April 4, 2024
Image source, Getty Images
Hard rock band Kiss have sold their back catalog of songs to a Swedish music investor for an amount believed to be more than $300m (£237m).
Stockholm-based Pophaus Entertainment also bought the group's brand, likeness and intellectual property.
The sale means the band will retire from live performances on the End of the Road World Tour.
Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen have also sold their back catalogs for millions of dollars.
Both artists were sold to major music houses for $500m (£395m) and $450m (£355m) respectively.
Details of Kiss' deal have not been disclosed, but it is similar to the deal with British band Genesis, but less than the $600m/£474m back catalog sale of Michael Jackson's work. It is believed that.
However, the pop house will not only own the rights to the music, but the entire Kiss brand, including sales of intellectual property, which will allow the Swedish company to generate AI-generated content in the future.
Kiss was founded in 1973 by lead singer Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. The opening lineup, which also included Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, became famous for their iconic face paint.
Image source, Getty Images
During their heyday in the 1970s, the band had hits like “Rock and Roll All Night” and “God of Thunder.”
In 1983, they made a comeback of sorts, appearing without face paint for the first time. This was known as “unmasking.” It was then remasked in the late 1990s.
“Cooperative”
Kiss has sold approximately 100 million records over the past 50 years.
Gene Simmons, who is widely known as the central figure in the band's entrepreneurial spirit, answered a question on the BBC World Business Report about the size of the money involved.
He didn't give an exact number, but teased it could be “billions of dollars” and suggested that would be a high and “unfair” claim.
“I could pay the rent, but no matter how much money I had, I wouldn't end up in bed with the wrong people,” he said.
“The best part of this deal was who we were dealing with, the collaborative nature, and how we met new best friends who will be with us for the rest of our lives.”
Pop House CEO Per Sundin also praised the partnership in an interview with the BBC.
“Sharing the vision”
“They have a unique IP in make-up, dress and persona, they have great music and they have fans of all generations all over the world,” he told the BBC.
Simmons, who sang and played bass with the band, will continue to be closely involved with the brand's ongoing development and the AI-generated material that will be incorporated into the band's library, along with co-founder and co-lead singer Paul Stanley. It's a schedule. for work.
He characterized the ongoing relationship as that of a mother and her baby.
“Mothers see their children grow up and get married and so on, but you can never get rid of the mother,” he said. “We shared a vision, but you can't just hand it over to someone else.”
Kiss is known as a prolific marketer of branded products. Simmons said he has stamped his brand on 5,000 products, from coffee to condoms and even caskets.
For a man who also told the BBC that “more money is always good”, is there anything they wouldn't sell?
“Kiss crack is probably not a good idea. Kiss cigarettes are no good. But the rest of the world is open. Why not? Branding makes things fun.”