KISS sells its music catalogue and intellectual property rights

On 4th April, the rock band KISS announced that they had decided to sell their intellectual property rights and music catalogue to the Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment Group.

The deal includes the band's entire catalogue of music, as well as several IP-protected elements of its iconic brand, such as its name, logo and even distinctive face paint designs which all have been registered as trade marks. The exact value of the sale has not yet been disclosed, but it has been estimated to be worth around €300 million.

While the group has confirmed that they have no plans to return to the stage they have also pointed out that this is not a simple acquisition, but a collaboration with Pophouse, co-founded by ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus. Indeed in addition to the full catalogue of songs and trade marks, Pophouse also acquired the right to create and use digitalised avatars of the band members (created with technology from Industrial Light & Magic, a company founded by the famous George Lucas), with the claimed intention not only to keep the essence of KISS alive, but also to introduce the band to new generations. To this end, a biopic, a documentary and a unique KISS experience with the digital avatars are planned for release.