#Runningupthathill, revival and popular music fandom on TikTok

Zaborowski, Rafal and Bennett, Lucy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2264-7596 2025. #Runningupthathill, revival and popular music fandom on TikTok. Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies 10.1080/10304312.2025.2459129

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Abstract

The fourth season of Stranger Things (2022) used Kate Bush’s 1985 single ‘Running up that Hill’ for a key narrative moment, propelling the song back into the charts. This resurgence also inspired new generations of listeners who turned to TikTok to perform covers, analyses or parodies of the song. While TikTok has been discussed as an emerging player in the music industry and as a space of agency and expression, there is still limited understanding of how audiences use the platform to express and negotiate their musical affinities. To investigate this, we conducted a content analysis of TikTok videos tagged with the hashtag #runningupthathill (N = 442). We identified two primary themes which fostered musical meaning on TikTok: (1) platform dynamics and possibilities for creativity, and (2) affective nostalgia. Our findings show that these factors cultivated a two-fold sense of musicking: a renewal of communal, fandom practices alongside a reflective engagement with music cultures and their cyclicity. The analysis reveals a convergence between platformisation and the role of music in identity formation, self-creation and self-maintenance. Ultimately, this research offers empirical insight into how digital spaces reshape and renew music fan practices.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Journalism, Media and Culture
Publisher:	Taylor and Francis Group
ISSN:	1030-4312
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	29 January 2025
Date of Acceptance:	21 January 2025
Last Modified:	18 Feb 2025 12:50
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/175721

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