Kiss, a hard rock band, sold its songs catalog to a Swedish music investor for an estimated $300 million (£237 million).
Pophouse Entertainment, based in Stockholm, also purchased the group’s intellectual property, likeness, and trademark. With this sale, the band is ending its End of the Road World Tour with live performances.
Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan have both sold their back catalogs for sums exceeding a million dollars. At $500 million (£395 million) and $450 million (£355 million), respectively, both musicians sold to major record labels.
Although specifics of the Kiss agreement are unknown, it is believed to be less than the Michael Jackson back library sale ($600 million/£474 million) but comparable to that of the British band Genesis. But Pophouse will hold the full Kiss brand, including sales of intellectual property, in addition to the music rights. This will enable the Swedish company to produce more AI-generated material in the future.
Based on a similar idea, the business, which had previously worked with Kiss on a digital avatar project in December last year, also staged the Abba Voyage performances.
Background
Lead singers Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley formed Kiss in 1973. Ace Frehley and Peter Criss were featured in the opening lineup, which rose to fame for their distinctive face paint.
The band achieved success in the 1970s, releasing hits including God of Thunder and Rock and Roll All Nite.
They made their paint-free face debut in 1983 and experienced a slight comeback. It was called their “unmasking” at the time. Then, in the late 1990s, they assumed new masks.
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