The music industry is exploring opportunities for immersive music performances as technology opens up new possibilities for artists.
In the wake of the success of ABBA Voyage, new entrants and investors are set to increase the range of avatar-based music productions.
In the latest edition of Music Week, we explore some of the key developments for this emerging sector as well as the legal and licensing issues around avatar-based productions.
ABBA Voyage’s initial investment was considerable at £140 million, but the virtual performance was bringing in $2 million a week once it was up and running.
ABBA Voyage opened in May 2022 at the purpose built arena located at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Digital versions of ABBA perform their greatest hits and two 2021 tracks, I Still Have Faith in You and Don’t Shut Me Down from their comeback album Voyage, alongside a 10-piece live band.
Following its release four years ago, ABBA’s Voyage album (Polydor) has amassed UK consumption of 502,443 units (Official Charts Company). Up to the end of the third quarter, the group’s Gold – Greatest Hits was at No.17 overall with consumption of 181,491 units. It has since advanced to 214,515 as it chases the 2024 total of just under a quarter of a million units.
With bookings open up to its fourth anniversary in May 2026, ABBA Voyage continues to stage seven performances a week at the 3,000-capacity ABBA Arena. Earlier this year, ABBA added new tracks to the concert’s setlist to celebrate its third anniversary. The additions include The Name of the Game, Super Trouper, Money, Money, Money and Take A Chance On Me.
“It’s been interesting for us to see how ABBA Voyage has been received since we opened,” producers Svana Gisla and Ludvig Andersson told Music Week. “For us that created the show, we never saw it as a new format but rather something quite unique that works for ABBA. We just tried to make something beautiful that would hopefully stir up emotion in the concert-goer. It was never about the tech, never about ‘activating a catalogue’. It was only ever about love for the craft and curiosity.”
We focus a lot on the audience experience, from the moment they arrive at the ABBA Arena until they leave
Svana Gisla and Ludvig Andersson
The producer duo acknowledged the ABBA Voyage, created with ABBA’s members (Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Frida Lyngstad) and directed by Baillie Walsh, has led the way in immersive performances.
“The possibilities have always been there, but perhaps it took us to venture ahead,” they told Music Week. “We would hope that whoever comes after would do something different, find their own idea and motivations. ABBA Voyage was never a format to copy.”
Anira, the holding company for ABBA Voyage, reported 1.06 million tickets sold in 2024 with overall revenue at £104.3 million. The shows averaged an occupancy of 90% and attendance is set to hit four million people from around the world by the fourth anniversary. As well as ticket sales, there’s a wealth of official merchandise – including a 2025 gingerbread man Christmas jumper – and physical music.
“ABBA Voyage’s success is equal parts the appeal of ABBA themselves and the timeless music that they created, it carries so much nostalgia and emotion, and all we had to do was protect that,” said Gisla and Andersson. “We think that the audience can feel that what they’re experiencing is made by ABBA. That their DNA is in everything. Every detail reminds you that you are in ABBA’s house.”
The producers said they have continued to improve the show since its launch in May 2022. The venue has undergone a winter makeover for 2025/26.
“We focus a lot on the audience experience, from the moment they arrive at the ABBA Arena until they leave, and we tried to always be generous to that journey being the best it can be,” they told Music Week. “And we’ve kept improving the show since we opened. You might not see it but we’ve never stopped working on it and we will continue until the last person buys a ticket.”
Investors in ABBA Voyage, via Swedish company Goldonder Investors AB, include Pophouse Entertainment and Universal Music Group, the Swedish band’s label partner.
Pophouse has already announced plans for a Kiss avatar show, following the Swedish entertainment investment firm’s acquisition of the band’s catalogue, brand name and IP for a reported $300 million.
PHOTO: ABBA Voyage/Johan Persson
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