Insights from AUSactive webinar for fitness and wellbeing professionals
Ask us anything! Hundreds of Australian fitness and wellbeing professionals including Pilates and yoga instructors and studio owners joined AUSactive and OneMusic in a webinar 2 June 2022. Read the insights.
Have a look at the shortened version of the webinar below.
Questions from those attending the webinar
I'm interested in how people add music to online exercise programs or social media. I've been told the video editors that are used add their library of music and already have a licence. Is that correct? [Dietitian, suburban Brisbane]
In order to produce any audiovisual content for any use including online, permission is required from music publishers and labels for music protected by Copyright.
So how DO people add music to their social media? What if they acknowledge (credit) the song?
Music used on social media is only authorised for personal use, and not OK for business purposes. If the music you upload with your content if protected by Copyright, you're likely to get a take-down notice from the social media channel, something OneMusic has nothing to do with - we we don't issue licences for this - only the copyright owners can.
Crediting the song or the musician is not the same as getting permission!
[That includes all the influencers out there who place tracks protected by Copyright with their posts when promoting products and services. You need permission first.]
Does that mean if you have Spotify account that you don't have right to play in a business (event)?[Personalised wellness coach, Melbourne].
Can instructors download music through iTunes, Apple Music etc. and use in classes? [Council Health and Fitness Manager]
First of all, Spotify (premium or the one with ads throughout), Apple Music and iTunes are only intended for personal use.
But if you choose to accept a potential breach of your agreement with those providers and you DO use it for your business, you will need to get permission that covers the public performance of music protected by Copyright.
If you get that permission through a blanket licence with OneMusic, a modest additional fee is applied to authorise the use of these services (called Digital Copy/Delivery). Ultimately, regardless of where you get your music (protected by Copyright) from, permission is always be needed.
Can we use Spotify within our business or do we need Soundtrack your Brand?
Spotify is a domestic-use-only service and Soundtrack Your Brand is a business-use package - both contain works that require the OneMusic licence if used in a business.
Does having an all-inclusive licence allow instructors to use Spotify without a personal business account in classes?
Technically it does, because the all-inclusive licence includes the Digital Copy/Delivery component we usually need to apply when services like Spotify are used.
Do I need one licence per business? Or does one licence cover more than one premises? [Fitness business in beachside Sydney]
OneMusic generally needs to issue a licence for each site you operate if you're using music from our collection (repertoire). The only variation on this might be if you are an instructor that doesn't have a fixed location and for these cases we can bundle your music use into a single licence.
Why would our licence be dependent on the number of members we have?
The number of members, or unique users of your service/tuition, is a variable that simply and easily determines the size/scale of each business and the value of our members' music to your operations - in a way that is fair for all.
Is the fee a one-off cost? Is that price per year or per month?
All fees for the fitness sector are for a 12-month period of the use of our music and include GST. They are fully tax deductible for your business. If your fees are more than $500 we will issue quarterly invoices.
If I put on a Rolling Stones CD and play Jumping Jack Flash, how do I know that the Rolling Stones get a royalty payment every time I play the song (and the same goes to any other band).
With smaller business-based licences, we don't ask you to give us a list of tracks that you play each day. Instead, we receive millions and millions of lines of song-data from a huge range of sources, like Spotify, video on demand, radio and TV to build a pretty accurate snapshot of music that was highly likely to be used in your business that week.
We have a trial of Music Recognition Technology devices coming up in July that we are looking for volunteer customers for - this will capture the exact songs played and we feel this is the way of the future if this proves both cost effective and time effective for our customers. Contact us to take part.
Can a Group Fit Instructor who is Les Mills-registered use their Les Mills PPCA-Free music in the Group Fitness Instructors' other freestyle classes?
Yes. Using Les Mills PPCA-Free music also attracts a discount on the Group Fitness Classes tariff of 48.25%.
I download PPCA-Free music from Clickmix for sessions in parks and community centres. What licence do I need?
You would still need a fitness and wellbeing licence, but we provide a discount of 48.25%, acknowledging your use of PPCA-Free material.
I work at gyms that force instructors to use PPCA-Free music only. The tracks are horrendous and woeful, why isn't there a way that instructors can pay to bridge the gap so they can play 'open licensed' music in class even if the gyms won't pay for it.
Ha! We love original music too! There is loads of research on why our brains respond to music we know and love. In some cases we have been able to provide instructors a rights-deducted licence to bridge the gap. Please feel free to email us to work something out.
Power Music sell their music to us as trainers to use in our exercise sessions. Do we still need to have a licence?
Power Music is a PPCA-Free covers service. Permission is still needed and OneMusic applies a 48.25% discount, acknowledging the fact you are using a PPCA-Free service.
Services that offer non-original recordings are eligible for a partial rights discount of 48.25%
Is there any music you can play without needing to pay for it?
This is either music you have directly licensed with the copyright owners directly OR more commonly what is known as Royalty Free music. We can always assist in confirming a service you have chosen for this purpose actually does not require a licence. We have a resource on Royalty Free music.
What about if any of the members want to play their music via our speakers?
If the location has the correct licences, authorising the use of services your members may want to use, then there's no problem with them playing their music on your speakers.
How different is rights when getting rights for specific bands for group classes? Like a rock or metal band for an aggressive exercise program like Muay Thai?
The licences we issue will authorise you to play any music.
If members are playing music from their phone and they are listening through their own earphones/pods, does the business still need to pay for a licence?
If music is limited to headphones and isn't audible to other attendees, then it would be considered personal use. The only variation to this would be if a gym provides that music, for example via a cardio machine. In such an instance, the music use would be commercial even if communicated via headphones.
It would be great if an example of what the cost might be and how to apply for Personal Trainers or Bootcamp Instructors using outdoor areas or own gym space, please?
Instructors that move around need a licence (in most circumstances) if you are operating outside of a dedicated fitness facility. If the gym you are contracting to (not just hiring a room from them) does not have a licence they would need to seek one from us as a fitness facility needs to cover all music use under their roof including contracted fitness instructors like you. Visit our Get a Quote area to get a specific price for your business.
Can you give us a guide on the cost for a sole-trader background music licence where it is appointment only 1:1 Personal Training or small groups, in parks or at community centres?
As at 3 June 2022, the base background music licence is $1.39 per member/individual user.
What are the fines?
APRA AMCOS (the songwriting organisation behind OneMusic) has never lost a case in Court. When an infringement case is taken to Court the Judge generally issues the business to pay the licence fees, the legal fees and in some cases Damages on top of that.
Who is responsible, the INSTRUCTOR (who is an employee not contractor) has purchased a Power music subscription for group fitness music, does the instructor or the business need to take out the OneMusic licence?
What is required of a subcontracting group exercise (eg cycle) instructor who uses their own created playlist and that works out of a gym with a music licence?
As an instructor employed at a Health Club on their payroll what licence cost covers you to instruct in more than one club?
If an instructor is working independently, in a non-fitness location (such as a hall), then it's the instructor's responsibility. However, if an instructor is putting on classes in an established fitness business/venue, then the licence should sit with the business.
Is every single artist and every single songwriter covered by OneMusic? How much of the licensing fee ends up with the performance artists and composer?
OneMusic Australia’s licences covers the vast majority of the worldwide repertoire of musical works, sound recordings and music videos, including almost all commercially popular releases. They also represent the rights of affiliated performing and mechanical societies around the world, which is millions of songs! Over 85% of your licence fees are paid directly to our music members, with the remainder covering limited administration costs.
If you have a mix of clients I am assuming a package can be put together?
If you are operating under the same legal details, we can add all locations to the one account. If you are running separate businesses, they will all require their own accounts but can be managed through the same contact for ease.
What is the licence for parks and community centres?
OneMusic's fitness licence is a great solution for instructors who run classes in locations such as parks, halls and community centres. In most cases the licence is issued in accordance with the total annual classes forecast for the year ahead. Plus, there are some existing allowances when using council-owned facilities, so we encourage you to get in touch with us to discuss your specific requirements.
What about music that has no artist singing, what is the Copyright situation there? [Fitness Instructor, suburban Sydney]
A composition doesn't need to have singing to be protected.
Permission including a OneMusic licence will almost always be needed if the music is protected by Copyright, because the music use is outside of a domestic environment.
Do Not For Profits have special considerations in applying for a licence? How does the playing of music in aged care facilities - in rooms and for leisure or exercise - work? Is this considered personal or commercial music use? [Aged and home care provider]
We have a charity policy which explains how we recognise the good work done by many Australian organisations incorporating music in our collection (repertoire). In many cases, aged care facilities are exempt because the areas in the premises where music is playing is considered a domestic/home environment.
What about remote mining villages gyms & group fitness? is there one membership for our company that covers all of our sites nationwide, or do we need a licence site-by-site? We run the villages on behalf of the mining companies that own the villages.
We can set you up with one account, and we would itemise each location and ask you for a breakdown of approximate users/members for each location.
If I am a DJ in the fitness industry and I edit a song to fit a duration of 5 or 10 mins for a circuit class. Is this allowed?
If a song is remixed or edited, sequenced into mixes or compiled for use by you or others it doesn't affected the the need for a licence for use in a fitness class.
Is there a facility to search for specifics works (tracks)?
We have a works search service updated daily. A new song is being written or recorded somewhere around the world every minute!
Why don't PPCA have a works search?
They do have a list of licensors.
Is is true that a virtual class is not considered a fitness class by OneMusic?
Virtual classes are an inclusion under the background music licence
