Swedish Entertainment Company Pophouse Entertainment said on Tuesday (July 14) it acquired 50% stake in British heavy metal icons Iron Maiden‘s publishing and master music rights, and a stake in their name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights

Formed 1975 by founder and bassist Steve Harris in London, Iron Maiden remains one of the most enduring and influential bands in music history with 100 million records sold, 17 studio albums, major honors including Grammy, Brit and Ivor Novello awards. Terms of the deal, which Pophouse says was structured and developed over the last year with the band’s co-manager Andy Taylor, were not disclosed. BMG retains its relation with the band as their publisher.

“We are 50-50 partners with the band, and the plan is that we’re going to work together turbo charging Maiden’s plans for the future,” Jessica Koravos, CEO of Pophouse, which owns music rights of KISS, Cyndi Lauper and Tina Turner, tells Billboard. “With Pophouse, we’re always thinking around the visual identity and … there’s lots of world building that’s possible both in [Maiden’s] artwork, but also in the storytelling within the songs. The heavy metal genre, especially with the addition of Eddie, lends itself to a treatment potentially in the world of horror.”

Established by ABBA member Björn Ulvaeus and Conni Jonsson, founder of global private equity behemoth EQT AB, Pophouse is best known for its affiliation with ABBA Voyage, the London show where avatars of the ABBA members in their prime perform the band’s greatest hits. Koravos said Pophouse is collaborating with Iron Maiden on a film of its Run For Your Lives World Tour and other plans around interactive fan experiences and a digital universe centered around Eddie, Maiden’s longtime ghoulish mascot and a central part of the band’s imagery. The acquisition includes a stake in the rights relating to Eddie, alongside trademarks, personas and other associated IP covered by the NIL rights.

“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,” Iron Maiden’s manager, Rod Smallwood, said in a statement. “The interest in the band has never been bigger and [with] this strategic partnership … the fans can be assured there is a great deal more to come for Maiden, and Eddie will rule, OK!!”

A mainstay heavy metal act for more than 50 years, Maiden has had four albums reach the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart: Senjutsu, which in 2021 became Maiden’s highest-charting album debuting at No. 3, The Book of Souls in 2015, The Final Frontier in 2010, and A Matter of Life And Death in 2006. Maiden’s 1986 album Somewhere In Time notched the No. 11 spot on the Billboard 200.

From Madonna to the Rolling Stones, the catalogs of legacy acts typically generate less revenue from streaming and more from physical sales, airplay spins, concerts, merchandise sales and licensing their music for other media, like concert films, video games and comic books, all of which Maiden has done. It’s latest film, the documentary Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition, came out earlier this year alongside news that the group will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November.

According to Luminate, the Iron Maiden catalog averaged about 191,000 album equivalent units over the past four years in the United States, of which album sales totaled about 136,000 units while streaming averaged almost 172 million on-demand streams annually. However, outside the U.S. where Iron Maiden has a large and growing audience, the group averaged 1.055 billion on-demand streams annually.

The band’s live presence is legendary, and Koravos says they have no intention of cribbing the band’s ability to tour.

“One of the attractions of this catalog is the incredible fandom that surrounds them, and they’ve done the most incredible job over the years of giving those fans amazing shows every single time,” said Koravos, whose husband, Stuart Galbraith, CEO of KMJ Entertainment Group, was the promoter of Maiden’s recent Eddfest shows in Knebworth, United Kingdom. “I have a deep understanding of the Maiden fan, and I think the band would say they’ve brought us on board to turbo charge them, [not] to help them hang up their boots.”

Iron Maiden has played more than 2,500 shows in 64 countries worldwide, according to Pophouse, touring the world in a personalized Boeing 747 piloted by frontman Bruce Dickinson. (Dickinson is a licensed commercial airline pilot who used to fly with the British charter line Astraeus and once flew a group of Royal Air Force pilots home from Afghanistan in a flight chartered by the British Ministry of Defence.)

Touring that much is lucrative. For the 745 shows for which industry sources reported figures to Billboard Boxscore charts, the band has sold 10.5 million tickets and grossed $681.1 million since 1984. Those numbers are incomplete, as boxscore data is subject to data submitted by official industry sources, and it does not include merchandise sales.

The group draws massive audiences in Latin America, particularly in Brazil where Maiden played their first Rock in Rio festival in 1985. In late November, 2024, Maiden sold 119,000 tickets to their double-header at Santiago, Chile’s Estadio Nacional, making that stop the group’s best-selling concert stop, according to Billboard Boxscore.

The group also draws large crowds across Europe, particularly in their hometown of London where they played their highest-grossing show on June 28, 2025, at London Stadium grossed $8.9 million from 75,000 tickets. That show, part of the group’s 50th-anniversary Run For Your Lives World Tour, helped make Iron Maiden the 14th highest-grossing touring act in 2025, with 59 shows and more than 1.5 million tickets sold grossing nearly $151 million, according to Boxscore.

Catalog investors consider acts that are currently touring more appealing than artists who aren’t because those live shows activate the band’s fanbase, with ticket and merch sales providing current data to measure consumer demand and drive new fans to stream their music.

If you dream big enough, sometimes those dreams come true. Just ask Noah Kahan, who seems to be on an insanely hot streak this week. The New England native “Stick Season” singer-songwriter has a lot to celebrate after becoming the first-ever performer to sell out four nights at Fenway Park in Boston.

Not only did Watertown, Vt.-bred Kahan play for 150,000-plus fans during his run, but Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey helped put the icing on the gravy by declaring Saturday (July 11) Noah Kahan Day in Massachusetts, with a proclamation that read: “Whereas, Noah Kahan has emerged as one of New England’s defining artists, writing songs that capture the people, places, and experiences that shape life across the region; and Whereas, As a former resident of Watertown, he has maintained a deep connection to Massachusetts and the communities that have influenced his music.”

Kahan, 29, played Fenway on July 7, 8, 10 and 11 and perhaps the highest of highs for a New Englander, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye dropped by Tuesday’s opening night with a video message for fans. “Hello? Drake? I thought you got canceled or Kendrick beat you or something, right? Why are you calling me? Well, I appreciate you coming to the show, I guess,” Kahan said before picking up a ringing pay phone receiver on stage during his nightly phone call segment.

“Wrong Drake, brother,” Maye assured him in his pop-in message. “I just wanted to welcome you to Boston, say what’s up. I know Fenway is rocking right now. I’m here in the crowd. You’re the man. Go Pats.” He also got a call from Boston Red Sox legend David “Big Papi” Ortiz on the second night and former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski on night three.

Then, on Saturday, it was his mom, Lauri Berkenkamp, who got on the phone to announce that her son had been inducted into the Fenway Music Hall of Fame. “I can’t believe you’re the only artist to ever sell out four consecutive nights at Fenway Park, but I’m not surprised. I knew you could do it, I’ve known all along,” Berkenkamp said in the prerecorded message to the singer, according to People. “I also have some news to share. On behalf of Fenway Park and the Boston Red Sox, you are officially being inducted into the Fenway Music Hall of Fame!”

Kahan joins Billy Joel, Paul McCartney and the Zac Brown Band in the Fenway Music Hall of Fame.

As if things couldn’t get better, Kahan posted a video on Monday in which he said he got a hole-in-one playing golf at the Boston Golf Club. “This is the best day of my life,” Kahan wrote in the caption to the video in which he’s seen retrieving his ball on the 11th hole while holding a beer. “I can’t believe that just happened!” he says.

But wait, there’s more. He followed up with one more note summing up his epic week. “Sold out 4 fenways made a hole in one then stole 5k off the dealer at encore [casino]. What a week! Love you Boston,” he wrote.

Kahan released his fourth studio album, The Great Divide, in April, with the LP debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 389,000 equivalent album units, according to Luminate. It was Kahan’s first chart-topping album, as well as the largest first-week performance for any rock album since Billboard started tracking units in 2014.

The singer’s epic summer will roll on tonight (July 14) with the first of two shows at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

The Kelly Clarkson Show and The View were both nominated in both daytime talk categories — best daytime talk series and best daytime talk series host — for the 2026 Daytime Emmy Awards. Winners will be announced on Oct. 30.

Kelly Clarkson has been a double nominee in these categories for all seven seasons of her talk show, which is concluding this season. She has won four times in each category.

Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro are the nominated hosts of The View. Behar and Goldberg were among the hosts of the long-running program when the show’s hosts won in 2009. The View won best daytime talk series in 2003 and best talk show — informative in 2020.

The other nominees for best daytime talk series are Live With Kelly and Mark, hosted by Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa, which won last year; The Drew Barrymore Show, which has yet to win in the category; and two offshoots of The Today Show: 3rd Hour of Today, hosted by Craig Melvin, Al Roker and Dylan Dreyer, and Today With Jenna & Friends, the fourth hour of the venerable show, which was hosted this season by Jenna Bush Hager and a rotating series of guest co-hosts.

The other nominees for best daytime talk series host are Tamron Hall for Tamron Hall; Jennifer Hudson for The Jennifer Hudson Show; and Sherri Shepherd for Sherri. Shepherd won in the category in 2009 when she was one of the hosts of The View.

The last two winners of best daytime talk series host, Drew Barrymore (2025) and Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos (2024), weren’t nominated in that category this year.

Here are the nominees in the two talk show categories in list form:

Best Daytime Talk Series

3rd Hour of Today

The Drew Barrymore Show

The Kelly Clarkson Show

Live With Kelly and Mark

Today With Jenna & Friends

The View

Best Daytime Talk Series Host

Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Ana Navarro — The View

Kelly Clarkson — The Kelly Clarkson Show

Tamron Hall — Tamron Hall

Jennifer Hudson — The Jennifer Hudson Show

Sherri Shepherd — Sherri