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Peloton settles music publishers' lawsuit over songs used in workout videos
NEW YORK (Reuters) - 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.
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.
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.”
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.
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%, to $27.90, amid a broader market sell-off.
The case is Downtown Music Publishing LLC et al v Peloton Interactive Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 19-02426.
Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler
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