Cypress Hill and House of Pain have both recently filed lawsuits against sporting company Peloton Technology after the company used their music without having obtained an official licence. The commercial usage of this music could generate money for Peloton but not the artists.
By law in the United States, the musicians are entitled to a share of the revenue generated from Peloton bike sales if the workout tracks include their music. This is not the first time Peloton has been hit with a music licensing lawsuit, either. The company was previously sued for copyright infringement in March 2019 by a major music publishing company as the Peloton yanked songs by the likes of Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry without obtaining proper licenses. However, these matters were settled in 2020
A lawsuit has been filed against the company by Soul Assassins Inc. which is owned by Cypress Hill member DJ Muggs, according to Billboard. The claim put forward is that Peloton used portions of Cypress Hill’s classic 1993 track ‘Insane In The Brain’ and ‘(Rap) Superstar’ (2000) for their group spinning classes. The claim also names House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ (1992) as a song used. This was produced by Muggs, who has production and songwriting stakes in it.
An excerpt from the lawsuit filed by Soul Assassins Inc. reads, “Clearly … Peloton knew unequivocally that it had no right to use any musical composition in its exercise videos without first obtaining a license for one hundred percent of the song.”
An official court hearing date is yet to be set. However, both parties seem eager to reach a settlement outside the courts.
This controversy has drawn attention to Cypress Hill, who, earlier this year, released their brand new documentary ‘Cypress Hill: Insane in the Brain’, which is now available to stream via the network Showtime.
You can watch the official trailer for the documentary in the video below.
