The Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) has launched Payback 2017, with millions of pounds of royalties available for artists from the re-use of published artwork.
Last year, 35,000 visual artists and estates claimed Payback and their individual payments ranged from £25 to around £4,215. The royalties are accumulated through activities such as the photocopying and scanning of work in books and magazines, or the recording or re-broadcasting of work in TV programmes.
For 2017, DACS has also announced a number of changes to the scheme. For the first time, in addition to their 2017 claim form, visual artists can also claim from a distinct royalty pot – worth 10% of the overall share of royalties for all visual artists.
Essentially, if any of their UK publication history is matched by the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) in its list of UK photocopied publications, artists will get additional royalties.
DACS has also announced a change to the submission deadline. Claimants are asked to submit their complete publication history as part of their Payback claim by the earlier date of 17 February.
The changes are the result of recent discussions between the CLA and visual representative organisations. The information artists submit will be used to determine how much money DACS – and other visual representative organisations such as the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and PICSEL – will receive from the CLA for Payback royalties.
DACS will then pay out this money to thousands of visual artists, as they have done every year since 2001.
Fine artist Julia Crabtree, a Payback member and DACS board director, said: “It’s hard for an artist to make a living which is why so many – well actually every artist I know – have to take part-time jobs, or several, to make ends meet. Getting Payback royalties, particularly for images of projects that you’ve poured so much time into, at what is often a large personal expense, feels vital.”
Photographer Kevin Cummins said: “Knowing that DACS is prepared to work on your behalf and to get money from sources that you didn’t even know exist is reassuring. Payback is a nice bonus.”
For more information on Payback visit: www.dacs.org.uk
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