Fitness
16 February 2026
A series of questions clarified following the webinar in late 2025, by OneMusic, presented by the Australian Copyright Council
Please direct specific questions to the Australian Copyright Council’s (ACC) free Legal Advice Service and the ACC will be happy to assist you if you fall within their guidelines.
All of the ACC’s free, practical, copyright fact sheets are available on the ACC website. The ACC also has book publications, including Copyright Essentials, available for purchase.
OneMusic has many resources available too, including a more comprehensive list of FAQs.
In Australia, musical copyright law is governed by the Copyright Act (1968). The Act exists to ensure that people who make creative content (musical, literary or dramatic works, and sound recordings and films) are able to protect their content. It grants music creators and copyright owners a number of exclusive rights.
When a musical work (the written song) is committed to a physical form, such as a musical work sheet, or when a recording or film is made, the owners of the copyright in that music, recording or film are automatically granted a number of exclusive rights that allow them to control how that material can be used.
These rights include the right to:
So, if someone uses copyright-protected content without permission or a licence from the copyright owners, that person is infringing the owner’s rights.
Copyright is free and automatic. Copyright is free and automatic. There is no need to register or pay money.
Copyright protects ‘musical works’ and ‘literary works’ (e.g. lyrics) for the life of the creator plus 70 years. Copyright protects ‘sound recordings’ for 70 years after the recording was made.
For more information, see the ACC’s Duration of Copyright fact sheet.
APRA AMCOS and PPCA each grant a complimentary licence for music played during worship services. Whether music is being performed live, or played from a recording, you will not need to pay for a licence for the performance our music in a worship service.
Music licensing will be required for uses of music in religious settings if it is being used for purposes that are not worship service. This includes community and social events held on church grounds; youth group activities in mosques or synagogues, or for any concerts being held. A music licence will also be required if any worship service contains music and is being streamed online. Please read the full suite of information for licensing in churches here.
A OneMusic licence does not give you all the permissions you need to use copyright-protected music in a video for your business.
To create a video containing copyright-protected music and then post it online, there are two areas of music copyright that require permission from the copyright owner:
Synchronisation (sync) rights
Permission needs to be provided by a music copyright owner before music can be copied into a video. This copyright is referred to as a ‘synchronisation’ or ‘sync’ right and it belongs to the owner of the copyright in that music.
So, if you want to create a video for your business using copyright-protected music, you must first get permission for the ‘sync’ from the copyright owners of both:
OneMusic does not license these rights, so for more information about how to obtain ‘synchronisation’ rights or any other licensing of music in audio-visual material, please see the APRA AMCOS website.
Communication and reproduction rights
When a video ‘synched’ with music is then streamed online, the operators of the platform or service that is streaming the video will also need permission to deliver those videos to users.
In Australia, the right to stream musical works contained in videos is held by APRA on behalf of its own members and its international partners, such as overseas collecting societies. APRA AMCOS issue licenses to those services that allow them to stream (and where necessary copy) musical works in Australia.
APRA AMCOS licenses YouTube and Facebook directly for the ‘streaming’ of videos. This means that once you’ve cleared ‘sync’ rights with the copyright owners, no communication licence is required for you to upload a video directly to those licensed services.
OneMusic licences are calibrated to ensure that they cover the type of music uses that are typically required for a range of industries and businesses. OneMusic currently offers around 30 different licence types, from background music used in retail stores to music performed in fitness classes, nightclubs, bars and live music venues.
When signing up for a licence, you usually have a selection of packages to choose from regarding music sources. whether you only play radio, CDs, or use music streaming services.
If you are licensed with us and the way you use music changes, you need to let us know so we can adjust your licence accordingly.
Members of APRA AMCOS register their written work and also submit performance reports from each venue they play in the form of a setlist. This is how we collect information for distribution of royalties to members who perform their own music live in venues. If a DJ or a cover band is a member of APRA AMCOS they can submit a set list of songs they have performed – their own or others.
Yes. This depends on the terms of the will and whether copyright was specifically mentioned. For more information, see the ACC’s Wills and Copyright fact sheet.
Find out who the publisher is and get in touch with them online. Publishers usually deal with permissions and if they don’t, they can pass on your query to their client.
Research who the publisher is and contact them directly.
Common areas within public hospitals such as waiting rooms, shops, florists, chemists, food halls will require a permission or a licence, however if it is played in a private space (where beds are), this is considered domestic or personal use, so permission or a licence is not necessary. More info on this licence type.
If you play music protected by copyright in a public place (no matter the music source) for a commercial purpose such as a shop, a gym or a bar you need permission from the owners of the copyright in that music or you need to purchase a music licence. This is called public performance of music. You can read more about streaming music here: Can I play Spotify in my Business Legally?
OneMusic considers the playing or performing of musical works and/or musical recordings during a wedding ceremony to be a ‘domestic’ use of music and, as a result, does not seek a OneMusic public performance music licence used for that purpose.
However, when musical works and/or musical recordings are played or performed at a dedicated wedding reception venue, OneMusic would expect that venue to hold a OneMusic Function, Convention and Conference Centres Licence. Without the venue holding a public performance music licence, music used at wedding receptions may be infringing copyright.
APRA AMCOS and ARIA together offer a low-cost licensing solution for getting permission to incorporate music into films of weddings and similar events when they are made solely for the purpose of domestic viewing.
Buying music, subscribing to music services, or turning on a radio or TV, does not provide the rights to perform or play that music in a public setting, including playing to customers or staff in a business (that is, a ‘public performance’). A ‘public performance’ is deemed to be a performance of music outside a private or domestic setting (for instance, at home or in a private car).
Almost all ‘public performance’ of copyright-protected music requires permission, no matter where that music is sourced from. Whether you are playing from a CD, a digital download, a radio, TV or digital streaming service, if it is a ‘public performance’ of that music, then a OneMusic licence will likely be needed.
Also, if you look at your music streaming service’s Terms of Use, you will see that those services are usually only for your personal use and, therefore, should not be used in a business setting.
When your business has a OneMusic licence, you have the right to play the vast majority of popular and well-recognised music from around the world.
The data collected by an Audoo Audio Meter simply provides APRA AMCOS and PPCA with data on what is actually playing. It helps to more accurately pay the music creators. It doesn’t matter if those songs are customised by the staff or from a playlist recommended by Spotify. If your business doesn’t have an Audoo Audio Meter, see answer 15 below.
Not all performances of music within aged care homes or retirement villages require a licence from OneMusic. If the use of music is “domestic” in nature, such as being used in non-communal areas such as bedrooms or private residences, then a public performance music licence is not required. However, for communal or public areas, such as hairdressers or movie rooms or reception areas, a OneMusic licence will be required.
Failing to obtain a public performance music licence not only denies artists their hard-earned income, it can also have significant financial consequences for your business.
In one case, a Melbourne cafe and bar was fined nearly $200,000 for playing music without a licence when the an Australian court found that the business owner flagrantly disregarded the rights of musicians, and failed to license the public performance of recorded music despite numerous attempts at contact.
In early January this year, several news outlets reported on a Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia decision against a gym owner operating multiple gyms in Sydney and Victoria without a valid OneMusic licence. The Court ordered the five companies running the gyms, along with the companies’ sole director, to pay $235,398 in damages and interest, excluding legal costs.
Copyright laws exist to enable artists to earn income for their creative works, so it is important that when a business publicly performs music, they ensure they have the appropriate permissions and, where necessary, pay for the appropriate public performance music licence.
Information about what is sampled in a song would be listed when a song is registered with APRA AMCOS, and/or PPCA.
The Audoo Audio Meter is a small plug-in device that recognises the music you play. It fingerprints songs, and the data is sent to APRA AMCOS and PPCA. The data plays a role in helping the creators of the music you actually play get their royalties paid more accurately.
There are Audoo Audio Meters in hundreds of businesses around Australia and growing.
Installing Audoo
To apply for a device, you must be a OneMusic customer. A technician will come to your business and install the audio meter into a power outlet. The audio meter device will recognise what music is playing after just 10 seconds and will securely fingerprint it, with no audio ever being stored on (or sent from) the device.
The songs being played are relayed back to Audoo as data (not audio) and each month are reported to APRA AMCOS and PPCA to ingest the data into their systems. The device fingerprints the first few seconds of a song and matches that specific recording in the system.
More info and how to apply for an Audoo Audio Meter.
While having an Audoo Audio Meter installed is the most accurate way to track the music played in a business, there are other methods"
How does OneMusic know which songs are playing?
The following represent the main sources of music data APRA AMCOS and PPCA use to make their distributions (payments) to music creators.
OneMusic provides licences for Australian businesses to play the music you would typically hear on radio, TV and music-streaming services, or that you buy online or in stores. A OneMusic licence covers the majority of commercially released music, worldwide.
You may choose to deal directly with the individual rights holders as it suits you, for example if you want to use or commission a particular song as telephone on hold music or for live performances where the band plays all its own music.
In some very limited instances, you will need to deal directly with the individual rights holders such as if the proposed music use is at a political event or in a context which might give the impression that the musicians and/or recording artists are affiliated with your brand or business.
Read the guide on dealing direct.
OneMusic distributes the licence fees it collects to APRA AMCOS and PPCA - the bodies behind the licensing initiative. After the deduction of administration and operational costs, all licence fees collected by OneMusic are distributed by APRA and AMCOS to their members and international affiliates, and by PPCA to its licensors.
Both APRA AMCOS and PPCA maintain their own distribution practices and policies, which are available online:
An important part of APRA’s and AMCOS’ Distribution Practices for OneMusic licence fees is the use of Music Recognition Technology (MRT). By using MRT, APRA AMCOS can help the creators of the music that is actually played get their royalties.
The Audoo Audio Meter is a small plug-in MRT device that recognises music played in the areas in which they are placed – for instance, a small bar or a retail space. The device fingerprints songs and sends that data to APRA AMCOS. There are a growing number of Audoo Audio Meters in businesses throughout Australia. To learn about how Audoo MRT works, and how to get one installed in your business, read more.
The following represent the main sources of music data APRA AMCOS and PPCA use to make their distributions (payments) to music creators.
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A penalty from a copyright infringement is not called a 'fine'. They are called 'Damages', but they still reflect costs a Court says a business has to pay for infringing. Businesses are often unaware they may be infringing copyright when playing music in their premises and, if a business plays music protected by copyright without permission, it can end in legal proceedings with thousands of dollars in damages payable by that business.
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Public performance music licensing is where the owners of copyright in music grant permission for others to play their music in a public setting. In practice, music is publicly performed when played at retail stores, public events, like food and wine festivals, and in restaurants and bars, gyms, and dance schools.
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