Iron Maiden sells half of its catalog rights

Iron Maiden has sold a 50 percent share of the publishing and mastering rights to its music, as well as the rights to the band's name, its visual identity and the use of the members' likenesses.

The legendary heavy metal band has reached an agreement with investment company Pophouse Entertainment, co-founded by Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA.

The goal of the partnership, according to the company, is to further accelerate the realization of the band's future plans.

Pophouse CEO Jessica Koravos, whose company also owns the music rights to Tina Turner, KISS and Cyndi Lauper, told Billboard:

"We are now equal partners with the band and the plan is to give additional momentum to all future Iron Maiden projects together."

The agreement also includes a portion of the rights to Eddie, the band's iconic mascot who has been an Iron Maiden trademark for years.

"At Pophouse, we're always thinking about visual identity, and there's a huge potential here for creating new worlds, both through their illustrations and through the stories their songs tell. Heavy metal, especially with the character of Eddie, fits naturally into the horror genre," added Koravos.

One of the first joint projects will be a film inspired by the current "Run For Your Lives" world tour, as well as the development of a digital universe based on the character of Eddie.

Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood pointed out that the new partnership will allow the band to realize ideas that have been in the planning for years much more quickly.

"I am very excited about the collaboration with Pophouse and the opportunity we now have to realize our many plans and dreams faster than we ever expected. Interest in the band has never been higher and with this strategic collaboration, fans can be sure that Iron Maiden still has a lot to offer. And Eddie will, of course, continue to reign supreme," said Smallwood.

Koravos pointed out that she knows Iron Maiden's audience well, not least because her husband Stuart Galbraith, director of KMJ Entertainment Group, organized the band's recent concerts in Knebworth.

"One of the greatest assets of this catalog is its incredibly loyal fan base. Iron Maiden has managed to give them spectacular performances time and time again over the years. The band didn't bring us in to help them retire, but to achieve even more ambitious plans together," she concluded.