PPCA wins substantial increase in fees for group exercise classes

by Ryan Hogan | Sunday, May 16, 2010

After years of legal wrangling, the Copyright Tribunal has today awarded the PPCA (Phonographic Performance Company of Australia) a huge increase in fees payable by fitness facilities for playing original artist music in group exercise classes. The new fee structure dictates that fitness facilities must now pay either $15 per class flat fee, or $1 per class attendee.

Currently, gyms pay 96.8 cents per class, with the annual maximum fee capped at $2,654. The increase in fees payable means that an average sized fitness facility with around 30 classes per week will now have to pay approximately $23,400 per year in fees if it continues to use original artist music. This is a 1,500 per cent increase on the average amount currently paid annually.

Commenting on today’s ruling, Lauretta Stace, Fitness Australia chief executive officer, said, ‘The international record companies, who are represented by the PPCA, have shot themselves in the foot by demanding outrageously high copyright licensing fees from the fitness industry, the majority of which go straight into record company coffers. To mitigate the impact of such a decision, Fitness Australia members are already beginning to use music in their gyms that is free of PPCA copyright’.

Facility owner and former Fitness Australia’s Lifetime Achievement Award winner Susan Kingsmill, said ‘The fitness industry has traditionally provided a great platform for promoting Australian performing artists but the record companies, driven by greed, seem intent on destroying this relationship. This decision will lead all fitness centres to seek more affordable music alternatives to the detriment of Australian performing artists, but the artists only have the record companies to blame for this’.

Although today’s increase is bad news for our industry, it is a credit to the Operation M.U.S.I.C battle, spearheaded by Fitness Australia and funded by donations from those within the fitness industry, that the increase is not higher; the PPCA, which represents Sony Music, EMI, Universal, Warner and Australian recording artists, originally sought a 4,000 per cent increase in fees. In fact, federal magistrate Rolf Driver, deputy president of the Copyright Tribunal, did not award costs to the fitness industry, because he said it had achieved a ‘measure of success’ in its bid to limit the fee increase.

Australian Fitness Network has regularly reported on the ongoing legal case against the PPCA, but until now it has remained predominantly an industry issue. Today’s findings however have already made the mainstream media. The Sydney Morning Herald website www.smh.com.au today reported Stephen Peach, chief executive of the PPCA, describing the increase as fair; ‘The tribunal has explicitly recognised that music adds real value to the class to the participants and to the fitness centre operator who is after all running a business’ he said. Peach also used the word ‘curious’ to describe claims by the fitness industry that it would move over to using non-original artist music rather than pay the massive fee increase.

Such a response would suggest that he is unaware of the large amount of non-original artist music that is already being used in many group exercise classes. Les Mills classes are now using non-original artist music and Fitness First is also taking a similar approach. TRAX Music also offers a wide and growing range of PPCA-free music for use in group exercise classes – visit www.traxmusic.com.au for more.

Fitness Australia's legal advisers are now reviewing the decision to determine whether there are grounds for appeal.

Sources: Australian Fitness Network, Fitness Australia, smh.com.au

Posted by: Andrew | 19-May-2010 01:17 PM |

I agree that the record companies are not doing their cause any good. I have bought a fair bit of music as result of enjoying it at the gym but that is now in the past it seems. It is a real shame that a lot of original music will not be seen or heard at the gym but the royalty fee is unrealistic.

Posted by: Anonymous | 19-May-2010 01:35 PM |

just wondering, this whole PPCA debarcle is now going to put even more stress on the stetched budgets of Group Fitness Instructors, who as we all know are pushed to the limit when it comes to paying out money just to continue to do what we are so passionate about. I've taught GF for 24years and over all have paid out much more than what I have ever got back monetry wise. (you can't put a price on job satisfaction !!) But now I have to discard my substantial music collection (many cds from Trax) and start over again.

Posted by: Anonymous | 19-May-2010 02:16 PM |

I'm resigned to the situation now. There is plenty of great license-free music to use in classes- we just have to do the research and find it. I don't believe that TRAX or any other aerobics music providers could ever have forseen this- it's not their fault but they are trying to source music for us. If we whinge less about it, our members won't find it a negative thing. Wonder what the next thing to capture our attention will be? I predict that it'll be business as usual within a year, meaning that we'll either pay the fees and deal with it, or we'll stick to license-free music and deal with that, too.

Posted by: Lynne | 22-Jun-2010 04:49 PM |

Unbelievable! I used to buy a lot of music because i'd heard it in a fitness class and liked it. No more! It's just plain greed and I reckon many more will boycott buying music because of it.

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Posted by: Luzette | 05-Sep-2010 01:53 PM |

I agree with Lynne - I used to get music from what I heard at the gym as I am unable to listen to the radio all day at work and only listen in the car on the way too and from work. I won't boycott my classes though I know my instructors will be looking to find music they can use especially my Zumba instructor.