Bjorn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad of the Swedish band Abba preparing for the VR Voyage experience
(Picture: PA)Pophouse, the Stockholm-based entertainment company owned by ABBA member Björn Ulvaeus, has hired the former chief creative officer for the Harry Potter franchise to front a new London office.
James McKnight is Pophouse’s first UK hire and will be head of entertainment research and development for the company, which makes money out of music, podcast, book and gaming brands by turning them into entertainment experiences.
Its current projects include: Pippi at the Circus, a musical based on the Astrid Lindgren character Pippi Longstocking; dinner and disco show Mamma Mia The Party; and The Avicii Experience, an immersive exhibition which uses the music from DJ Avicii.
In May, the company will launch a new ABBA Voyage virtual reality concert in a 3,000-seat bespoke arena in London’s Olympic Park.
McKnight joins Pophouse from the Blair Partnership, a literary, entertainment and franchise management agency that represents J.K. Rowling and her work. There, he was responsible for the team which managed the Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and the related Wizarding World franchises.
McKnight said: “We’re exploring what IPs [intellectual property] we can bring into the company and then my job and the job of my team that I’m going to hire over the next few weeks and months is to get out to develop those into different verticals.”
While the company’s acquisitions have focussed on music so far, McKnight suggested that its model could be rolled out to other media.
Pophouse currently employs around 200 people in Stockholm, but McKnight said its ambition is that a “large percentage” of its activities will eventually be in London or in other large cities.
He said Ulvaeus is still “very hands on” with the company.
Pophouse CEO Per Sundin said: “[McKnight’s] strong track-record of developing global IP rights and leading creative teams makes him a great fit for us, matching the ambition and scale with which we’re building Pophouse.”
Pophouse was founded by Ulvaeus and Conni Jonsson, founder of Swedish investment company EQT. It was set up in 2014 to manage the ABBA Museum in Stockholm and later expanded its scope to other entertainment brands.
Last month, it bought the master recordings and publishing rights of house music supergroup Swedish House Mafia’s back catalogue, and plans to develop the brand. The company has also hired former Spotify exec Johan Lagerlöf to head up its investments division in Stockholm with a view to seeking more deals with US and UK rights-holders.
McKnight said he would be focused on “amplifying brands and taking them into broader entertainment spaces, focusing on storytelling across different formats and introducing new audiences as we do so”.
