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by Mick the Ram
One of the biggest arena rock acts of the last 50 years have agreed to sell its back catalogue of songs, effectively marking their retirement.
Kiss, who have sold upwards of 100 million records since arriving on the scene in the 1970’s, have secured a deal with Stockholm-based Pophouse Entertainment for not just their music, but also their brand, likeness and intellectual property.
Although the financial terms were not disclosed, it is believed that the Swedish investors paid upwards of $300m (£237m) to secure the transaction, which will see them able to create future AI-generated content.
Pophouse previously collaborated with the band on a digital avatar project at the end of last year, similar to another of their productions – the Abba Voyage concerts.
Renowned for their striking make-up and larger-than-life performances, Kiss have recently been performing live on their End of the Road World Tour.
Facing up to the future
Kiss were founded back in 1973 by singers Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. Also in the line-up back then were Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, and quickly the band earned themselves iconic status for their spectacular use of face paint.
Their hits include: Rock And Roll All Nite, God of Thunder, Black Diamond, I Was Made For Lovin’ You and Crazy Crazy Nights. After a spell out of the limelight, they appeared again in 1983, minus the face paint, which lead to something of a resurgence. They would later re-mask towards the end of the 1990’s.
Still involved in the brand development
Simmons, now 74-years-old, has always widely been regarded as the entrepreneurial heart of the band and following this surprise sale he remained tight-lipped as to the actual money involved, although he did tease that “we will be able to pay our rent!”
He then was quick to add: “For any amount of money we wouldn’t get into bed with the wrong folks”. He then spoke of why this deal was perfect. “The best thing about this is who we’re doing the deal with, about the collaborative nature and about how we’ve met our newest best friends for the rest of our lives.”
Continuing, the lead singer added that moving forward, both Mr Stanley and himself would continue to be closely involved with the ongoing development of the brand and AI-generated material that leans into the band’s library of work, remarking: “You can’t just hand it over to somebody, although we have shared vision and we will now be forever young and forever iconic”.
His co-founder, also now in his seventies, spoke of how amazing their accomplishments had been, but said that was not enough. He insisted that Kiss deserved to “live on” because essentially: “the band is bigger than we are” and he was excited to see it immortalised.
Fans around the globe
The CEO of Pophouse, Per Sundin, proclaimed the thriving partnership by singing the praises of the band. “They have a unique IP in the make-up, in the dresses and the personas, and they have fantastic music, with fans all over the world, in all the generations.”
On the same page, Head of Investment, Johan Lagerlof, said they are one of the most recognised and iconic bands in the history of music; adding that the Americans: “Redefined the concept of rock shows and have always taken their artistry to new uncharted territories.”
Money-spinner
The incredible technology that recreated an Abba concert from the 1970’s in a custom-built London arena, brings in an estimated £2 million every week. In those shows each member of the band has a lifelike avatar, designed by George Lucas’ visual effects company: Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), but it would seem that for Kiss, their characters will be far removed in appearance.
When they played at Madison Square Gardens, in New York recently, their avatars actually were 8 feet tall, breathing fire and shooting electricity from their fingers, while floating high above the audience’s heads.
The current line-up has guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer, alongside Stanley and Simmons and it is thought only these will be part of the future shows in avatar form. It is not expected that original members like Peter Criss and Ace Frehley will feature.
In good company
KISS are the latest artist to sign to Pophouse, after it was revealed that Cyndi Lauper has signed a deal with the company. These holographic projections and digital visuals are very much part of the progressive direction that the entertainment and music industry is heading, with the likes of you U2 and Elvis Presley also joining the party.
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