A new agreement will streamline music licensing for Apple Fitness+ as the service expands into the Indian market.
Apple Fitness+ is officially launching in India, supported by a new licensing agreement between PRS for Music and the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS). The deal ensures that music used across the fitness and wellness platform is correctly licensed, while also improving how royalties reach songwriters and publishers.
According to Music Business Worldwide, the agreement sees IPRS responsible for licensing Apple Fitness+ within India. PRS for Music will handle the processing side of the service, including matching reported music usage to registered works and distributing royalties through its cloud-based systems.
This structure has been designed to reduce complexity. By cutting out unnecessary currency conversions and extra steps, the process allows money to flow more directly from Apple to music creators, helping speed up payments and improve accuracy.
Sami Valkonen, Chief International Business Officer for PRS for Music, described the partnership as a step forward for global digital licensing. “We’re excited to collaborate with IPRS, our partner rightsholders, and Apple Fitness+ on this innovative approach to digital licensing,” he said. He added, “This is a blueprint for how cross-border licensing can work at scale. By combining local expertise with global PRS’s global processing capability, we’re creating a faster, fairer route for royalties to reach creators wherever their music is used.”
Valkonen also highlighted the importance of partnerships as digital services continue to expand into new markets. “As part of our drive to ensure digital services are licensed wherever they operate, partnerships like this will be key in expediting the licensing, collecting and distribution of royalties to the correct rightsholders.”
Music plays a key role in Apple Fitness+, with workouts and meditation sessions featuring tracks from artists such as Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé. The service includes Audio Focus, which allows users to adjust the balance between music and trainer instructions.
Apple Fitness+ is launching in India with lower pricing than in the US. New users receive one month free, followed by a monthly subscription costing 149 rupees ($1.66) or 999 rupees ($11.14) per year. In comparison, the service costs $9.99 per month or $79.99 annually in the US.
IPRS CEO Rakesh Nigam commented on the partnership, saying, “We’re pleased to partner with PRS for Music to support the launch of Apple Fitness+ in India. This collaboration highlights our shared commitment to facilitating the licensing of digital services while ensuring songwriters and composers are fairly represented and paid in the expanding service offerings depending on music as a key component.”
Apple Fitness+ launched in 2020 and is now available in nearly 50 countries. It offers 12 workout types, including strength training, yoga, HIIT, pilates, dance, cycling, kickboxing and meditation, with seamless integration across Apple devices. Apple has also hinted that the service will launch in Japan “beginning early next year”.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source routenote.com ’
