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Peloton tests its own exclusive music with three Elvis remixes

Peloton tests its own exclusive music with three Elvis remixes

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From Chromeo and Big Boi

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Elvis Presley

Peloton is now a place to debut music. The popular fitness startup, already known for its use of popular music during its classes, announced today that it’s debuting new Elvis remixes in its app that’ll be exclusive to the platform for a month. The company worked with Chromeo, Big Boi, and DJ Dillon Francis to create the remixes.

The songs premiere in the app today as part of an “ultimate remix collection,” which includes yoga, strength, core, and outdoor running classes. As part of a New Year’s promo, the company is also extending its 30-day free trial to two months.

A spokesperson says the idea behind starting with Elvis was to find a “new expression of the classic catalog in a contemporary way” — which to me reads as finding a way to make Elvis music something you’d actually want to hear when working out. Sony, however, owns the rights to the songs, and might choose to release the tracks more widely after the month-long exclusivity window expires.

Exclusive music makes sense for Peloton. The company already has its own hardware and video content, meant to keep users hooked and fend off competitors. If people want to use a Peloton bike or take a class from a Peloton instructor, they need to stay in the company’s ecosystem — and the same will now be true for these tracks, at least for the first month.

Peloton has worked to secure deals with musicians to include their tracks in classes. The company pays per music stream, similarly to companies like Spotify, and has signed deals with artists like Beyoncé to stream their music. Hyping up Peloton as a place to hear exclusive music for the first time could be a way to court new subscribers and keep current ones tuning in.

Update 12/30, 2:43PM ET: Peloton originally hyped in its press release that the company will have the exclusive rights to the three tracks and that it would be “the first time that any artist has created music just for Peloton classes.” But the company later said in an email to The Verge that the music will only be exclusive to Peloton for “an initial launch window”, and that Sony can publicly release all three tracks after that period.