Whether you loved or hated Stranger Things, one thing it’s done is get people listening to Prince again.
Per Variety, the late artist’s 1984 hits “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry” surged in global streams on Spotify by 243 percent and 200 percent, respectively. For the Gen Z demographic specifically, the two tunes were boosted by 577 percent for “Purple” and 128 percent for “Doves.” And they’re not the only ones: the outlet reported streams for Prince’s entire discography have shot up by 190 percent overall, with an 88 percent rise in Gen Z streams.
The Oscar-winning Purple Rain soundtrack album was highly regarded upon release and considered one of the greatest albums ever made, and neither of the two songs has been used in a TV show since Prince’s film of the same name.
Stranger Things co-creator Ross Duffer explained that he and his brother Matt “knew we needed an epic needle drop” once they decided a record would trigger a bomb during the climactic battle in the finale. And in Ross’ words, “There’s nothing really more epic than Prince.”
Matt Duffer credited the show’s big season four needle drop—Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” of course—as helping get the ball rolling with Prince’s estate. The brothers were told by music supervisor Nora Felder it’d be a “real long shot” to get approved. In a separate Variety interview, Felder revealed the brothers had approached her with the script and their aim: two songs from 1987 or earlier, from the same artist, with song one starting on the album’s A or B-side, and song two finishing on the album’s alternate side. And this was before the scene had even been shot.
“This is just me imagining it in my head — and it’s got to play through this big, emotional, sad scene,” Felder explained. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, but there’s still always a first.” There was a classic artist she sent the Duffers (and whose name she’s withholding), but ultimately, they all decided to try getting the two Prince songs cleared. Getting the approval on the estate’s side was a “grueling” couple of weeks, with the green light coming just days before the shoot.
Numbers have shown Prince was the right choice and that the pursuit of those songs paid off—and Netflix knows it, hence putting “When Doves Cry” and “Purple Rain” as the second and third tracks on the show’s latest Spotify playlist.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Read the full article here
