The rock band KISS has sold its music catalog, brand name, and intellectual property to Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment Group, but the band’s frontman insists the deal is more of a “collaboration,” not an acquisition.
The deal, announced on Thursday, is estimated to be worth over $300 million, per the AP. KISS had previously partnered with Pophouse to debut digitized avatars of themselves at the band’s farewell concert in December.
“The record companies, the three big ones that are left, they’re doing a fantastic job, but they have so many catalogs and they can’t focus on everything,” Pophouse CEO Per Sundin said. “We work together with Universal (Music Group) and KISS, even though we will own the artists rights, and we’re doing it in conjunction with KISS. But yes, we bought all rights, and that’s not something I’ve seen that clear before.”
He added that upcoming projects may include a biopic, a documentary, and a KISS experience. Sundin also discussed how he plans to use cutting-edge technology to expose the 1970s rock band to new generations of fans.
“I don’t like the word acquisition,” KISS frontman Gene Simmons told the outlet of the deal.
“Collaboration is exactly what it’s about. It would be remiss in our inferred fiduciary duty — see what I just did there? — to the thing that we created to abandon it,” he told AP. “People might misunderstand and think, ‘OK, now Pophouse is doing that stuff and we’re just in Beverly Hills twiddling our thumbs.’ No, that’s not true. We’re in the trenches with them. We talk all the time. We share ideas. It’s a collaboration. Paul (Stanley) and I especially, with the band, we’ll stay committed to this. It’s our baby.”
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Simmons reiterated that the band’s touring days are over, and future concerts will all be digital. “We’re not going to tour again as KISS, period,” he said. “We’re not going to go put the makeup on and go out there.”
A KISS avatar show is slated for 2027. Pophouse is the same company that partnered with George Lucas’ special-effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, to put on a fully digital ABBA show in London. ABBA Voyage debuted in May 2022.
Pophouse has also partnered with musician Cyndi Lauper, purchasing the majority share of her music and announcing a new immersive performance project.