Popular home fitness company Peloton is being sued by music publishers for allegedly using music from their artists in the company’s video-streaming platform without permission.
Publishers representing artists like Lady Gaga, Drake, Justin Timberlake, and Gwen Stefani are suing the company for copy infringement, saying that the company has used more than 1,000 songs by their artists without first obtaining permission. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York and seeks more than $150 million in damages, The Wall Street Journal reports.
In the suit, the music producers allege that a significant part of Peloton’s success as a company has been due to its online classes, which feature unlicensed music.
According to the report, Peloton’s on-demand service uses videos that include music, which are known as audiovisual synchronizations. Those require a license from music rights holders; however, the company does have the correct licenses for music from other copyright holders that are not named in the suit.
Peloton is expected to go public in 2019, likely during the second half of the year. The company is expected to seek a valuation of more than $4 billion.
