KISS Just Sold Its Music Catalog and Name for Over $300 Million
KISS just cashed in on half a century of face painting and shredding.
The world-famous rock band has sold its music catalog, name, image, and likeness to Swedish entertainment and music investment firm Pophouse. The agreement includes master recordings and publishing rights, according to a statement shared on Thursday. Financial terms of the private deal are not being disclosed, but a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Pophouse paid more than $300 million to close.
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Pophouse says it plans to amplify the KISS legacy worldwide, ensuring that the band’s legendary songs, enigmatic personas, and iconic aesthetics endure for many more years. The firm added that work on a biopic, an avatar show, and a KISS-themed experience is already underway. In fact, the KISS avatars were previewed during the band’s final show at Madison Square Garden on December 2, 2023.
Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley founded KISS in the early 1970s. The band began playing around New York City to rather small audiences, before quickly rocketing to fame with thrilling live performances and hit after hit. The band has sold over 100 million albums throughout its 50-year career and has retained a loyal, multi-generational fanbase.
“The band has consistently been able to appeal to new generations of fans and our mission is to fulfill the band’s vision to become immortal, and to let new generations discover and be part of the KISS journey and carry it forward,” said Pophouse’s head of investment Johan Lagerlöf.
Bassist and KISS co-founder Simmons, a.k.a. the Demon, and his bandmates will play key roles in the respective Pophouse projects. “We have always been breaking new ground in popular culture, and this partnership will ensure that we continue to do so for years to come,” Simmons explained. “Because what Pophouse is doing, is breaking rules.”
Pophouse has already made an avatar show for Swedish band ABBA. ABBA Voyage is raking in more than $1 million a week, as thousands of fans head to a purpose-built arena in London to watch avatars of Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid perform the group’s greatest hits. (Coincidentally, Pophouse was founded by ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus and Swedish investor Conni Jonsson.) The partnership with KISS is Pophouse’s second investment outside of Sweden, following the acquisition of Cyndi Lauper’s music catalog.
It shouldn’t be long before we see the fruits of the KISS and Pophouse partnership, either. A full avatar show is planned to launch in 2027, Pophouse says. “We already have several plans in development, where the avatar show is one, a biopic another, and a KISS-themed experience a third,” added Simmons. “The future could not be more exciting!”
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