Peloton settles lawsuits over songs being used in fitness videos without permission

Peloton and a group of music publishers have settled a series of lawsuits that alleged the fitness company used thousands of songs without permission. Peloton also reached an agreement with the trade group that represents those publishers, the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), to “optimize” its music licensing process, theoretically meaning it will end up properly paying for music rights going forward.

In total, 14 members of the NMPA ended up suing Peloton last year over claims that it used more than 2,000 songs without a license. Those songs allegedly included tracks from Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran, Justin Timberlake, St. Vincent, and many more and were said to be used in one or more fitness videos over the preceding three years. Peloton later countersued on antitrust grounds, but the case was dismissed.

The announcement doesn’t make it fully clear what this means for Peloton’s fitness videos in the future. It sounds like Peloton is in a position to begin licensing music from these companies, but it doesn’t necessarily appear to have obtained any licenses through this settlement.

After the initial lawsuit was announced, many of the claimed tracks quickly disappeared from Peloton’s videos. At the time, customers were frustrated by their disappearance, saying they had made workout playlists a lot worse.