DACS will shortly complete its investigation into Payback claims made by Rex Features Ltd, where authorisation forms had been submitted to DACS bearing false signatures.
As a follow-up to our recent press statement from 18 December 2015, we are pleased to confirm that we are soon due to complete our current investigation to verify authorisation forms received by Rex Features.
As of today, we have reached out to more than 800 individuals to confirm personal details and to invalidate unauthorised claims. Where we have been able to verify claimants’ personal details, we will release royalty payments to Rex Features Ltd by Friday 22nd January 2016. Please click here to download a list of names of people who we have been thus far unable to reach. If you have claimed Payback royalties through Rex Features Ltd and are listed here, please contact us at [email protected] to confirm your details as soon as conveniently possible.
As part of our standard procedures and due diligence checks, all payments normally due to Rex Features Ltd had been held during the investigation to ensure that payments could be distributed accurately and fairly once details had been verified.
As part of our standard procedures, DACS requires all picture libraries and agents to submit an authorisation form signed by each artist for whom they are claiming before we can issue royalties. This is to ensure that there is a visible chain of title for each claim being made.
Following concerns raised by individual Payback claimants, and DACS’ standard due diligence checks, we became aware of discrepancies in paperwork submitted to us by Rex Features Ltd, an established, international photo library.
DACS has been a trusted broker of the annual Payback scheme for over 15 years. We are absolutely committed to working with artists to ensure they get a fair share of royalties due, as we know these payments help support artists to make a living from their practice and develop their work.
In 2015, a record number of visual artists and artists’ estates claimed for almost £4.7 million in Payback royalties from DACS. With more than 25,000 claimants, DACS is seeing more artists and estates benefit from Payback royalties than ever before. Royalties are an important income source for artists, and with individual payments ranging from £25 to around £3,770, Payback supports vital expenses including studio rent, artist materials and equipment, and tax returns. The median claim value this year is £275.
For any other queries or further questions, please contact Sebastian May, Communications Manager at DACS on 020 7553 9064 or [email protected].
Notes to editor
About DACS
Established by artists for artists, DACS is a not-for-profit organisation for visual artists’ rights management. Passionate about transforming the financial landscape for visual artists through innovative new products and services, DACS acts as a trusted broker for 90,000 artists worldwide. Founded over 30 years ago, DACS is a flagship organisation that has and continues to campaign for artists’ rights, championing their sustained and vital contribution to the creative economy. DACS collects and distribute royalties to visual artists and their estates through three royalty schemes: Payback, Artist Resale Rights and Copyright Licensing. Visit
dacs.org.uk for more information about DACS and its services.
About Payback
Payback is an annual scheme managed by DACS. It is open to visual artists and estates for all types of published artwork, from fine art and photography to design and illustration. Royalties come from collective licences which allow ‘secondary reproductions’ of artwork, such as photocopies of photographs in magazines and books, or the repeat broadcast of TV programmes featuring artists’ work.
DACS retains a percentage of the money we collect for Payback to cover administrative costs. For 2016 we have reduced this percentage from 18% to 16%, whilst striving to continue to further reduce this percentage in years to come.
Payback will open again in summer 2016. Further information about the scheme can be found at
dacs.org.uk/for-artists/payback.