Ballarat gyms slam music fee ruling

A COURT ruling to slug gym owners for playing music inclasses has angered Ballarat fitness centre owners.But planning by local gym owners has meant the copyright hike announced this week will not mean highergym membership.The Copyright Tribunal ruled that musicians had not been paid enough for the copyright of their songs. Thisdecision resulted in substantial increases to copyrightfees for the use of music in group exercise classes at fitness centres.The ruling followed a battle between the fitness industry and the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia.The PPCA had charged a fee of 96.8 cents per fitnessclass with a capped annual maximum of $2654.The Copyright Tribunal increased this to either $15 a class or $1 per participant, representing an increase of1500 per cent in music costs for a typical fitness centre.But the owner of one Ballarat fitness centre put contingency plans in place five years ago after predictingthe battle.Owner of Ballarat Body and Soul Health and Fitness Studio Mel Tempest said music from cover bands, notaffected by the ruling, had been used in fitness classesfor the past five years.She said the fee hike would not affect gym membershipcosts at the Humffray Street South centre.Ms Tempest said while the copyright fee was less thananticipated, fitness centres had prepared for a rise.However, she believed some smaller gyms may be forced to close because of the new costs.Les Mills, a provider of choreographed exercise classes, has already developed a product that is not covered by PPCA copyright.Franchisee partner at Fernwood Ballarat Lee Squire described the fee hike as unreasonable.However, she said Fernwood would play coverband music and would not be affected by the increase.‘‘Our gym had been waiting for this ruling and will now be using cover-band music and the Les Mills choreographed exercise classes. By using cover-band music, we will be saving a lot of money, so the PPCA has shot itself in the foot,’’ Ms Squire said.