Grammy-winning artist Pitbull (a.k.a Armando Christian Perez) has invested in Peloton rival Echelon Fitness.
As part of a wide ranging partnership, Pitbull becomes a stakeholder in Echelon, and will also get a dedicated content channel and exclusive products. He’s also releasing a theme song for the brand called, I Feel Good.
Pitbull’s investment in the company comes eight months after Echelon launched a fully-licensed music offering with MediaNet.
The news also comes six months after Echelon completed a $65 million financing round led by Goldman Sachs Growth.
Like its competitor Peloton, which was sued by music publishers in 2019 or copyright infringement and reached a settlement with them in February 2020, Echelon offers a range of exercise bikes and live and on-demand classes for a monthly subscription.
Echelon was launched in 2017 and claimed in November to have experienced “tremendous growth since 2019, expanding nearly 600%”.
The company was sued by Peloton in 2019 for allegedly copying elements of its bikes. In response, in early 2020 Echelon filed a petition to try and invalidate a number of US patents held by Peloton.
In November, Beyoncé signed a multi-year partnership with Peloton.
As part of the partnership with Pitbull, Echelon will feature a special dedicated “Ride with Pitbull” content channel, which will live within the Echelon Fit app (exclusive to members) featuring Pitbull’s brand, image and music.
The company will also release an exclusive, co-branded bike and merchandise centered around his Timeless album launch.
The partnership will also see Echelon’s engage with Pitbull’s educational learning centers SLAM! by offering internships and college scholarships.
Pitbull’s Echelon anthem will also be released as a single on his new album.
MBW has been writing a lot about the convergence of the fitness and music industries over the past few months.
Earlier this month for example, Liteboxer, an 11-month-old company operating in the connected exercise space, announced that it has raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Nimble Ventures, bringing its total raised to $28.5m to date.
The following day, the company, which offers a workout experience that merges boxing and gaming through beat-based music programming, announced that it had struck an exclusive partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG).
Elsewhere, music streaming technology specialist Tuned Global recently partnered with UK-based Psycle London to power a playlist app for the home fitness brand’s 70+ instructors.
“With this new venture, we look forward to producing new avenues for music and fitness.”
Pitbull
“It is truly an honor to partner with Echelon Fitness,” says Armando Christian Perez (Pitbull).
“With this new venture, we look forward to producing new avenues for music and fitness.
Music is the universal language. Fitness is a cultural movement. Together we will create a powerful generation. I don’t know about you but that makes me feel good, Dale!”
“We have been experiencing significant growth, and confidence from key financial investors, including a recent investment led by Goldman Sachs.”
Lou Lentine, Echelon Fitness
“Learning Pitbull was a fan of our product and our community was humbling,” said Lou Lentine, President and CEO of Echelon Fitness.
“We have been experiencing significant growth, and confidence from key financial investors, including a recent investment led by Goldman Sachs.
“Pitbull has featured and been featured with some of the biggest talents in the music industry. And now his latest feature is with Echelon Fitness. We are so excited to welcome Mr. Worldwide to the team!”Music Business Worldwide
