THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS
Don't Stop the Music
The HFA presents an essential guide for music licensing for US clubs and studios.
Music is the heartbeat of most fitness facilities, energizing workouts and creating an atmosphere that keeps members motivated. However, the legal landscape surrounding music use in commercial settings is complex, and operators must understand their obligations to avoid costly copyright infringement claims.
To help navigate this legal thicket, the HFA has produced a briefing paper, “Music Licensing in the United States.” This briefing paper makes sense of the rules that govern playing recorded music that’s licensed from one or more performing rights organizations (PROs).
Copyright enforcement is taken seriously, with PROs actively monitoring compliance. Their typical approach involves initial contact requesting licensing agreements, followed by potential undercover visits to gather evidence of unlicensed music use. If facilities ignore these requests, they risk federal copyright infringement lawsuits.
The financial stakes are significant. Non-willful infringement can result in damages of $750-$30,000 per song, while willful infringement can reach $150,000 per work. Given that a typical fitness class might use 15-20 songs, the potential liability is substantial.
The HFA Is Playing Your Song
Under US copyright law, every song contains two distinct copyrighted works: the musical work (notes and lyrics) and the sound recording (the artist’s recorded performance). These are often owned by different entities—typically, music publishers control musical works while record labels own sound recordings. When fitness facilities play music, they’re likely infringing on the exclusive rights of both copyright owners.
The most common violation in fitness settings is the “public performance right” for musical works. Whether you’re playing music during group fitness classes, in common areas, or as background ambiance, you’re creating a public performance that requires proper licensing.
Many fitness operators mistakenly believe that purchasing music from iTunes or streaming from personal Spotify accounts provides commercial usage rights. This is incorrect. Consumer music services explicitly restrict use to personal, non-commercial purposes. Using these services in a business setting violates their terms of service and doesn’t provide any public performance rights.
Similarly, playing terrestrial radio doesn’t exempt facilities from licensing requirements. While radio stations pay for their own broadcast rights, your facility needs separate licenses for the public performance occurring within your space.
To help members legally access recorded works, the HFA has negotiated group discounts for US facilities with two major music licensing organizations, ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) and BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.). The HFA discount for members is up to 10% savings on ASCAP licenses and up to 15% on BMI licenses.
Know the Rights Landscape
While these HFA benefits are for US-only facilities, global fitness businesses should understand what rights are available to them and who has authority to enforce them. Other PROs that operate on the global stage include Global Music Rights (GMR) and the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC).
As the HFA briefing explains, “If you get contacted by an entity claiming to be a performing rights organization and they are demanding that you take a license, you should consult with qualified legal counsel to determine the accuracy of the demand.”
The HFA partnerships with BMI and ASCAP demonstrate the industry’s recognition that licensing can be made more affordable through collective action by the association.
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Health & Fitness Business (HFB) is the leading Health & Fitness industry publication. Published monthly by the Health & Fitness Association (HFA) and distributed free to the industry, HFB offers analysis of the opportunities, challenges, issues and news that impact the industry.
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