Photo credit: Neil KrugJoe Keery (who releases music as Djo)
Stranger Things’ return has been a record-breaking success for Netflix. Demand was so high for the cult hit when the new series debuted last month that the platform crashed within minutes of releasing the new episodes.
Season 5 Volume 1 achieved 59.6 million views in its first five days on the streaming platform, marking the best premiere-week viewership an English-language Netflix series has ever achieved.
The show maintained its strong performance in its second week, racking up 23.6 million views during the week of December 1, which was higher than the explosive Diddy docuseries, Sean Combs: The Reckoning, which had around 22 million views in its first week
As Netflix gears up to release the second half of Stranger Things Series 5 on December 25, the series’ return appears to be translating into music streaming growth for two of the show’s musician cast members: Finn Wolfhard and Joe Keery (who releases music as Djo).
Both artists release music via AWAL, which reports that daily streams on Wolfhard’s album Happy Birthday jumped from 52,000 streams per day before the show’s first week to 172,000 per day after the series went live. December 1 became tied with the album’s June 6 release day as the highest streaming day to date for the track.
For Djo, streams of his track End of Beginning have increased by over 60% week-over-week, AWAL tells us, propelling the track to No.10 on Spotify‘s Daily Global Chart.
The song is now appearing on Spotify’s Daily Top 200 in 57 markets, the Viral Top 100 Charts in 58 markets, and Shazam Daily Top Tracks in 41 markets.
AWAL CEO Lonny Olinick told MBW the company is now focused on converting the streaming uplift into long-term fanbase growth.
“What is already great to see is that the growth for both Finn and Djo is across their entire catalogs and across socials,” said Olinick.
“Given they are both authentic artists who have rich stories to tell, our job is really just to make sure that the fans have easy access to the entirety of the story. What fans are reacting to is how much great music and content is already in place and they are going deep.”
“Given they are both authentic artists who have rich stories to tell, our job is really just to make sure that the fans have easy access to the entirety of the story.”
Lonny Olinick, AWAL
Djo released The Crux in April 2025 and The Crux Deluxe (with 12 additional tracks) on September 12, while Wolfhard’s debut solo album arrived in June 2025.
Both releases are seeing streaming increases, with The Crux averaging 700,000 streams per day, up from a previous 300,000 daily average, representing a 36% week-over-week increase.
Wolfhard, meanwhile, added 72,000 Spotify followers since the show’s premiere, pushing his profile to 161,000 followers on a platform he only launched in June.
His overall social audience has grown by 800,000 since the Stranger Things premiere. Meanwhile, Djo’s social audience has increased by over 2 million followers.
Wolfhard had his highest streaming day to date on Dec 4 with 236,000 streams
The geographic spread of growth is notable. While the US and UK are seeing increases, India has emerged as a growth market for Djo’s ‘End of Beginning’, showing engagement patterns different from those of the track’s initial release cycle.
Indonesia is also showing growth. For End of Beginning specifically, the US leads with 907,000 streams on November 30 (up 81%), followed by Indonesia with 362,700 streams (up 46%) and India with 285,000 streams (up 68%).
“Not surprisingly, given the reach of Stranger Things, we are seeing broad-based growth across the world,” said Olinick. “The UK and US are doing amazing, but it is really exciting to see India come onto End of Beginning in a way we didn’t see the first go round.”
AWAL said that its strategy for 2026 centers on sustained album campaigns rather than chasing quick wins off the back of the show’s success. “We are very fortunate to have great bodies of work that were released in 2025 for both artists and plenty of story still to tell for both,” Olinick explained. “Djo released The Crux and a full companion album in September, and we are still actively working those albums.
“We see multiple songs on The Crux that have significant potential to grow from here. For Finn, his debut album just came out in June. Our plan has always been to keep marketing this album throughout 2026, and so this momentum is only accelerating those plans.”
Djo’s and Finn Wolfhard’s manager NickStern (Stern Management), outlined differentiated approaches for each artist in 2026.
For Joe Keery, who completed over 75 shows globally in 2025 across two album releases, the plan includes appearances at Lollapalooza South America, potential touring later in the year, acting work, and development of new music.
For Wolfhard, who is earlier in his solo career trajectory, the focus is on expanded touring and additional music releases as his schedule allows more time for music.
“For Finn, we’re really just getting started,” Stern said. “His debut solo album came out this year and is gaining momentum in an organic way, and his touring has started strong. Next year he’ll have more time to devote to music, so we’ll see him touring more in addition to releasing more music.”
He added: “For both artists, it’s just about taking the right steps to find audiences outside of Stranger Things.”
The streaming data suggests those audiences are materializing. Beyond End of Beginning, Djo’s catalog is seeing engagement, with Basic Being Basic accounting for 3.3% of recent streams, followed by Chateau at 2.6%, Delete Ya at 2.6%, and Charlie’s Garden at 1.8%. AWAL plans to focus marketing efforts on Basic Being Basic, Delete Ya, Potion, and Charlie’s Garden from The Crux, while continuing to work End of Beginning.
The streaming uplift for Wolfhard and Keery demonstrates how video streaming functions as a discovery mechanism for music (even though Djo and Wolfhard’s Music doesn’t appear on Stranger Things itself).
The series has also proven to be a catalyst for powering viral tracks after they appear in the actual show.
Running Up ThatHill, a track released in 1985 by Kate Bush,became a viral smash after its use in Stranger Things Season 4 back in 2022.
Metallica’s Master of Puppets also experienced a massive resurgence in popularity after being featured in the Season 4 finale of Stranger Things in 2022.Music Business Worldwide
