The music licensing change leaving the fitness industry in bad shape ​

Fitness instructors have been further hit during a torrid 15 months.

Most moved online in the first Covid-19 lockdown and many haven’t been able to resume physical classes since.

Now the PRS (Performing Right Society) has ended its online music licence which instructors needed to purchase to play copyrighted music legally during their sessions.

More than 3,000 people have signed a Change.org petition asking members of PRS, the music licensing authority, to reverse their decision, which came into effect at the end of June, and preserve the licence indefinitely.

One signatory to the petition said: “I believe people like Suzy (their fitness instructor) have joined the forgotten heroes list and need to be commended and rewarded for their immense contributions to maintaining people’s physical and mental health during the pandemic. To take this (the license) away is not only insulting to them but detrimental to their clients’ overall health and wellbeing.”

EMD UK (the governing body for group exercise) is trying to find a solution but has not been able to as yet.

The fitness industry continues to struggle in increasingly adverse circumstances through the pandemic. The uncertainty is causing additional stress to instructors and participants alike.

There are fears the licensing change will cause some fitness instructors’ businesses to become unviable as they depend on the music controlled by PRS.

Licence-free music is not an option for many instructors as their class participants want to work out to songs that they know and love.

This is particularly relevant in classes like Clubbercise, a workout set to a soundtrack of club anthems from the 1990s to the latest hits.

London-based Claire Burlison, founder of Clubbercise, is alarmed by the change and worries about its impact on the fitness community.

Claire said: “I’m absolutely devastated by this news. It couldn’t have come at a worse time for fitness instructors who are still battling to stay afloat due to ongoing Covid restrictions.”

She believes her industry is currently in “turmoil” and that her classes were vital to maintaining the positive physical and mental health of participants.

Claire added: “I’m extremely concerned for the physical and mental health of people who have been using these online classes as a lifeline during the pandemic.

“In a survey we did last year, 91% said the pandemic had negatively affected their mental health. 97% of respondents said that taking part in regular online dance fitness classes had improved their mental health during lockdown.”