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Your gym membership fees might rise 3000% due to copyright |
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Written by Felix Da Silva (fdasilva@bitnip.com)
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Tuesday, 13 November 2007 |
 The Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) which represents the
interests of record labels and recording artists, has applied to the Copyright
Tribunal to increase the music copyright charges for songs played during fitness
classes. The current rate per class is at 94.6c but it could rise up 3000% to $31 per class.
According to Fitness Australia CEO, Lauretta Stace, said PPCA informed them they would be re-evaluating the fitness class tariff and
a pilot survey showed a need for the rise.
Even though an official rate has yet to be set, they still expect a big increase.
Ms Stace said,
Not only could this cripple the fitness industry but gym patrons may also have
fees increased. It's a severe threat to our industry. A fee hike of such magnitude will have a devastating impact on fitness centres,
primarily made up of small businesses.
The operators would be anxious about raising their fees. It's quite a dilemma.
We don't want to put people off exercise by making classes unaffordable. In July, the PPCA was able raise the music fee for registered club and nightclub from 7c per
person to $1.05, roughly a 1500% increase.
From what I gather, the rate would increase 3000% per class and not per person like the situation at the clubs. If that were the case, then it is not as alarming as it first seems to be.
If the rate is indeed $31 per class and there is 20 person per class, each person would just have to pay an extra $1.5 which sounds a bit more reasonable.
While I am not working on my brain muscles, I like to pump iron and work on my pythons at the YMCA.
At the YMCA, the fitness instructors often play their own mixed music which could be argued that the instructors are the copyright owners of the mixed music and shouldn't have to pay a fee. Of course then we'd have see whether there's copyright infringement on the mixed music. It might just be easier to just pay the $31 dollars and be done with it.
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