Gold Diggers!
Brian April 15th, 2009
Many of you now realize that New Jersey, in all their infinite wisdom, decided to tax health club and gym memberships back in 2006. Come to think of it, aren’t they triple and quadruple dipping with property taxes, tickets and sales tax?Â
I am digressing, so back to my original point. The music industry, in their equally infinite wisdom, has decided to charge gyms and health clubs exorbitant fees to play certain songs from certain artists in their facilities. They want to charge clubs even though they cannot prove the song is being played. Organizations like SESAC, ASCAP and BMI are trying to squeeze more money out of health clubs for a dying industry.
What does this mean for the club member?
If clubs are forced to pay high fees to play music the only two options would be to cease playing music to avoid the fees altogether or pass the cost on to the member in the form of higher membership dues. Neither of these options are appealing to anyone involved!
What can you, the member, do?
Contact your state representative about this issue and advise you friends to do the same.
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Check out this article about Australia’s health club industry.
http://fitnessbusinesspro.com/forprofits/australian-music-licensing-affect-2608/
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In Health,
Brian