Pophouse—the Swedish label that sponsored ABBA's Voyage to London show and owns music rights to Swedish House Mafia, Avicii and Cyndi Lauper—is acquiring KISS' publishing, recording rights and trademarks, including both the band's logo as well as his iconic makeup design. The deal, announced on April 4, will result in a virtual KISS show produced by Pophouse, using the same technology as ABBA's Voyage.
“We have a lot of plans for KISS,” says Pophouse CEO Per Sundin Advertising sign. Although Sundin says the company bought the rights held by frontmen Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, they will work with the company to develop the show, which is expected to open in 2027 in a US city that Sundin declined to name . “We want to stay in the legacy,” says Sundin. “We want to expand it and strengthen it for new generations.”
The band became interested in a possible deal when manager Doc McGhee saw Voyage “and liked it and contacted us,” says Sundin. During the band's End of the Road world tour, the two sides met in Milan and Stockholm, brainstorming what a digital show might look like.
“We went to see the ABBA show and it blew our socks off,” says Simmons Advertising sign. “And the technology since then has improved by leaps and bounds. We've seen sketches of what it's going to look like and we looked like the X-Men.”
Like dozens of other investors, Pophouse buys rights to songs and in some cases recordings or similes. But it tends to take a more hands-on approach than most, focusing on theatrical or immersive entertainment, rather than simply collecting royalties. In addition to the ABBA exhibition, he runs the ABBA Museum and the Avicii Experience, both in Stockholm.
The concept of an avatar-centric virtual show seems perfect for KISS, whose concerts have always been spectacle-heavy. “It's all theater,” says Simmons. “We wanted an incredible theater.”
During his career, KISS inspired the KISS Army, which was built around an act that could be described as the hottest brand in the country, with offerings that included KISS Condoms and a KISS Kasket. (Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell was buried in one donated by Simmons.) Now, after the End of the Road tour, “the end is actually the beginning,” Simmons says. “If you're a caterpillar that can't imagine what the future will look like, you think of the cocoon as the end, and it's the end of the caterpillar, but it can't imagine growing wings and growing into this beautiful creature that flies in the skies.” .
Pophouse would not comment on the terms of the deal, which are likely more complicated than a simple rights purchase. At this point, the band may be better known for their concerts than their songs. But the deal includes those, plus recording rights. Pophouse also has a good relationship with UMG, which owns the band's recordings, as Sundin was previously CEO of Universal Music Sweden and president of Universal Music Nordics. The band's trademarks were owned by Simmons and Stanley, including the makeup designs for their characters: The Demon (Simmons), the Starchild (Stanley), Spaceman (originally Ace Frehley, more recently Tommy Thayer) and Catman (originally Peter Criss, more recently Eric Singer).
