Has your artwork ever been published in a UK book or magazine, or shown on TV? Apply now for your share of millions in Payback royalties - by 4 May 2018.
Get royalties for your UK-published artwork!
Each year, we pay artists and estates
Payback royalties for the re-use of their copyright-protected work in UK books, magazines and TV programmes.
The royalties come from a range of collective licensing schemes - the main one being the
Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA), which sells photocopying and scanning licences to businesses, required by law. We distribute a share of the money from these licences to visual artists, ensuring they are remunerated when their published work is reproduced.
It’s worth it! In 2017, we
distributed over £4 million in royalties to over 38,000 artists and estates. Individual royalty payments for work published in books and magazines ranged from £25 to £550, with the median payment £150. While the highest payment for work published in books, magazines and broadcast on TV was £5400.
How to claim your royalties – in two steps
You can get royalties for all types of copyright-protected visual art, from photography to illustration, fine art to design. Beneficiaries who have inherited an artist’s copyright are also eligible. Picture libraries can also make a claim on behalf of their contributors.
1. Complete your UK Publication History Claim by 12 February
Titles in your publication history are matched against a list of UK photocopied publications. If you get a match, you get royalties!
2. Submit your Payback Claim Form by 4 May
Submit your Payback claim for the overall number of works published in UK books and magazines up until 31 December 2017. You can also claim for work featured on UK TV programmes broadcast in 2017 only.
Payback members’ thoughts and tips
Claiming Payback royalties is easy and so worth it. Read tips and thoughts from our some of our Payback members below.
“Do it. It’s almost like free money! And put the closing date in your diary so you send the form off in time. Royalties have always been a great little extra pot of cash each year that I haven’t had to work very hard for!”
Helen Cann, illustrator
“I’ve been claiming Payback for a few years now – it can help to cover pre-production tests and experiments that don’t necessarily get budgeted into production costs… Just as I might pay someone for hiring a camera or a meal cooked in a café, DACS provides a way of being paid for the use of my work.”
Catherine Yass, artist
“I’ve been claiming Payback royalties for about 10 to 12 years. They come at a good time of year. I tend to put the money towards something personal that I want to do - towards work that isn’t necessarily going to pay me back immediately but that I can see down the line might have a return.”
Find out more about the Payback service as an artist or beneficiary.
Read our Payback FAQs.