Last year, ABBA, one of the most successful pop groups of all time, announced their return after 40 years with what they called a “revolutionary’ new concert format called ABBA Voyage.
The Voyage concert sees the group perform digitally with a live 10-piece band, in a purpose-built arena in London.
ABBA Voyage has been wildly popular. Bloomberg reported in September that ‘the venue is 99% full every night’ and that the show ‘is making more than $2 million a week’.
Voyage was created by ABBA in conjunction with Sweden-headquartered Pophouse Entertainment and Industrial Light & Magic, the George Lucas-founded and Disney-owned visual effects company most famous for working on Star Wars properties through the decades.
Founding ABBA member Björn Ulvaeus is a shareholder in, and board member of, Pophouse. The company is led by former Universal Music Sweden Managing Director Per Sundin.
Following the success of ABBA Voyage in London, another legendary band, KISS, have immortalized themselves with digital avatars, claiming to become the first US band to go fully virtual.
After a 50-year career and sales of over 100 million records worldwide, the iconic US rock n’ roll act have partnered with Pophouse Entertainment Group on their own avatar show.
KISS handed over the stage to their digital avatars at their final live performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City over the weekend. The Avatars performed an encore of God Gave Rock And Roll To You.
According to Pophouse, following the physical band’s final performance, Pophouse Entertainment Group will “continue to champion the KISS legacy for fans old and new, and for all generations”.
The new KISS avatar shows will be the second immersive, avatar-powered music concert project that Pophouse Entertainment is involved in – following the ABBA Voyage show in London, UK, where Pophouse is the lead investor.
Thierry Coup, former Chief Creative Officer, SVP at Universal Destinations & Experiences has been named as the Creative Director of the upcoming avatar show.
The KISS avatars were also created by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), which is credited for the visual effects in movies and franchises such as Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and episodic series such as The Mandalorian, among others.
“We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamed of before.”
Gene Simmons
Commenting on the partnership with ILM and Pophouse, KISS bassist and co-founder Gene Simmons said: “We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamed of before.
“The technology is going to make Paul jump higher than he’s ever done before.”
“What we’ve accomplished has been amazing, but it’s not enough. The band deserves to live on because the band is bigger than we are.”
Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley, lead vocalist and co-founder of the band, said: “What we’ve accomplished has been amazing, but it’s not enough. The band deserves to live on because the band is bigger than we are.”
“It’s exciting for us to go the next step and see KISS immortalized. I mean, we’ve spent 50 years building it to this point. And by working with ILM and working with Pophouse, we’re all sharing this vision of taking KISS to a completely different level beyond being just a music band. And we’ve always thought of ourselves as more than just a music band.”
“Our partnership will fuse the rich history and iconic status of KISS with cutting-edge technology, allowing fans – now and in the future – to experience the band like never before.”
Per Sundin, Pophouse Entertainment
Per Sundin, CEO of Pophouse Entertainment, said: “Pophouse Entertainment Group is thrilled to embark on this transformative journey with KISS, and showcase to fans what is on the horizon as part of future avatar show.
“Our partnership will fuse the rich history and iconic status of KISS with cutting-edge technology, allowing fans – now and in the future – to experience the band like never before.”
Aside from its investment in the ABBA Voyage concert experience, Pophouse also has investments in the likes Sweden-based Snafu Records, and the masters and publishing catalog of Avicii, among others.
Music Business Worldwide