Why Metallica Allowed Stranger Things And Other Productions To Use Their Music

This post contains spoilers for "Stranger Things" season 4

"Stranger Things" is huge. To call it a phenomenon is even an understatement. The show helped in large part to usher in the wave of '80s nostalgia that blanketed the pop culture landscape prior to our current love affair with the 1990s. And it's still going strong. Season 4 Vol. 1, which launched in May of 2022 shattered a Nielson streaming record, with the release of Season 4 Vol. 2 crashing Netflix upon its debut.

We can't seem to get enough of the Duffer Brothers' sci-fi throwback, which to this day has far-reaching cultural implications beyond its impressive viewing figures. Season 4 managed to propel none other than Kate Bush back into the charts in multiple countries with its use of her track "Running Up That Hill" during an emotional episode in which the song helps bring Sadie Sink's Max out of a blank-faced trance in the Upside Down. Bush went positively viral following the inclusion of her 1985 single, seeing a huge rise in streaming numbers across her catalog. That prompted streamers to promote her songs in their playlist suggestions, continuing the general blanketing of our culture with an ever-spreading stream of "Stranger Things"-related media like some dark energy escaping a portal to the Upside Down.

Unsurprisingly, other artists have been wanting to get in on this lucrative game for a while. Enter Sandman. Metallica, actually, who after spending much of their career saying no to the whole licensing songs thing, had a change of heart prior to the launch of "Stranger Things" season 4. And lucky for them, it paid off.

The other biggest musical moment of "Stranger Things" season 4 is when, in the final episode, Joseph Quinn's character Eddie — who has enjoyed his own explosion in cultural recognition — plays along to Metallica's "Master of Puppets." Climbing atop his mobile home, Quinn's metalhead plays the 1986 track to distract a flock of demo-bats in the Upside Down and save his friends.

The band's co-founder, drummer, and former warrior in the fight against downloading music, Lars Ulrich spoke to Howard Stern recently about how he and the boys changed their tune on licensing music and allowed this now famous scene to transpire. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Ulrich made clear that he and his band-mates were always "the 'no' guys" until a couple of years ago. At which point they made a "180:"

"We just said, 'You know what? This is stupid. Why are we hanging onto these [songs] like they're so important, like they're the crown jewels?' We started saying yes to everything. Let's share our music with the world."

As the outlet notes, Metallica saw an unsurprising rise in streaming numbers, with "Master of Puppets" finding its way back into the Billboard Hot 100 after more than 35 years, eventually peaking at number 35.

According to Ulrich, the band was in fact surprised to see such a response to their track appearing in the biggest show in the world. The drummer told Stern "It was totally unexpected." They certainly saw a huge response following the show's launch, which overall has got to be a good thing, introducing, as it has, a whole generation to 80s metal in a way that they might not otherwise have been.

It's also great to see the Metallica boys are open to adapting to the modern music industry. The man who previously showed up to Napster's offices with a list of downloader's names can now be found telling Variety, "Releasing [a] record itself [is] a creative process, whereas 30 years ago it was just a formula you followed," adding: "You have to adapt — if you don't, and you don't continue to evolve, you're dead."

Everything is evolving rapidly these days, and it seems Ulrich and his band are at ease with that now. Which is great. Perhaps the music streaming services themselves can evolve in a way that pays artists more in the future and highlights lesser-known acts rather than acting as a monolithic machine to promote the biggest trends. Meanwhile, there's a whole final season of "Stranger Things" on its way to send us all into a blank-faced trance as we binge our way through the Upside Down one last time.