Linda Ronstadt receives NO royalties for use of Long Long Time on HBO’s The Last of Us for sales of her music catalog: ‘I still love the song’

Linda Ronstadt, whose song Long Long Time was recently featured on The Last of Us, will not make any money from the associated royalties.

The 76-year-old singer’s song saw a huge increase in streaming numbers after it appeared on the hit HBO series.

But after Ronstadt sells her music back catalog in 2021, she won’t benefit from the song’s revival.

“I still love the song and I’m very happy about it [songwriter Gary White] get a windfall,” she told Billboard.

Ronstadt’s manager, John Boylan, added: “She’s not unhappy about it, believe me.”

“We sold your catalog. The last four or five years have been a tsunami of acquisitions like this.”

She talked a bit about the first time she heard the song when she was introduced to White by guitarist David Bromberg.

Ronstadt said she took me to Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village to see Gary perform with Paul Siebel. After the show, Gary played me Long Long Time and I immediately wanted to record it.”

She continued, “It wasn’t a country song or a folk song or a rock song, but I thought it was a really good song.”

Long Long Time was released in 1970. It is featured on the Silk Purse album and received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Female Vocal Performance.

The classic tune was played three times during the devastating episode of The Last of Us, which depicted the tragic love story between Bill and Frank as they met under the cover of the apocalypse.

The episode was praised by fans and critics alike, with many stars praising Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett for their performances in the “painfully beautiful” love story that culminates in their deaths.

According to Spotify, streams for Linda’s song “Long, Long Time” increased 4900% in the US after the episode’s release on HBO Max.

Boom: The 76-year-old singer’s song received a boost in streaming numbers due to its use on the show, but that won’t help the Arizona native

Sell! She then explained that she sold her music catalog a few years ago and therefore will not receive any money to increase the streams (photo 2013).

Tragedy: The classic tune was played three times during the devastating episode of The Last of Us, which depicted the tragic love story between Bill and Frank as they met under the cover of the apocalypse

The surge in streaming after it appeared on the TV show was similar to the revival of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) after it was used in Stranger Things.

After going viral on TikTok and re-entering the charts in a number of countries, the track helped Kate achieve her first Top 5 single in America.

It peaked at number four on the US chart nearly four decades after its release, with the single originally first peaking at number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Emotional: The episode was praised by fans and critics, with many praising stars Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett for their performances

Massive surge: Streams for Linda’s song ‘Long, Long Time’ surged 4,900% in the US after the episode’s release on HBO Max, according to Spotify

Year of revival: The surge in streaming after it appeared on the TV show seemed to evoke the revival of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) after it was used in Stranger Things

The popular tune also peaked in Norway and Austria, with her album Hounds Of Love hitting number one on the Billboard Top Alternative Albums chart in the US.

Speaking about reaching the milestone, Kate said: “It’s all so exciting! Since the last post, ‘Running Up That Hill’ has gone to number 1 in Norway and Austria.

“This is great news and we just found out today that it jumped from #8 to #4 in the US.

Digital Music News reported a statistic claiming that the song’s streams increased by 9,000% as a result of the show and social media.

For the month after Stranger Things came out, it received $2.3 million in royalties, according to Fortune estimates.