Kiss sell back catalogue and image rights for mouth-watering fee
After completing their farewell tour in 2023, Kiss have agreed a staggeringly lucrative deal with Pophouse Entertainment group, who have purchased the band’s name, logo, image, likeness rights and back catalogue.
Pophouse are the Swedish technology company responsible for the immersive Abba experience, currently ongoing in London. Now, they are set to lend their talents to keeping Kiss’ legacy alive by creating a similar show for the iconic rock group using avatars.
The deal is believed to be worth $300million, and according to Billboard, the Kiss avatar concert will become a reality in 2027. As of yet, a location hasn’t been confirmed for the project, but it will be in a city within the United States.
Speaking to Fortune, Gene Simmons said of the deal: “We went to see the ABBA show and it blew our socks off. And the technology since then has improved by leaps and bounds. We’ve seen sketches of what it will look like and we looked like the X-Men.”
Pophouse’s CEO, Per Sundin, was equally buoyant after striking the deal, telling the publication: “We have a lot of plans for Kiss. We want to keep to the legacy. We want to extend and amplify it for new generations.”
Kiss played their last ever concert on December 1st, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, which was also live-streamed on pay-per-view for fans worldwide. During the performance, they introduced digital avatars, who took to the stage to play the final song, ‘God Gave Rock and Roll to You’, as they signalled to the future.
Additionally, following the end of the concert, a press release was issued by the band that welcomed fans to “new era of Kiss”. In the material, they confirmed the Madison Square Garden was “marking the end of its physical existence by crossing into the digital world”, but Kiss would continue to “perform to fans for decades to come” digitally.
A new chapter has also begun for Simmons, who is set to tour as a solo artist for the first time this year. Furthermore, the rock legend recently announced the end of his makeup days as he embarks upon an exciting time in his career.
He also spoke about the virtual show, stating, “We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamt of before. The technology is going to make Paul [Stanley] jump higher than he’s ever done before … If you think you are going to get rid of us then that’s not going to happen.”
Watch Kiss perform at Madison Square Garden below.
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