tim290280
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Australian Gyms Forced To Pay 1,500% More For Gym Music
May 19, 2010 12:22 p.m. by Andrew Winistorfer
Australia is currently in the midst of overhauling its royalty payment laws, after multiple suits were filed alleging comically low payouts to copyright holders. The funniest aspect of this story: Australian gyms are looking at royalty rate increases of 1,500 percent, up to $15 from less than $1. Basically, Australian gyms were paying less than a dollar for the right to pay any amount of licensed music (like, say, "Pump Up the Jam") during a class, but now Australian Copyright Tribunal raised the price to $15 per class. So now gyms are only playing unlicensed music, which I bet is totally just killing the bottom lines of shitty music that is usually played in gyms.
I never liked gym music anyway. I remember a heavy squat day once that convinced me to buy an iPod. They played Robbie Williams - Feel followed by Delta Goodrem (no idea of the song, hate her music) followed by some other easy listening junk. I think that gyms would be better off doing some sort of sponsorship deal with iTunes or similar, such that they submit a playlist for gym participants to download for a class. Then the gym can literally just have the radio playing at low levels in the gym itself and everyone can provide their own music. Win for anyone who hates their music, win for musicians, win for gyms.
Personally I've noticed that most people on the gym floor are wearing iPods anyway. Very few people listen to gym music, most ignore it anyway. Classes are the only people this will affect.