Collective Licensing
Simon Patterson. Curated by Locus+, Compton Verney House.
Collective Licensing schemes allow copyright holders to receive royalties when their works are used or reproduced in various media, including print and television which are distributed by DACS through the Payback scheme.
The way we consume and experience visual art is constantly changing, and DACS campaigns for the extension of strong copyright frameworks that protect the rights of artists, however their works may be created, when they are copied and stored on digital devices.
The Smart Fund
The Smart Fund is a proposal by creative industry organisations to help plug the gap by ensuring creators and performers are fairly paid when their work is copied and stored on digital devices. It does this using a small percentage from sales of electronic devices which copy, store and share creative content.
In April 2024, the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee endorsed the proposal, in its Creator Remuneration report.
The Smart Fund could raise up to £300 million a year for creators and performers, and simultaneously provide more cultural funding, at no cost to the government, the taxpayer or consumers.
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The Smart Fund places a small one-off cost charged to manufacturers or importers, on the sale of electronic devices that allow people to copy creative works (such as smart phones, tablets and laptops). These funds are then pooled together and distributed by existing collective management organisations to creators and performers.
Similar schemes, known as private copy levies, exist in 45 countries, including most European countries, North America and Japan, which generate over £900 million a year for creators and performers. In many of these countries, a significant proportion of this is used to supplement public funding for the arts. Furthermore, without providing a reciprocal UK scheme, many UK creators and performers are at risk of losing their eligibility to claim private copy levy royalties from overseas.
For example, the French scheme raises around €290 million a year for creators across disciplines, €75 million of which funds over 12,000 projects across France to support creative education and skills, access to culture and developing new work.
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The Smart Fund is backed by organisations from across the creative industries:
- ALCS (Writers)
- BECS (Performers)
- DACS (Visual Artists)
- Directors UK (Screen directors)
- PICSEL (Visual Artists)
