Claim your share of £millions in royalties now

    Has your work ever appeared in a UK book or magazine? Or been shown on TV? If so, then apply for your share of millions in Payback royalties before the deadline of 26 April 2019.

    Get royalties for your UK published artwork

    Each year, DACS pays thousands of visual artists Payback royalties for the re-use of their copyright-protected work in UK books, magazines and TV programmes.  
     
    In 2018, we distributed over £5 million in royalties to over 63,000 visual artists. Individual royalty payments for work published in books and magazines ranged from £25 to £470, with the median payment £140. The highest payment for work published in books, magazines and broadcast on TV was £3,200.
     
    Payback royalties come from a range of collective licensing schemes which cover the reproduction of images; for example, due to photocopying in libraries. Businesses and institutions pay for photocopying licenses and DACS distributes a share of this money to visual artists. This ensures they are remunerated for their UK published work.

    How to claim your royalties

    You can get royalties for all types of copyright-protected visual art. This includes photography, illustration, fine art and design. If you have inherited an artist’s copyright, you are also eligible. Picture libraries can also make a claim on behalf of their contributors.
     
    To claim, follow these two simple steps:

    1. Complete your UK Publication History Claim by 18 February

    Titles in your Publication History are matched against a list of UK photocopied publications. If you get a match, you get additional royalties. Read our guide to filling in the form here.
     
    2. Submit your Payback Claim Form by 26 April

    Submit your Payback Claim for the overall number of works published in UK books and magazines up until 31 December 2018. You can also claim for work featured on UK TV programmes broadcast in 2018.

    Apply for Payback now


    Your Payback

    Submitting a Payback claim shouldn’t take long, and the tools below will help you with the process:
     

    Sign up to our Payback 2019 newsletter to stay up to date with news and deadlines
    Make filling in your Publication History Claim Form easy with our helpful guide
    Read our useful Payback FAQs
    Find out more about the Payback service as an artist or beneficiary
    Read our artists’ top application tips from last year
     

    You can also contact our Payback team for advice and guidance on 020 7553 9099, or at [email protected].

    What our Payback members have to say:
     
    “As a sculptor, the royalties I receive from Payback are hugely important, as they go straight into paying for essential material costs like metals and fabrics. It’s small royalties like these, generated from works that now hang in museums, that help sustain my practice.”
    Permindar Kaur, sculptor
     
    “Do it. It’s almost like free money! 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!”
    Helen Cann, illustrator
     
    Help us spread the word, with #Payback19


    Image: Anne-Katrin Purkiss. A self-portrait by the artist for DACS. Photograph © Anne-Katrin Purkiss 2019.

    Posted on by Laura Ward-Ure