Pophouse
Pophouse Entertainment, the Swedish catalog company behind the virtual live show ABBA Voyage, said on Monday it raised a total of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) to invest in acquiring catalogs and entertainment experiences around those music rights.
The fundraise consists of 1 billion euros raised through a private equity fund, and 200 million euros ($216 million) raised through dedicated co-investment vehicles, where outside investors put money to work alongside the Fund in certain transactions. Roughly 30% of the fund has already been deployed into partnerships related to the acquisition of rights to songs by KISS, Cyndi Lauper, Avicii and Swedish House Mafia.
Founded by by ABBA member Björn Ulvaeus and Conni Jonsson, of the Swedish global investment firm EQT AB, Pophouse has been acquiring the publishing, recording and name, image and likeness rights to iconic pop catalogs and then building entertainment experiences around them, through theatrical and virtual shows, museums and movies.
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Pophouse’s playbook has been at work through productions like The Avicii Experience, a tribute museum to the late dance music producer that opened in his hometown of Stockholm, Sweden, in 2021; Mamma Mia! The Party, an interactive dinner party set in London theater modeled after a taverna from the Greek island of Skopelos; ABBA Voyage, the band’s wildly successful virtual show that uses ABBA-tars to digitally depict the foursome as they looked in 1979, and ABBA The Museum, which opened in 2013.
KISS, which sold its name and likeness rights to Pophouse, has hinted that a virtual performance of its songs could launch in Las Vegas in 2027.
“By investing across publishing, recording, and brand rights, Pophouse has created a uniquely attractive prospect not only for investors but also for artists, empowering them to explore and amplify their legacy to new generations of fans,” Pophouse managing partner Johan Lagerlöf, said in a statement.
Pophouse’s CEO is Per Sundin, the first music industry label executive to partner with Spotify when he at Universal Music Sweden and president of the labe’s Nordic region business. Jonsson recruiting Sundin to helm Pophouse with the intention of taking advantage of the external business opportunities music rights present in the streaming era.
“Facing unprecedented disruption caused by streaming and technology, music intellectual property presents a differentiated, lifetime opportunity for investors,” Jonsson said in a statement. “We are reshaping the entertainment industry by applying an active, value-add approach that unlocks future generations for fandom.”
The Swedish company Pophouse has been a player in the rights market since 2022. Led by former Universal Music Sweden chief Per Sundin, they backed ABBA’s Voyage show in London, and acquired rights from Swedish House Mafia and Avicii.
Now the company has announced its first deal with a U.S. artist, the rainbow-haired pop icon Cyndi Lauper. The deal includes the majority share of Lauper’s publishing as well as her royalties from her recorded music. Lauper has sold more than 50 million records worldwide, with hits including “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “True Colors,” and she has writing credits on some of her biggest hits, including “Time After Time” and “She Bop.” (The deal does not include her Broadway music, which includes the hit show Kinky Boots.) The share acquired by Pophouse was not disclosed.
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Pophouse, which was founded in 2014 by investor Conni Jonsson and ABBA frontman Björn Ulvaeus, is known for trying to add value to its rights acquisitions with creative productions and installations, including ABBA Voyage in London, which uses virtual “ABBAtars” in a live musical show. It also operates the “Avicii Experience” museum in Stockholm, and it is working with KISS on its next avatar show.
The deal announcement says that Pophouse will “create new content and experiences to enrich Cyndi Lauper’s catalogue for fans old and new,” although it does not provide specific details. As an ‘80s icon, though, Lauper would be ideal for a show or a museum that could appeal to a broad audience worldwide. Fans just want to have fun, after all.
“Pophouse has impressed me with their commitment to maintaining and developing my professional life’s work and ensuring its legacy,” Lauper said in the press release about the deal. “Their creativity and vision, combined with my continued involvement via our unique joint venture is what is most exciting to me.”
Pophouse did not say whether the deal includes name, image and likeness rights, although it will work with Lauper on a joint venture, which presumably has the permissions it needs to create installations or experiences around the pop star’s career. “We set ourselves apart through our emphasis on artist and brand development so that we can nurture the value of our investment,” Sundin said in the press release, “and we are pleased Cyndi endorses our vision for her remarkable catalogue of work.”
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