The Australian Copyright Tribunal decided this week to significantly increase the fee that Australian gyms must pay in order to play music recordings in exercise classes. Currently, to play music recordings in classes, Australian gyms must have a licence from the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) on behalf of the owners of the copyright in the recordings.
Recent negotiations between the PPCA and gym owners over a new licence fee were unsuccessful. Therefore, the PPCA applied to the Australian Copyright Tribunal to resolve the dispute over fees. The Tribunal held a hearing in 2009 at which two Frontier employees gave detailed expert testimony. The Tribunal released its decision this week to increase the licence fee from 94 cents per class to $15.
Frontier (Australia) advised the PPCA throughout its negotiations. Dr Philip Williams and Dr Robert Bartels from Frontier provided expert evidence for the PPCA at the Tribunal.
For more information, please contact Marita O’Keeffe at m.okeeffe@frontier-economics.com.au or call on +61 (0)3 9620 4488.
