“I want you to make me feel like I’m the only girl in the world.” The voice sounds like Rihanna, but it is thinner and less emotive, and the original song’s groove bassline has been replaced by a generic backbeat.

This is a cover song produced by the Power Music app. Some gym-goers will never hear the real Rihanna, or any other well-known artist, again, because GLL – the social enterprise that owns and operates Better and its 250 leisure centres across England, Wales and Northern Ireland – decided to cancel its music licence and instead play royalty-free songs from the Power Music app from 1 March.

The decision, says GLL, was made after the cost of its music licence was set to “increase significantly, well beyond the rate of inflation”. Scrapping the licence is expected to save the group £1m a year.

But instructors and gym members alike are up in arms about the change, saying that it’s killing the energy in workouts. It also potentially feels like part of a broader shift in the public realm, where cheap-to-make music could start to edge out well-loved artists from gyms, shops, pubs and more – particularly as AI becomes more widespread.

For Rachel, who teaches classes such as body conditioning, power pump and aqua aerobics at Better centres across London (her name has been changed), the switch has meant inventing new choreography and new playlists at short notice. “I had to create everything from zero,” she says. The change was intended to start on 1 January, with instructors notified on 11 December. But after some pushback, it was delayed until 1 March to give instructors more time to adjust.

Rachel says there is a “very limited choice” of tracks on Power Music, which is restricting her creativity, damaging her classes and “significantly reducing” attendance. If attendance falls too low, her classes may be cut.

“I spent my life finding music which inspires me and creating good choreography … Now, with Power Music, there’s flat music playing, and the class is flat too,” she says. “I chose this profession because I love to create atmosphere and motivate people to move. I’ve danced since I was five years old. When I finish my classes, I feel sad.”

Responding to these criticisms, Power Music – which creates new tracks as well as cover versions – said “everyone is entitled to their opinion”, and said there were numerous instructors “who love our music and variety”. The company also said that none of their music is AI generated.

Jacqui Lewis, 51, who has attended Better’s Clissold Leisure Centre in Stoke Newington, north London, for the past decade, says the change has made her classes less enjoyable. Previously, her Ukrainian Zumba instructor would supplement the classes’ Latin dances with flamenco, ballroom, Irish dancing, pop and even Ukrainian polka.

“The instructor is as professional, enthusiastic and inspirational as ever, but she can’t do the sheer variety that she used to,” she says. “It means a lot to her to have us all dance to a Ukrainian folk song, and it meant a lot to us too.”

Gabby, a 34-year-old who did not want to give her surname, feels similarly. Since March, her instructor’s “amazingly choreographed”, UK dance, garage, old-school rave and drum’n’bass music has been replaced with “janky” American hits – such as Rihanna covers – which fail to reflect the community that uses the gym. The instructor, Gabby says, would rather be playing “the music she grew up listening to, and is still passionate about. It’s an oversight, trying to shoehorn people into playing music that doesn’t represent them.”

“It’s disrespectful [of GLL] to assume that instructors would just be able to do their classes to completely different music,” she adds. “They don’t seem to understand the level of work that goes into planning classes, and they’re not paying instructors more to do this.”

Several petitions protesting the move to Power Music have been registered on Change.org, the largest of which now has over 4,500 signatures. And a website called Better Scrap the App has been set up to “coordinate next steps to persuade GLL to reverse this policy”.

When I put the criticisms to GLL, a spokesperson said: “While music plays an important role in creating an engaging and enjoyable class environment, these rising costs inevitably impact the resources available for our wider community programmes. As such, we must carefully balance how we allocate funding to ensure we continue to deliver maximum social value.”

GLL says it is broadening the range of music genres available, adding Afrobeats, bhangra and, shortly, soca tracks. “We will continue to listen to feedback and explore ways to further enhance our music offering over the coming months.” It also says it is following in the footsteps of other gym chains.

When a Power Music cover version gets played in a gym, the songwriter receives royalties for the use of their lyrics and compositions, but the performer of the original song does not receive performance royalties. A spokesperson from PPL UK, which issues licences and collects royalties for performers and rights holders in the UK along with PRS for Music, said: “Ultimately, a move away from licensed music means less money in the pockets of music creators. If businesses move away from licensing music, then creators will not be paid for that use.”

PPL UK reported this month that revenue from fitness and dance class licensing had risen by 5.6% year-on-year, as “increasing numbers of employers recognise the value of licensing music” – ie songs by real artists. The company adds that fees for fitness and dance have not increased beyond inflation since 2018.

“This stuff goes deeper than just dancing around the gym to music,” says Clissold Leisure Centre regular Lewis, who has been active in opposing the change. “I don’t go clubbing any more. This is the nearest I can get to that amazing feeling of a whole room full of people bouncing up and down, being united by the same thing. It’s important stuff, and with Power Music being so characterless and flat, you don’t get that – the joy of real music.”

For now, Lewis and Gabby have retained their gym memberships – but Gabby says she would consider giving it up if her favourite instructors left. Rachel, meanwhile, is looking for alternative work. “I have hopes that [GLL] will withdraw their decision,” she says. “I have delivered classes for more than 20 years. I can’t imagine doing something else. But I don’t know how long I can keep up like this, without freedom of music.”