Pophouse Entertainment has acquired the catalogue of Swedish House Mafia.
The Stockholm-based company has agreed a deal for the master recordings and publishing (including their writer’s shares) of the trio’s back catalogue. It will form a joint venture with its members to develop and amplify the Swedish House Mafia brand worldwide.
The agreement also includes Pophouse’s full acquisition of the masters and publishing of Axwell^Ingrosso.
Pophouse CEO Per Sundin said: “Swedish House Mafia is a groundbreaking trio that brought club music to stadiums around the world, and they continue to pave the way in contemporary electronic and dance music. We are so excited to be partnering with them to tell that story for generations to come.
“While our landmark agreement with them involves the acquisition of the recordings and publishing of their back catalogue, it is our first-of-its-kind joint venture with the band’s members that exemplifies the types of partnerships we are pursuing in our targeted expansion.”
The members of Swedish House Mafia said: “It feels great for us to partner up with a company like Pophouse that will do much more than simply acquire our creative work. Pophouse will invest funds, know-how and resources to bring our music into areas of entertainment where it hasn’t been before and for new audiences to discover our legacy.”
Swedish House Mafia, who have 19 million monthly listeners on Spotify, release a new album next month.
Pophouse head of investments, Johan Lagerlöf, who recently left his role as global head of catalogue at Spotify, said: ”For Pophouse an acquisition is just a starting point in the relationship. We are here to invest further in brand-building activities that amplify artist legacies to new audiences and develop new revenue streams as we’ve done so successfully in our other endeavours. Pophouse is not replacing any existing stakeholder, but is joining forces with artists’ existing teams and partners to grow the business for all.”
Pophouse will bring our music into areas of entertainment where it hasn’t been before
Swedish House Mafia
Pophouse is known for its development of brand-building enterprises in music, such as the forthcoming ABBA Voyage show in London.
As the company expands its sights beyond Sweden, Pophouse has appointed former Capitol Music Group head Steve Barnett to the company’s Investment Advisory Committee. He will lead the company’s targeted outreach with US- and UK-based rights-holders to invest in and jointly build upon the legacies of iconic entertainment brands.
Barnett said: ”I’ve known Per and Johan for many years, and have worked closely with them on so many endeavours on behalf of artists. I also had the pleasure of helping to relaunch the illustrious ABBA catalogue in America at Capitol, and [ABBA member and Pophouse founder] Björn Ulvaeus is simply one of the most creative and forward-thinking artists and executives in the history of our business.
“I’m thrilled to be joining them and the entire Pophouse team as we forge new partnerships on behalf of artists in the US, UK and beyond.”
Pophouse was formed in 2014 by ABBA member Björn Ulvaeus and EQT founder and chair of the EQT board, Conni Jonsson, as a venture when the company created the ABBA Museum in Stockholm.
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