Sia Sells 50% of Her Catalog to Pophouse for $180 Million — and an Avatar Show Is Coming

A Landmark Catalog Deal

Sia has sold a 50 percent stake in her music catalog to Pophouse Entertainment, the Sweden-based music and entertainment investment firm co-founded by ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus, in a deal valued at $180 million. The agreement covers her publishing and master recording rights — and, according to Rolling Stone, it sets the stage for an immersive digital avatar production built around her songs.

The sale was first reported by TMZ and later confirmed by Rolling Stone. Pophouse's stake is limited to publishing and master rights; it does not include Sia's name and likeness.

In a statement accompanying the announcement, Sia framed the deal as a partnership rather than a farewell. "I'm really excited to be working with Pophouse," she said. "These songs mean so much to me, and I love that they really understand that and want to take care of them. I've been making music for a very long time now, and it feels exciting to think about all the new and different ways these songs might get to live on and find people."

A Complicated Split Behind the Headline Number

Behind the $180 million figure sits a legal wrinkle. TMZ, citing legal documents, reported that Sia will receive $165 million for songs written before her marriage to Dan Bernad — a group that includes "Chandelier," "Titanium" and "Cheap Thrills" — with Bernad waiving any claims in exchange for a $1 million payment. The remaining $15 million, tied to songs written during the marriage, will be held in escrow until the two parties agree to terms.

The couple were married for less than three years before Sia filed for divorce in March 2025. An insider told Rolling Stone that Sia's songs generate an estimated $18 million annually in writing and performance royalties — a figure that helps explain why a catalog like hers commands nine-figure attention.

Why Pophouse Wanted This Catalog

Pophouse has spent recent years assembling one of the most eclectic rights portfolios in music. Its holdings include catalogs by Iron Maiden, Tina Turner, Kiss, Cyndi Lauper, Avicii and Swedish House Mafia. The company is also a major investor in the Avicii Experience, ABBA the Museum, "Mamma Mia! the Party" and ABBA "Voyage."

The acquisition of Sia's rights was made through Pophouse Fund I, the firm's debut fund, which closed in March 2025 at its hard cap of €1 billion. More than €200 million in additional capital was raised through dedicated co-investment vehicles, pushing the total fundraise past €1.2 billion.

CEO Jessica Koravos framed the partnership in expansive terms: "Sia is an artist whose extraordinary catalogue and unique creative identity offer exceptional opportunities to celebrate and build on her remarkable body of work. This partnership will further empower Sia with strategic support and creative resources to continue pursuing her artistic ambitions while preserving and expanding her influence."

Pophouse Fund Partner Shahriar Shokofan added that "few artists have shaped modern pop as profoundly as Sia," pointing to what he described as her ability to balance artistic integrity with mass appeal.

The Avatar Show: What We Know So Far

According to Rolling Stone, Sia and Pophouse will collaborate on an immersive digital avatar production based around her music. The show will incorporate her songs both as a performer and as a writer, and will use her vocals on global hits like Rihanna's "Diamonds."

The production is still in early planning. The debut is at least a couple of years out, and it may tour to select cities.

Pophouse knows this territory well. The firm was a founding investor in ABBA Voyage, the virtual residency that launched in 2022 and uses "ABBAtars" of the Swedish group as they appeared in 1979, performing in a custom-built arena at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. Pophouse also acquired the music catalog, brand name, likeness and trademarks of Kiss in 2024, with plans for a Kiss Forever immersive avatar show in Las Vegas in 2028. In March, the company announced it had become a majority owner, alongside BMG, in the "music interests" of Tina Turner's catalog, as well as the rights to her name, image and likeness.

A Catalog Built for the Streaming Era

The numbers behind Sia's catalog help explain Pophouse's appetite. Rolling Stone reported that many of her songs have crossed a billion streams on Spotify. Her David Guetta collaboration "Titanium" sits at 2.4 billion streams. "Unstoppable," "Chandelier," "Dusk Till Dawn" with Zayn, and "Cheap Thrills" have each surpassed 2 billion. The version of "Cheap Thrills" with Sean Paul, the Flo Rida collaboration "Wild Ones," "Elastic Heart" and "Snowman" have all passed 1 billion.

That streaming depth reflects a career that stretches back much further than her pop breakthrough. Sia began singing in the Adelaide acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s before releasing her debut album, OnlySee, in Australia in 1997. She moved to London and lent her voice to Zero 7 before releasing Healing Is Difficult in 2001 and Colour the Small One in 2004.

Her wider breakthrough came via songwriting for other artists — "Titanium" with Guetta, "Diamonds" for Rihanna, "Wild Ones" with Flo Rida and "Pretty Hurts" for Beyoncé. Her sixth album, 1000 Forms of Fear, debuted atop the US Billboard 200 on the strength of "Chandelier," while 2016's This Is Acting delivered the Billboard Hot 100 number-one "Cheap Thrills." She has since released the Christmas album Everyday Is Christmas, the LSD project with Diplo and Labrinth, and, in 2024, her tenth album, Reasonable Woman. She has earned nine Grammy nominations and ten ARIA Awards.

Analysis: An Artist Selling the Future Without Selling the Past

For Sia, this deal does something specific: it converts decades of songwriting into capital while keeping her name and likeness under her own control. The avatar production is the part to watch. It's a format Pophouse has already proven commercially with ABBA Voyage and is preparing for Kiss, and Sia's catalog — with its recognizable vocals and writing credits — offers a similar foundation for a show that can be licensed, staged and toured without requiring her to perform in person, a pattern consistent with an artist who has long guarded her privacy in public.

The question is whether the format suits her material the way it suited ABBA's. Sia's biggest hits live in the writing as much as the performance, which is why Pophouse's access to both her records and her songwriting for others may make this one of the more ambitious avatar projects yet attempted. Either way, fans now have a clear timeline to hold: a show in the works, with the debut still a couple of years away.