A Peloton recall impacts 2.2 million exercise bikes on the market, with customers being told to immediately stop using them.
The recall affects Peloton exercise bike model PL01, which was sold from January 2018 through May 2023. “Peloton has received 35 reports of the seat post breaking and detaching from the bike during use, including 13 reports of injuries including a fractured wrist, lacerations, and bruises due to falling from the bike,” reads the announcement from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
“Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled exercise bikes and contact Peloton for a free repair. Peloton is offering consumers a free seat post that can be self-installed,” the announcement continues. The recall only impacts the original Peloton bike sold in the United States, not its international models nor the Peloton Bike+ model.
This isn’t the first major safety incident Peloton hardware has experienced. The same consumer protection organization warned consumers in 2021 to stop using the Peloton Tread+ treadmill after dozens of safety incidents were reported, including the death of a child. The company agreed to pay a $19 million fine for failing to report those safety issues for its treadmill.
Peloton made waves in the music industry when it was revealed the exercise company pays 3.1 cents per stream—far above what DSPs like Spotify and Apple Music pay. Peloton’s total payout to the music industry in 2020 was only $35 million, mostly because the music is curated and the subscription cost for its monthly service is much more per user compared to music streaming business models.
Apple and Spotify only have to pay mechanical royalties on the music they serve, while Peloton must also pay a performance royalty for any music featured in its classes. This drives up the fees paid to artists and publishers, resulting in higher per-stream royalty rates. Part of that is due to the National Music Publishers Association suing Peloton for failure to obtain ‘sync’ licenses.
In February 2020, Peloton settled its lawsuit with the NMPA. We don’t know the actual settlement details, but Peloton did report spending $49.3 million in legal fees during the same quarter that the NMPA lawsuit was settled.