Music Licensing for CrossFit
The CrossFit Affiliate Partner Network and BMI Make It Simple to License Music in Your CrossFit Gym
A BMI music license gives you copyright permission to play over 22.4 million songs from BMI’s award-winning repertoire. Here’s how you can get started:
Email crossfit@bmi.com and a BMI rep will respond. Please include: Full Name, Business Name, Address, Phone #, Total Member Count and Affiliate ID.
Music Matters in Fitness
Music and working out go hand-in-hand. Nearly 90% of gym-goers feel more energized, more focused on working out and more likely to extend gym sessions when their favorite tunes are playing, according to a study by BMI and Leger, The Research Intelligence Group1. Regardless of whether the music is playing overhead from a streaming service, on TV or radio, during a group fitness class or coming through the equipment used at the gym, permission must be granted from the copyright owner. This is where BMI can help.
BMI’s Music License Saves You Time & Money
- Simplicity Eliminates complex reporting and allows you to make music use changes online or over the phone.
- Convenience
- Pay your bill online securely and easily.
- Schedule your payments by choosing the billing plan that is right for your business. You can also opt for automated payments.
All BMI Fitness Customers Are Eligible For:
- Annual 5% Timely Payment Discount
Common Questions About Music Licensing in Fitness Clubs
If you have additional questions, please review our full list of Licensing FAQs or contact a BMI licensing representative at (877) 264-2136.
Services like Spotify, Pandora and TV/Film streaming services are for personal use and do not include rights for any re-broadcast or public performance. While certain streaming services and TV/Cable providers may be sold as “commercial services,” they still typically do not include rights for public performance. In addition, commercial music services, which are licensed with BMI, provide BMI music for background use only - in your locker or dressing rooms, open gym, lounge, or lobby area. Once you use music to accompany instructional classes, your performance of music falls outside the scope of coverage afforded by your streaming or commercial service agreement.
Since it’s your business or organization that’s benefiting by the performance of music, you are responsible for ensuring that your gym is properly licensed. This responsibility cannot be passed on to anyone else even if the instructors hired are independent contractors.
Yes, but those agreements do not authorize the performance of TV, cable and radio to the public by businesses and other organizations. However, there are certain exemptions provided by copyright law, including the size of your establishment, how many TVs you have in each room, their screen size, how many speakers you have and if you charge a cover charge. Contact a BMI Representative to learn if these uses need to be licensed for your business.
Video conferencing technologies like Zoom, Skype, and Teams generally do not have a blanket license with BMI and require the user to obtain any rights needed. A BMI music license ensures that independent instructors who are not affiliated with a specific gym have the proper digital license to cover the music played during their online classes from BMI’s repertoire of over 22.4 million musical works. Since there are various online platforms that are utilized, BMI works closely with each individual to help secure the most appropriate music license needed. If you have questions, it is best to contact a BMI licensing representative.
If a personal trainer is creating digital content used by an online fitness service, the online fitness service would typically have to obtain a license from BMI.
BMI’s license for online fitness classes includes live stream and video on-demand.
If an instructor is hosting a virtual class through online platforms, the public performance of BMI music may already be covered through licensing agreements between the online platforms and BMI. In that case, additional licensing by BMI would not be required. However, it is important to note that BMI only licenses the public performance of a musical composition. There are other music rights that may be implicated by the intended use and require additional licenses. Any additional licenses such as sync or mechanical would need to be cleared through the record label or publisher(s) of the musical works used in the online dance classes. To see if your gym qualifies for a BMI Digital License extension, please contact BMI.
A BMI music license allows you to only perform copyrighted music from the BMI catalog. It does not cover songs that are registered with other performing rights organizations (PRO)s. You can search the entire BMI repertoire of music by song title, artist, songwriter, composer, or publisher, including songs that are 100% BMI, at https://www.bmi.com/special/songview.