A gym chain part-owned by ex-NRL player and media personality Beau Ryan has been ordered to pay $175,000 for copyright infringement after it played songs by artists such as Avicii and Vengaboys in classes without paying licensing fees.
In December, the federal court found that the companies operating S1 Training gyms – a business that first opened in Sydney’s Coogee before expanding with franchises across New South Wales and Victoria – had infringed copyright on various occasions when playing music during guided workouts between 2020 and 2024.
The legal action was brought by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), which grants and administers licences to businesses to the vast majority of the world’s commercially available music.
Any business that plays copyright protected music, whether it be radio or from a streaming platform, is required to pay APRA for a “OneMusic” licence. The fees are distributed as royalties to rights holders through record companies after a process that includes researching and tracking radio air play, box office reports, streaming data as well as sound recognition devices placed in businesses.
The claim was filed against five companies and director Kieran Turner. There was no claim against Ryan, and Ryan was not involved in or aware of the copyright infringement.
Undercover officers attended a range of S1 classes at Sydney branches in Coogee, Bondi Junction and Caringbah, as well as in Melbourne’s Prahran, and made recordings of the entire sessions, which were later provided as evidence.
Additionally, videos posted to social media of activities recorded at various branches in which music is playing formed evidence. The judgment states that the music recognition app Shazam was used to identify the music played during fitness classes.
The court found that tracks played at the gyms included Horny 98′ Radio Edit by Mousse T., We Like to Party by Vengaboys, Booty Bounce by Tujamo and Taio Cruz, Wake Me Up by Avicii and Don’t You Worry Child by Swedish House Mafia.
APRA alleged that after becoming concerned about a potential copyright infringement in May 2022, it contacted franchises and Turner explaining the requirement and offering the businesses a licence.
It claimed that Turner did not accept this offer, nor further offers, and that he didn’t take action to stop unlawful music performances once becoming aware of legal requirements.
Turner claimed that APRA could not establish it owned the copyright to any musical works performed at the gyms, and that undercover officers’ covert recordings were made illegally.
He also said that if songs had been played at S1 gyms, he did not personally authorise the fitness trainers to do so, and that they had the discretion to conduct classes with or without music. He claimed organising licensing was the responsibility of each trainer contractor.
However, judge Nicholas Manousaridis found that “the performance of music was an essential element” of S1 classes, and that Turner would have been aware because he arranged for sound equipment to be installed in S1 studios.
Manousaridis also noted a requirement in S1’s contractor agreement for trainers to “turn up five minutes before class and check set-up and cleanliness of studio and turn on music and screens”.
The court ordered various S1 branches to pay damages amounting to the cost of unpaid licence fees for their premises, interest on those amounts, as well as additional damages of $3000 for each of the 25 tracks found as infringements.
This amounted to $175,398 which the court found Turner was personally liable for, a liability which would be reduced if any of the gym franchises paid their own specific fees and damages.
S1 noted that all of its gyms except for the Coogee branch were now “insolvent and have been wound up”. It is unclear if this is related to the legal proceedings and payment orders.
S1 Training, which is registered under the name SWEAT 1000, was founded in 2020 by Turner, a businessman and head of Heartland Motor group.
In 2021, the company announced Ryan, who played for NRL teams Wests Tigers and Cronulla Sharks, had become an “equity partner and ambassador” when announcing the business’ intention to expand and offer franchising opportunities.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank Beau for his unwavering support to date, and we look forward to franchising our Premium Group Training concept throughout Australia and the World,” S1 Coogee wrote on its Instagram in April 2021.
Company ownership documents filed with the corporate regulator show that REMJESS, which Ryan is the sole office holder of, owns a 5 per cent stake in SWEAT1000, the registered name of S1 Training.
Ryan is host of Channel 10’s Amazing Race and a radio presenter on Triple M. He has been contacted for comment.
Karen Holmes, the director of APRA’s OneMusic licensing organisation, said it regularly contacts businesses such as bars and gyms which they believe are playing music in breach of copyright and gives them an opportunity to pay for a licence. “It is typically an action of last resort to seek redress via the courts,” Holmes said.
S1 did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
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Elias Visontay is a National Consumer Affairs Reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
