When the news broke about the $300 million lawsuit against Peloton, it was a clarion call for many to reexamine how their companies were licensing and reporting their use of copyright-protected music. The National Music Publishers’ Association brought the copyright infringement claim against Peloton on behalf of 14 of its music publisher members. 

There’s no doubt that the right music can enhance your company’s success, but it’s important to remember that using major label hits or trending indie tracks requires proper licensing. With a company’s reputation and finances on the line, it’s crucial to understand how music licensing works and the range of costs associated with it. Read on for the most important things you need to know about the cost of music licensing for businesses.

The digital age has transformed music in a multitude of ways, including how it is made, played, distributed, and monetized. As a consequence, copyright holders have faced major obstacles to getting paid in the new frontier of apps, downloads and streaming, and the laws have had to catch up. But while these laws largely benefit the music makers and seldom affect the end user in any significant way, they are not as accommodating to the parties left in the middle: businesses who want to play popular music to enhance their customers' experience.

Most businesses want to enlist the power of music to motivate and inspire their customers, but the thorny thicket of music licensing causes understandable hesitation and confusion. What kind of music licensing is necessary to have music on a website? Or in a commercial video? Or to play music during a performance or event? And what about music licensing for small businesses, like restaurants, bars, and stores? Or for fitness companies to enhance workouts?

Many consumer-facing businesses—fitness companies, retailers, conferences, etc.—have migrated online or doubled-down on digital over the past year. Regardless of how the pandemic ends or when the “new normal” arrives, it’s certain that fierce competition for attention in the digital landscape will remain. One of the proven differentiators that can significantly increase customer “stickiness” is music, and the demand for legal music integration has never been greater.

Fitness has permanently changed. Since COVID-19’s arrival there’s been an explosion of online content, with brick-and-mortar gyms pivoting swiftly into digital programs their members can access at home, and digital fitness brands driving record growth. As coronavirus spikes across the country, the fitness industry continues transforming...even as gyms and studios consider safety precautions that will eventually allow users to return in greater numbers.

Whether you’re a personal trainer, studio franchisee, content creator, or gym owner (or anything in between), this year has been turbulent to say the least. At Feed.fm, we’ve been rapidly iterating on products to serve more segments of the market and helping businesses with digital strategy every day. We work with partners on all sides of the industry that are 100% focused on driving successful digital businesses. And, we’re excited to learn from our latest collaborator - KK Hart, Certified Business Coach and Consultant. 

The process and tools used to create workout soundtracks have evolved over the years right alongside the way we consume music in general. Early VHS tapes had background music recorded in studio, workout compilation CDs blasted from speakers in aerobics room, and most recently, streaming from personal Spotify/Apple Music accounts has taken over.

We hear from businesses every day that music copyright is insanely confusing. We know that clear, succinct resources are few and far between. To that end, we’ve been compiling common questions and answers to help make sense of it all. 

Feed.fm works with the world’s leading fitness companies to provide legal, curated music integration in their apps and digital settings. While each brand has unique considerations (development bandwidth, customer acquisition challenges, competitive pressures), we consistently hear from customers that "I wish we'd done this sooner."

From our vantage point of working across the fit tech sector, we can see there is a clear opportunity cost to waiting on music integration. So we tallied the Top Reasons for “Why Music Now?”

REASON #1 — Exerciser Impact

The world’s leading authority on fitness and music, Dr. Costas Karageorghis, has proven that music can improve running performance by 15%; it can be a sedative or a stimulant; a nerve calmer or focus inducer; a pre-workout entryway into flow state; a mood enhancer; and an agent that reduces perceived effort by up to 10%.