A group of music publishers are suing Peloton for copyright infringement after the maker of video-streaming exercise bikes allegedly used more than a thousand musical works from the likes of Lady Gaga, Drake, Gwen Stefani and Justin Timberlake without permission.
The publishers, including Downtown Music Publishing, Big Deal Music, Reservoir, Round Hill, Royalty Network, Pulse Music Publishing, and TRO Essex Music Group, say Peloton failed to license songs from the companies, resulting in a loss of income.
The lawsuit, which seeks more than $150 million in damages, was filed in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York on Tuesday.
Representatives from Peloton did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
"Music is a core part of the Peloton business model and is responsible for much of the brand's swift success," David Israelite, National Music Publisher's Assocation's president and CEO, said in a statement Tuesday. "Thousands of exclusive videos and playlists are a major reason hundreds of thousands of people have purchased Peloton products."
"Unfortunately, instead of recognizing 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," he said.
The NMPA said that since 2014 Peloton had released thousands of videos that included unlicensed music recorded by artists like Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Shawn Mendes, Ed Sheeran, Wiz Khalifa, Thomas Rhett, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and Florida Georgia Line.
Peloton is part of a group of companies that have raised capital with the goal of going public in 2019. The company, which is expected to IPO in the second half of the year, is rumored to be seeking a valuation of $4 billion.
Peloton manufacturers and sells stationary exercise equipment, which retails in excess of $2,000 each, as well as a monthly streaming service for members to watch exercise videos while they bike.
Disclosure: Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC, has a stake in Peloton.
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