The Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) is urging artists to complete an online survey that could help it protect artists’ royalty payments. The organisation has warned that artists face a significant risk to their income following changes to the way royalties are distributed.
Every December DACS distributes a share of Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) revenue to visual artists, either directly or through their authorised representatives, via the Payback scheme. Last year alone over 350 AIR members received a payment, with the average amount being £150.
However, earlier this year a number of magazine publishers decided to transfer their licensing mandates for the business sector from the CLA to NLA Media Access, a licensing body owned by newspaper publishers.
As a result of this switch, the CLA have had to reduce the pricing of the licence fees that they charge to the business sector to reflect the reduction in the repertoire covered by their licences. This reduction in fees will apply from 2014.
DACS does not currently receive a share of licensing revenue from NLA Media Access as NLA believes that its publishers have obtained rights that allow them to license secondary rights.
DACS want to discover whether there is a basis to this claim. They are calling on artists to complete a survey that will provide valuable information in order to negotiate with NLA Media Access for a share of royalties for visual artists.
Complete the DACS survey here: www.surveymonkey.com/s/DACS_Survey
For more information visit www.dacs.org.uk
