In music mythology, the ‘never-ending tour’ is something often associated with songwriting legend Bob Dylan given he has not left the road for the last four decades. Farewell tours come and go. Some artists stay retired. Others reform, reinvent and reincarnate. Faced with the inevitable march of time, when iconic face-paint wearing American rockers KISS concluded their farewell tour at New York’s Madison Square Garden in December 2023, the KISS Army and the music world at large waited to see what was to come next for one of music’s most enigmatic and ubiquitous brands. Attendees at that final gig were treated to a preview when KISS revealed digital avatars playing ‘God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll to You II’.
With the April 2024 announcement that Swedish-based entertainment and music investment firm Pophouse co-founded by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus has acquired the band’s share of the KISS master recordings and publishing rights, trade marks, brand name and likeness, a clearer picture is emerging of what the future holds in store for KISS the brand. Those familiar with Pophouse will recall that the firm was an early investor with George Lucas’ special-effects company, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) (most well-known for its association with the Star Wars franchise) in the ABBA Voyage concert which is a fixture at ABBA Arena in London.
Just as fans of Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid are able to attend a performance by digital avatars of the Swedish band in their prime, KISS fans can look forward to a similar offering. ILM’s involvement is no small matter as fans of an up and coming Irish four-piece would be well aware. The technological powerhouse was also integral to the boundary breaking U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere in Las Vegas which fans and critics alike have praised for the experiential blurring of live performance and visual engagement. When combined seamlessly with live performance as seen in Paul McCartney’s Got Back tour duet with John Lennon of ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ the result can be magical.
With the precedent set and opportunities for immortality assuredly appealing to the ego of many a rock star or their estate, true to form the music industry is again creating revenue streams by repackaging and reformulating existing intellectual property. Given the ascent and domination of streaming, the widespread adoption of streaming platforms and the fact that legacy artist catalogues are now commonly seen by private equity as a dependable investable asset class, it seems clear that avatar-enabled legacy artist concerts represent a logical next step in securing revenue streams.
Whether fans engage and respond to avatar based performance in the same way as human interaction will remain to be seen. That said, adding artificial intelligence into the mix and maintaining a pre-requisite of ‘the artist as human’ may become of secondary concern to industry and investment stakeholders. K-pop star Mark Tuan’s ‘Digital Mark’ and K-pop girl group Aespa’s performances with digital twins are clearly just the beginning. However as noted in Nick Cave’s response to a fan’s ChatGPT generated approximation of a song ‘in the style of Nick Cave’, it remains to be seen whether what results is “a grotesque mockery of what it is to be human”.
For artists who have accumulated a career of creative content, the opportunities and potential collaborations for exploiting their copyright works (if they retain ownership) seem vast. At the same time, at the core of any future proofing strategy for many an artist will remain the humble trade mark. Securing a monopoly to market defining signs including names, logos, signatures, song and album titles and even artwork will remain a fundamental and essential prerequisite to best positioning the artist, band and brand to take advantage of future opportunities. KISS like The Rolling Stones, ABBA, AC/DC, Metallica, U2, Taylor Swift, Black Sabbath, Queen, 1D and Ben Harper are a handful of examples of artists that have invested in securing future revenue streams through trade mark registration.
“Nothin’ lasts forever…” opined Guns N Roses’ Axl Rose. What was was. What will be will be. Music purists may shudder at the mere mention of these developments but the redefinition of concert and fan experiences will only continue to evolve in creative and engaging ways as technology advances. Always more than just a band but a brand, Messrs Stanley, Simmons, Thayer and Singer ably assisted by Pophouse are poised to push KISS (or their digital avatars) into immortality.
This article forms part of DCC’s Music and IP initiative.