Peloton settles music-streaming lawsuit
The at-home fitness company was accused of streaming thousands of songs in its workout videos without permission
Peloton Interactive Inc. has settled a lawsuit in which a music publishing trade group and 14 of its members accused the maker of stationary bicycles of streaming more than 2,400 songs without permission in its workout videos.
Peloton settled a lawsuit with a music publishing trade group after being accused of streaming thousands of songs from the likes of Beyonce and Arianna Grande for its workouts without permission.
In a joint statement on Thursday, Peloton and the National Music Publishers’ Association said they have also entered a collaboration agreement to “further optimize” Peloton’s processes for music licensing. Other terms were not disclosed.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PTON | PELOTON INTERACTIVE INC. | 8.36 | +0.42 | +5.29% |
The trade group had been suing Peloton for more than $300 million, accusing it of copyright infringement for using songs it controlled without first getting required licenses.
Among the works covered were songs by Adele, Beyonce, Ariana Grande, John Legend, Maroon 5, Meek Mill and Taylor Swift, and classics such as The Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There,” Ray Charles’ “Georgia On My Mind” and The Who’s “I Can See For Miles.”
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The settlement was announced four weeks after a Manhattan federal judge dismissed Peloton’s antitrust counterclaim accusing the trade group of disrupting its licensing negotiations with individual publishers.
In Thursday’s statement, Peloton’s head of music, Paul DeGooyer, said it was important to ensure that songwriters “are, and continue to be, fairly compensated.”
Peloton declined additional comment. The trade group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CORONAVIRUS GIVES PELOTON SHARES A WORKOUT
Based in New York, Peloton sells bicycles starting at $2,245, in packages requiring memberships to access live and on-demand classes from home.
In morning trading, Peloton shares were down $1.29, or 4.4 percent, to $27.90, amid a broader market sell-off.