Thank You for the Music: ABBA backed firm snaps up Swedish House Mafia’s music catalogue
ABBA-backed entertainment firm Pophouse has snapped up the back catalogue of electric music pioneers Swedish House Mafia.
The Stockholm-based firm was formed in 2014 by ABBA member Björn Ulvaeus and Pophouse is best-known for its development of brand-building enterprises in music, such as the forthcoming ABBA Voyage show in London, virtual experiences and gaming.
On today’s announcement, 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”.
He added: “While our landmark agreement with them involves the acquisition of the recordings and publishing of their back catalog, 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.”
Upon signing their agreement with Pophouse, 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.”
Pophouse’s head of investments, Johan Lagerlöf, recently left his role as global head of catalogUE at Spotify, and said the Swedish House Mafia snap up was “just a starting point in the relationship.”
As the company expands its sights beyond Sweden, Pophouse has appointed former Capitol Music Group and Columbia Records head Steve Barnett to the company’s Investment Advisory Committee and charged him with leading 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.
Meanwhile, Swedish House Mafia garners nearly 19 million listeners a month on Spotify, and have built a singular career through the trio’s groundbreaking live performances, multiple singles, EPs, compilation and live albums, and groundbreaking music videos that have accumulated billions of streams and views.