{"id":212706,"date":"2024-10-01T12:39:34","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T11:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=212706"},"modified":"2024-10-01T12:41:48","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T11:41:48","slug":"abba-voyage-generated-129m-in-2023-as-virtual-concert-series-attracts-1-1m-visitors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/abba-voyage-generated-129m-in-2023-as-virtual-concert-series-attracts-1-1m-visitors\/","title":{"rendered":"ABBA Voyage generated $129m in 2023, as virtual concert series attracts 1.1m visitors"},"content":{"rendered":"MBW\u2019s Stat Of The Week is a series in which we highlight a data point that deserves the attention of the global music industry. Stat Of the Week is supported by\u00a0music data analytics firm\u00a0Chartmetric<\/a>.\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n \n

London’s ABBA Voyage saw a significant jump in 2023 earnings, as the immersive concert experience continues to attract large audiences.<\/p>\n

The ABBA<\/b> Voyage<\/b><\/a> concert series, launched in May 2022, showcases digital versions of the iconic Swedish pop group performing seven nights a week in their custom-built 3,000-seat ABBA Arena located in East London.<\/p>\n

The UK-based holding company for the virtual event series, Aniara Ltd.,<\/strong> achieved a pre-tax profit of GBP \u00a36.07 million ($8.1 million)<\/b> for the 12-month period in 2023, up from the \u00a32.99 million<\/b> reported in 2022, according to a September 26 filing with the UK’s Companies House.<\/p>\n

It came as turnover rose 6.7% YoY<\/span><\/strong> to \u00a3103.67 million ($129 million)<\/b> from \u00a397.12 million<\/b>. The report revealed that sales continue to be the primary driver of growth, with turnover in this category surging to \u00a3101.58 million <\/b>from \u00a358.9 million<\/b> in 2022.<\/p>\n

<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div> <\/div> \n

However, this increase was partly offset by a sharp drop in sales of film rights and stage rights. Sales of film rights shrank to \u00a31.19 million<\/b> from \u00a315.39 million<\/b>, while sales of stage rights narrowed to \u00a3899,416<\/b> from \u00a322.83 million <\/b>the prior year.<\/p>\n

In 2023, ABBA Voyage staged 374<\/b> performances, a significant increase from 228<\/b> in the previous year. These shows attracted 1.1 million<\/strong> visitors, up from 675,600 <\/b>in 2022.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThere is substantial market demand for ABBA Voyage, and the Directors anticipate a continued high level of activity throughout 2024.”<\/p>\n

Abba voyage board<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The company’s expansion is further evidenced by an increase in its workforce. The average number of people employed by the company rose to 113<\/b> in 2023 from 64<\/b> in 2022, indicating substantial operational growth to support the increased demand for the show.<\/p>\n

Administrative expenses during the year ballooned to \u00a3106,835<\/b> from \u00a370,060<\/b> in 2022.<\/p>\n

<\/div> <\/div> \n

The company’s board also expressed optimism about the future of ABBA Voyage. In a statement, they said: \u201cThe Group\u2019s long-term strategy is to continue the run of the show in London for as long as it remains commercially viable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is substantial market demand for ABBA Voyage, and the Directors anticipate a continued high level of activity throughout 2024. The main uncertainties that could impact the Group relate to general economic developments and the potential for new COVID-19 outbreaks,\u201d the board said.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n
\n

In its first year of operation (between May 2022 and May 2023), ABBA Voyage contributed \u00a3322.6 million<\/b> in turnover to the London economy, according to an analysis published<\/a> in December 2023.<\/p>\n

\n

ABBA Voyage attracted over 1 million<\/b> visitors, 20% <\/b>of whom had traveled from outside of the UK, in its first year. The concert experience was created with Agnetha F\u00e4ltskog, Bj\u00f6rn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson<\/b> and Anni-Frid Lyngstad<\/b>, directed by Baillie Walsh<\/b>, and produced by Svana Gisla <\/b>and Ludvig Andersson<\/b>.<\/p>\n

It was also created in partnership with Sweden-headquartered Pophouse<\/b> Entertainment<\/b> and Industrial<\/b> Light & Magic<\/b>, the George<\/b> Lucas<\/b>-founded and Disney<\/b>-owned visual effects company most famous for working on Star<\/b> Wars<\/b> properties through the decades. ABBA member Bj\u00f6rn Ulvaeus is a shareholder in, and board member of, Pophouse.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Pophouse acquired<\/a> the song catalog, plus name, image and likeness rights of legendary rock band KISS<\/b>. KISS also partnered<\/a> with the Swedish company on an avatar concert featuring digital versions of themselves, similar to ABBA Voyage.<\/p>\n

\n

All GBP to USD currency calculations in this story have been made using the average annual exchange rate as published by the IRS.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\r\n\r\n
<\/a><\/figure>Chartmetric<\/a> is the all-in-one platform for artists and music industry professionals, providing comprehensive streaming, social, and audience data for everyone to create successful careers in music.<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

London’s ABBA Voyage saw a significant jump in 2023 earnings, as the immersive concert experience continues to attract large audiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":212735,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[129643,130458,132884,132885,132886,3753,5486,132888,129804,131409,124425,132887],"class_list":["post-212706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-abba","tag-abba-voyage","tag-agnetha-faltskog","tag-anni-frid-lyngstad","tag-baillie-walsh","tag-benny-andersson","tag-bjorn-ulvaeus","tag-ludvig-andersson","tag-pophouse","tag-pophouse-entertainment","tag-stat-of-the-week","tag-svana-gisla"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}