ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus Developing New AI-Assisted Musical
Speaking at SXSW London, Ulvaeus shared that he’s nearly finished writing a new musical with the help of artificial intelligence.
By: Joshua Wright Jun. 04, 2025
Björn Ulvaeus has revealed he is working on a new musical created with the assistance of artificial intelligence. The announcement came during a panel at SXSW London, where Ulvaeus described himself as “three-quarters” of the way through the project, Variety reports.
“Right now I’m writing a musical, assisted by AI,” Ulvaeus said. “It’s fantastic. It is such a great tool. It is like having another songwriter in the room with a huge reference frame.”
Known for embracing new technologies throughout his career, Ulvaeus previously helped develop ABBA Voyage, the group’s virtual avatar concert residency in London. His latest project builds on that same spirit of experimentation, this time leveraging AI to support the creative process.
Though he praised AI for its ability to generate ideas and overcome writer’s block, Ulvaeus acknowledged the limitations of current tools. “It’s lousy at writing a whole song,” he said. “Very bad at lyrics.” Still, he noted that it often provides just enough inspiration to push a song forward. “You can ask it, how would you extend? Where would you go from here? It usually comes out with garbage, but sometimes there is something in it that gives you another idea.”
Ulvaeus, who also serves on the board of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), is a vocal advocate for ensuring that creators are compensated when AI models are trained on their work. “These AI models wouldn’t exist without the songs that we wrote,” he said, calling for a compensation model similar to streaming platforms.
The AI-assisted musical is being developed in conjunction with Pophouse Entertainment, where Ulvaeus plays a key creative role. The company, which also produced ABBA Voyage, has been acquiring artist catalogs and experimenting with new ways to present and preserve musical legacies.
Reflecting on his career, Ulvaeus said his songwriting has always centered on storytelling. “I always ended up with a little story in the songs,” he said, recalling his work with ABBA. That narrative focus continues in his current work, now augmented by technology he considers an extension of the creative process.
“I actually wake up curious every morning,” he added. “Everything’s really after our wanting to try new things.”
Ulvaeus will soon be represented on Broadway again with a revival of Mamma Mia! when the US National tour begins performances at the Winter Garden Theatre, the original Broadway home of the global smash hit musical, on Saturday, August 2, 2025. An opening night celebration will be held on Thursday, August 14. The limited engagement will play in New York for six months only, through Sunday, February 1, 2026. Mamma Mia! is Broadway’s ninth-longest running show of all time, playing a record-breaking 14 years and 5,773 performances at the Winter Garden, where it opened in 2001, and then at the Broadhurst Theatre.
