Sophia Michaels
Pophouse Entertainment now owns 75 percent of Avicii’s recording and publishing rights. On Wednesday, the music investment firm co-founded by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus announced that it had acquired most of the catalog’s publishing rights and masters from the estate of the late DJ.
It’s unclear what the terms of the deal are, but Variety estimates it to be nine figures.
“Pophouse has presented a concrete concept and proposal for the long-term care and development of Tim’s musical heritage,” said Avicii’s father, Klas Bergling, in a statement. “An important part of the negotiation about the catalog sale has been to retain sufficient control and personal involvement in its continued development for a long time to come, and ensure a dignified tone in activities related to Tim’s music, his legacy, and connection with his ever-growing fanbase.”
Avicii’s family will work closely with the company and will retain the remaining 25 percent. (Pophouse and Avicii’s estate already work together for an interactive museum about the late DJ called the Avicii experience.)
Pophouse — which has received investments from the likes of execs at Universal Music Group and Capitol Music Group — also runs the ABBA Museum and is the lead investor for ABBA Voyage in London. The new acquisition follows Pophouse acquiring Swedish House Mafia’s catalog earlier this year. The CEO of Pophouse, Per Sundin, originally signed Avicii to Universal Sweden in 2010.
“Tim was not only one of the world’s best DJs, he was an extremely productive genius who always went his own way, mixing genres, challenging conventions and creating music history,” Sundin said in a statement. “I followed his whole journey, and it is with honor and pride that I and the entire Pophouse company, together with the Bergling family, will nurture and introduce his music to new generations of listeners in all parts of the world.”
Avicii died in April 2018 by suicide at the age of 28.
