US fitness brand Peloton has pulled a wide range of its popular workouts after a lawsuit was filed alleging that many of its classes feature songs the company has "used without obtaining proper licenses".
The lawsuit, filed by a number of US music publishers – including Downtown Music Publishing, Pulse Music Publishing, ole, Reservoir and Round Hill – accuses Peloton of infringement of more than a thousand musical works.
The tracks mentioned in the lawsuit include some of the most well-known contemporary artists – including Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber.
The plaintiffs – all members of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) – are seeking damages of more than US$150m.
In a statement, NMPA said: "While Peloton has licensed with some of the music publishing industry, it has failed to do so with a significant number of publishers, leaving a great deal of income lost to songwriters."
NMPA president & CEO David Israelite added: “Music is a core part of the Peloton business model and is responsible for much of the brand’s swift success.
"Thousands of exclusive videos and playlists are a major reason hundreds of thousands of people have purchased Peloton products.
“Unfortunately, instead of recognising the integral role of songwriters to its company, Peloton has built its business by using their work without their permission or fair compensation for years.
“It is frankly unimaginable that a company of this size and sophistication would think it could exploit music in this way without the proper licenses for this long, and we look forward to getting music creators what they deserve.”
In response Peloton CEO and founder John Foley said: "The filing of the lawsuit is unfortunate and disappointing, as it occurred after what appeared to be fruitful discussions with most of the publishers named.
"Regardless, out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to remove classes that feature songs that were identified by these publishers.
"Peloton has agreements in place with all of what are known as the 'major' publishers, record labels and performing rights organizations, as well as many independent publishers and labels.
"These agreements provide licenses to a broad catalog of music that our instructors can choose from to programme great classes for our members. Furthermore, we have strong creative relationships with our licensors, with managers of artists and songwriters, and with our music streaming service partners.
"Their input has helped us craft new features like “Now Playing” and “Track Love”, released just last month.
"Peloton believes that being the best partner we can be to songwriters and artists ultimately best serves our membership and community. We remain committed to bringing the most impactful music experience in fitness."
