Kiss is selling the band's catalog, brand name and intellectual property in a deal valued at more than $300 million

It's not really the end of the road for Kiss. The rock quartet has sold its catalog, brand name and intellectual property to Sweden's Pophouse Entertainment Group in a deal valued at more than $300 million, it was announced Thursday.

This isn't the first time Kiss has collaborated with Pophouse, which was co-founded by ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus. when the band's current lineup — founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons plus guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer — took the stage at the concert. The last night of the farewell tour And in December at New York City's famous Madison Square Garden, they ended with the reveal Digital avatars From themselves.

This cutting-edge technology was created by George Lucas's special effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, in partnership with Pophouse. The two companies recently teamed up for Show “Abba's Journey”. in London, where fans can catch a full concert of the Swedish band in their heyday, as performed by their digital avatars.

The ways Kiss avatars will be used have not yet been announced, but Pophouse CEO Per Sundin says fans can expect a biopic, a documentary, and a Kiss experience on the horizon.

The avatar show is scheduled to launch in the second half of 2027 — but don't expect it to look like “ABBA Voyage,” Sundin told the AP. Fans can expect it to launch in North America.

Sundin says the point of the purchase is Expose Qibla to new generations – which he believes sets Pophouse apart from others Other acquisitions of music catalogs.

“The record labels, the big three that are left, are doing a great job, but they have too many catalogs and can't focus on everything,” he says. “We're working with Universal (Music Group) and Kiss, even though we'll own the rights to the artists, and we're doing it in collaboration with Kiss. ​​But yeah, we've bought all the rights, and that's not something I've seen clear before.

“I don't like acquiring words.” Gene Simmons The band would never sell its catalog to a label that didn't value it, AP says over Zoom, emphasizing that the band would never sell its catalog to a label that didn't value it.

“Collaboration is exactly what it's about. It would be a dereliction of our inferred fiduciary duty—see what I just did there?—to the very thing we were created to give away. “People might misunderstand and think, well, now Bubhouse is doing these things and we're 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 in particular, with the band, are going to stay committed to this. It's our baby.”

And that includes: no more live touring, for real. “We'll never tour like Kiss Period again,” he says. “We're not going to put on makeup and go out there.”

Kiss is Pophouse's second investment outside Sweden: In February, Cyndi Lauper entered into a partnership with the company that includes selling the product. Majority share of her music And a new immersive performance project she calls “an immersive theater piece” that transports audiences to the New York where she grew up.

The goal is to develop new ways to bring Lauper's music to fans and younger audiences through new performances and live experiences.

“Most suits, when you tell them an idea, their eyes light up, and they just want your greatest hits,” Lauber told the AP at Pubhouse headquarters in Stockholm in February. “But these guys are a multimedia company, and they're not just looking to buy my catalog, they want to make something new.”