Kiss has sold their music catalog, name, likeness, and image for a whopping $300 million.
The iconic rock band has struck a deal with Pophouse Entertainment, the group behind ABBA's Voyage hologram experience, giving away everything - down to their iconic makeup designs.
While details of the deal with the Sweden-based music investment firm are being kept private, Bloomberg reports that they paid over $300 million. Pophouse's CEO Per Sundin says that the goal of their purchase is to expose KISS to a new generation.
"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," he shared. "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."
Frontman Gene Simmons also spoke out about the deal, divulging that the choice came after a thoughtful consensus from the band. The group assures fans that they would not have sold their IP to a company that they did not appreciate.
"I don't like the word acquisition," Simmons shares. "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."
The deal seemingly opens a new horizon for Kiss, with a biopic, documentary, and "KISS experience" now all looking likely.
"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."
Among the plans that come as part of the new collaboration is a Kiss hologram concert, similar to ABBA's successful U.K. Voyage show. In fact, ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus is a founder of the company.
Audiences already got a first look at the Kiss holograms when Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer unveiled their hologram avatars during their final concert at Madison Square Garden. Sundin went on to tease that the experience would launch in North America.
Kiss and ABBA are not the only ones cashing in on their likeness. Cyndi Lauper launched a partnership with the company in February, selling the majority share of her music to create an "immersive theater piece." The new project will use Lauper's music to transport audiences to the New York that she grew up in.
As Lauper also continues to develop fresh ways to bring her music to a younger audience, she assures her followers that "they're not looking to just buy my catalog, they want to make something new."
