.”
Prince Year by Year: 1977-2016 Photographs
The prolific, genre-blending musician’s fashion sense evolved just as often as his music during his four decades in the public eye.
Gallery Credit: Matthew Wilkening