Iron Maiden Sell 50% of Music and Likeness Rights to Pophouse Entertainment

The partnership will fund the Infinite Dreams Museum, cinematic projects, and an expanded digital presence for mascot Eddie.

Iron Maiden have sold a 50-percent stake in the rights to their music and likenesses to Pophouse Entertainment, the Swedish investment company behind the ABBA Voyage hologram show and the forthcoming slate of KISS avatar productions. The deal, which the parties say has been in development for over a year, was announced via press release and confirmed by Billboard, and it positions Pophouse as a major creative and financial partner for the band’s next chapter.

What the Pophouse Deal Covers

The agreement gives Pophouse a 50-percent stake in Iron Maiden’s music catalog and likenesses, a structure that mirrors the kind of catalog and IP partnerships Pophouse has pursued with other legacy acts. Longtime Maiden manager Rod Smallwood framed the deal as an accelerant for projects the band had already been planning.

Smallwood said, “I am very excited about our relationship with Pophouse and the ability we now have to pursue, facilitate, and finance our many plans and dreams quicker than we ever hoped. The interest in the band has never been bigger and this strategic partnership, which we’ve been quietly working together on now for over a year, has already had results with the progress on the Infinite Dreams Museum and the filming of the current show.”

Infinite Dreams Museum and Cinematic Projects

The first visible fruit of the partnership was the Infinite Dreams Museum, staged during the band’s recent Eddfest at Knebworth. The installation displayed a range of artifacts and exhibits documenting the band’s extensive history.

Further planned projects include cinematic material to be shown during live shows, filming of the shows themselves for potential theatrical release, and an expanded digital presence for Eddie, the band’s zombie mascot. One immediate example: the filming of the band’s Paris La Défense show, which was cut short by a curfew, was captured for intended cinematic release.

Eddie’s World Gets Bigger

Iron Maiden’s co-manager Dave Shack, who heads Phantom Music, the team responsible for a range of Maiden-adjacent projects, described the creative scope the partnership opens up. Shack said, “Rod & Andy have always encouraged and inspired us to take chances in developing Eddie and the worlds he inhabits, such as horror, gaming, or comic books. The band provides the cornerstone of what Maiden is – superlative music and incredible live shows, and the Phantom Team have focused on developing parts of Maiden lore that we think our fans will embrace and enjoy.”

Shack listed existing Maiden-related initiatives as including “an award-winning mobile game, a global fan club offering, a vibrant drinks business, books and comics and, of course, merchandising in all its forms,” adding that Pophouse “have already shown they belong” in that creative space. Iron Maiden had previously explored gaming territory with a small computer game packaged with their album The Final Frontier, giving the Phantom team a foundation to build on.

Run For Your Lives Tour Coming This Summer

Iron Maiden are currently preparing for their upcoming “Run For Your Lives” North American tour, with Megadeth and Anthrax confirmed as support acts.

What we know

• Iron Maiden have sold a 50-percent stake in their music and likeness rights to Pophouse Entertainment.
• Pophouse is the company behind the ABBA Voyage hologram show and an upcoming slate of KISS avatar productions.
• The partnership has been in development for over a year, according to manager Rod Smallwood.
• The first collaboration between Iron Maiden and Pophouse was the Infinite Dreams Museum, held during Eddfest at Knebworth.
• Planned projects include cinematic releases, in-show film content, and expanding the digital footprint of Eddie, the band’s mascot.
• The band’s Paris La Défense show, which was cut short by a curfew, was filmed for intended cinematic release.
• Iron Maiden’s upcoming “Run For Your Lives” North American tour features Megadeth and Anthrax as support acts.

The take

Pophouse has quietly become one of the most consequential players in legacy rock IP. The company’s model, built around acquiring partial stakes in catalogs and likenesses rather than outright purchases, lets artists retain creative involvement while unlocking capital for projects that would otherwise require years of revenue accumulation. ABBA Voyage proved the concept at the highest level; the KISS avatar announcements showed the appetite extends well beyond one act.

For Iron Maiden, the fit is unusually logical. Eddie is one of rock’s most developed mascot properties, with decades of visual art, merchandise, gaming, and lore already in place. Phantom Music’s existing portfolio of mobile games, comics, and a drinks business means Pophouse is investing in an IP ecosystem that already has infrastructure, not just a back catalog. The Infinite Dreams Museum at Knebworth suggests the band is thinking about fan experience in ways that go beyond the standard live show and merch table.

The cinematic angle is worth watching closely. Filming live shows for theatrical release has become a reliable revenue stream for legacy acts, and a curfew-cut Paris show is exactly the kind of dramatic, imperfect moment that can make for compelling concert film storytelling. Historically, Maiden’s fan base has supported these kinds of deep-catalog projects enthusiastically, which gives Pophouse a built-in audience for whatever comes next.

Why it matters

For Iron Maiden fans, this deal signals that the band is investing seriously in the long-term life of their catalog and creative universe, not simply winding down. For the broader classic rock and heavy metal world, it reinforces a pattern: legacy acts are increasingly turning to IP-focused investment partners to fund experiences and content that touring revenue alone cannot support. Pophouse’s track record with ABBA and KISS gives the partnership credibility, and Eddie’s established identity as a character property makes Maiden a particularly strong candidate for this kind of expansion.

What’s next

Iron Maiden’s “Run For Your Lives” North American tour, with Megadeth and Anthrax in support, is the band’s most immediate public-facing commitment. On the Pophouse side, further development of the Infinite Dreams Museum concept, the cinematic release of the Paris La Défense show footage, and expanded Eddie digital projects are all described as active priorities under the new partnership.

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