Kiss sells catalog, name, IP to Pophouse Entertainment Group

You’d never think you would have metal gods Kiss in the same sentence as ABBA, but a deal has been struck between Kiss and the company co-founded by the Swedish band’s Björn Ulvaeus.

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Pophouse Entertainment Group, which Ulvaeus co-founded, is now the owner of Kiss’ catalog, brand name and intellectual property (IP) after both sides signed a deal estimated to be more than $300 million, The Associated Press reported.

Pophouse and Kiss had partnered in the past when the rock band created digitized avatars of themselves which debuted during Kiss’ final night of their farewell tour. The virtual band was created by George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic in a partnership with Pophouse using technology that also brought ABBA back to the stage together.

The avatar version of Kiss is expected to begin in some form in 2027 in North America, Sundin said.

“ABBA Voyage” started in London in July 2022, grossing more than $1 million a week, Variety reported. There are plans to take “Voyage” on a world tour.

Pophouse CEO Per Sundin said there also is a biopic, documentary and Kiss experience in the works.

Kiss frontman Gene Simmons said it was not an acquisition adding that the band will be working closely with Pophouse to collaborate.

“We’ll stay committed to this. It’s our baby,” he said.

“Kiss has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and has throughout their 50-year career continued to push the boundaries in popular culture. The band’s enigmatic personas, unparalleled band attributes, and iconic imagery have made them a cultural force and a legendary act with multigenerational appeal,” Sundin said, according to Variety.

“We will safeguard and enrich this legacy through future global endeavors, by breathing new life into their characters and personas while also leveraging and elevating the visual world of KISS.”

Kiss started in 1973 when Simmons and Paul Stanley had performed together in a band called Wicked Lester and signed with Casablanca Records. They brought on Ace Frehley and Peter Criss and while the group has changed several times over the years, Simmons and Stanley were the bedrock of the group, Variety reported.

Pophouse also owns a majority share of Cyndi Lauper’s music and is working on an “immersive theater piece” that takes fans back in time to the New York of the “True Colors” singer, the AP reported.

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Through the years FEBRUARY 18: (L-R) Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of the rock and roll band Kiss pose for a portrait for the cover of their self-entitled first album "Kiss" which was released on February 18, 1974. (Photo by Ginny Winn/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) (Ginny Winn/Getty Images)

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