How Pophouse Is Turning Iconic Music Into Immersive Franchises

In an era where legacy artists risk fading into the algorithmic noise, Pophouse Entertainment is rewriting the playbook transforming iconic music catalogs into immersive, cross-generational entertainment universes.

In their SXSW London session, Kim Nyström (Chief Marketing Officer) and Claire Houghton-Price (Chief Creative Officer) walked us through how brands like Avicii, Swedish House Mafia, Cyndi Lauper, and KISS aren’t just being remembered, they’re being reinvented for new cultural moments.

Legacy is Not Enough. Context is Everything.

With 90% of music consumption projected to be catalog-based by 2030, the question isn't whether legacy matters, it’s how to keep it relevant. Nyström and Houghton-Price made it clear: iconic songs survive, but it takes the right spark to bring them back into the spotlight.

Think Kate Bush re-charting 40 years later after Stranger Things or Nirvana’s Something in the Way finding new life in The Batman. This isn’t nostalgia, it’s narrative engineering. Pophouse’s job is to find those stories and amplify them.

Beyond Rights: Owning the Brand, Not Just the Music

Where most catalog investors stop at publishing or master rights, Pophouse takes it a step further, investing in the entire brand ecosystem. That includes creative development, storytelling, fan engagement, and IP activation across live experiences, film, fashion, and immersive tech.

This approach is built on five principles:

1. Artist-Centric Collaboration

2. Fan-First Strategy

3. Contextual Relevance

4. Story-Led Execution

5. Tech-Driven Scalability

From intimate talks with artists like Cyndi Lauper to tapping into TikTok surges around Angel Eyes (an ABBA deep cut not even featured in their latest album), Pophouse tracks where audiences are already connecting and builds from there.

Reimagining the KISS Brand One Avatar at a Time

Their most audacious project? A fully immersive KISS avatar show launching in Las Vegas. But this isn’t a gimmick it’s a long-term plan to make the brand future-proof.

• Digitally rebuilding the KISS Army into a global fan community

• Launching new content and merchandise lines powered by fan insights

• Producing a full-length KISS movie and documentary

• And yes, spitting blood, smashing guitars, and launching literal fire on stage (in digital form)

The avatars are powered by cutting-edge real-time rendering engines, originally built for gaming and film. What was once used to create Gollum in The Lord of the Rings is now fueling rock's most immortal comeback.

Turning Superfans Into Storytellers

One standout strategy is Pophouse’s “Superfan Path”, an initiative to give passionate fans a voice in shaping future experiences. Whether it’s co-creating new visuals or reactivating dormant social channels, superfans are no longer observers. They’re collaborators.

As Houghton-Price put it, “Fans don’t just listen. They carry the meaning.”

From the Studio to the Stage to the Metaverse

Pophouse isn’t just building fan experiences, they’re building franchises. The goal? To make artist legacies feel less like dusty museum pieces and more like dynamic, living worlds. That means pushing into emerging spaces: theme park-grade shows, real-time virtual concerts, and creative collaborations that blend fashion, film, and fandom.

🎧 The Takeaway

Music doesn’t need to be new to feel fresh. But it does need to be reframed, rediscovered, and reintroduced.

Pophouse is leading that movement, one story, one superfan, and one digital resurrection at a time.

Independently Created. Not affiliated with SXSW.

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