DACS supports The Smart Fund to generate £300m for UK creative industries
Following the release of The Manifesto for Artists earlier this year, DACS has today joined a coalition of arts industry organisations supporting The Smart Fund campaign.
The Smart Fund is a proposal for a collaboration between writers, artists, performers, technology manufacturers and government which could generate a huge annual investment for the creative industries.
The Smart Fund could raise between £250 and £300 million a year to support the UK’s creative sector and provide a direct way for tech companies to invest in, empower and enrich the cultural DNA of our society.
Schemes like the Smart Fund exist and operate successfully in 44 countries worldwide, paying out over £930 million to creators and performers globally in 2018 alone.
The fund would work by placing a small levy on the sale of mobiles, laptops, PCs and devices that are built to allow people to store and download creative content, solving the problem that creators are not recompensed for the use of their work.
Small payments, the equivalent of 1-3% of the sales value of the device, would be paid into a central fund that is distributed to creators and performers to help them sustain a living from their content, support and bring together communities.
The Smart Fund offers an opportunity to invest the livelihoods and sustainability of creators UK-wide, as well as contribute to the economic and cultural renewal of the UK post Covid-19.
Working with the tech industry and innovators in this sector, we want to support creators and performers, to rebuild and enable the UK’s world leading cultural heritage, tourism, and creative industries and contribute to its soft power and international standing. The arts provide sustenance to the engine room of cultural regeneration, recovery and renewal for the whole country.
Chief Executive of DACS
The Smart Fund is a no brainer. Currently there isn’t any effective way for creators to be recompensed when their work is downloaded and stored by audiences. This remains one of the largest untapped opportunities for creators and performers. The Smart Fund provides a way to invest in creative talent of all ages and backgrounds and their communities.
Artist, DACS member and The Smart Fund ambassador
