Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry’ and ‘Purple Rain’ Spotify Streams More Than Double in ‘Stranger Things’ Series Finale Surge

Prince is seeing a significant Spotify streaming boost in his catalog thanks to key syncs in the series finale of “Stranger Things.”

Since the episode debuted on New Year’s Eve, “Purple Rain” has seen a 243 percent increase in Spotify global streams and a 577 percent surge in global Gen-Z streams specifically, Variety can exclusively reveal. “When Doves Cry” also saw a 200 percent boost in global streams, as well as a 128 percent increase in Gen Z streams. Overall streams of Prince‘s catalog have climbed 190 percent, with an 88 percent uptick in Gen Z streams.

“When Doves Cry” and “Purple Rain” were featured at pivotal moments in the finale. When the “Stranger Things” heroes set the explosives to destroy the Upside Down for once and for all, they put on Side Two of “Purple Rain,” which starts with “When Doves Cry” and ends with the title track. It’s “Purple Rain” that’s playing as Eleven (Millie Bobbie Brown) appears to sacrifice herself when she brings Mike (Finn Wolfhard) into her mind to say a final goodbye.

Notably, the two songs have not been used in a TV series since Prince included them on the soundtrack for his 1984 film “Purple Rain.” “We were told that it was a real long shot, so we just crossed our fingers,” series creator Matt Duffer told Tudum following the finale premiere.

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.”