Prince streams increase by 190% following Stranger Things finale

Prince's streams have increased by 190% following the feature of two of the late singer's songs in the Stranger Things series finale.

The finale premiered on new year's eve, concluding the 9-year running sci-fi series. The episode included two of Prince's hit singles, 'Purple Rain' and 'When Dove's Cry', both of which feature on his 1984 album Purple Rain.  'When Dove's Cry' was his first #1 single in the U.S.

As reported by Variety, 'Purple Rain' went up by 243% globally on Spotify, with the majority of streams coming from the Gen Z demographic. 'When Doves Cry' streams rose to 200% globally. A similar resurgence occurred following Stranger Things' use of Kate Bush's 1985 single 'Running Up That Hill' during season 4.

The use of Prince's iconic songs was particularly rare due to his estate's selective licensing for film and television projects. Both tracks featured in the series during pivotal climactic points.

“We were told that it was a real long shot, so we just crossed our fingers,” series creator Matt Duffer told Tudum .

Co-creator Ross Duffer said that they had “never talked about a song choice as much as we did for that moment. What is also very exciting about it is it just has not been used. [Prince’s] estate does not generally allow that song to be licensed outside of the ‘Purple Rain’ movie.”

The show is set throughout the early 1980s, and often featured references to the pop culture of the era, specifically the plot's centreing around the cultural phenomenon of Dungeons And Dragons. 

Throughout 5 seasons, the show has become the most-watched Netflix series of all time, amassing over 1.6 million views following the premiere of the final season. Additionally, the broad success of the show has brought in $1 billion in global streaming revenue for Netflix in US dollars since 2020.