Ballarat gyms join in fight against fee rise

BALLARAT'S fitness clubs and gyms could struggle for survival if a proposal to lift the licensing fee for the music they play by up to 4000 per cent is successful.Court proceedings began last week between Fitness Australia and the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia, who are arguing for a rise to $4.50 per head, per month, to be charged to gyms who use their music.Currently gyms are charged as little as 93 cents per class to play popular, dance and chart music.Body and Soul owner Melynda Tempest has donated money to help fight the case.She said her music licensing costs of less than $5000 a year could rise to $100,000 if the case is lost.Ms Tempest said she avoided paying fees on some of her classes by playing cover band music."It would mean an independent health club owner like myself would go from paying $2500 a year to paying $100,000. Last year I paid around $2000," she said."There is going to be an increase, to say there isn't going to be one is ridiculous but we want to limit the amount."Ms Tempest said it would be members who would wear the increased cost."Clubs are going to have to increase their membership fees, health club owners are going to have to look at their group fitness classes and the style of class and the type of music they play," she said.Fernwood Ballarat manager Lee Squire said she was supporting the case."We are in full support of the activities of Fitness Australia in the PPCA case," she said."The national office of Fernwood have also provided significant resources in the preparation of the case."According to the PPCA the increase is to reflect: "the contribution that music delivers to the profitability of fitness centres and is based on a comprehensive economic study which concluded music that is vital to fitness classes is currently grossly undervalued."According to the PPCA the fee would only apply to "profit-driven" gyms and not community groups."At the moment the music tariff for a whole class is considerably less than the $2 cost of hiring a towel at the gym which is simply not fair."