DACS has published its latest Annual Review, which shows a record distribution of £15 million in royalties to 19,000 visual artists and artists’ estates in 2014. It also highlights the work DACS is undertaking to protect and develop artists’ income streams for the future.
Artists’ royalties continue to grow year-on-year
The latest figures published in
our Annual Review demonstrate DACS’ vital role in supporting the economy of the visual arts and the annual growth in royalties we are paying to artists.
In 2014, our 30
th anniversary year, we distributed a record £15 million in royalties to artists and their estates through the
Artist’s Resale Right,
Copyright Licensing and
Artimage, as well as through
Payback and the
Dutch Public Lending Right.
We paid over £1.4 million to more than 1,000 artists and estates through Copyright Licensing and Artimage; £9.6 million to over 1,500 through the Artist’s Resale Right; over £4.9 million to 20,000 through Payback; and over £200,000 in Public Lending Right (PLR) royalties from the Netherlands.
The royalties distributed in 2014 build on our successful work transforming the financial landscape for visual artists. In the past three decades, DACS has generated in excess of £75 million in royalties through our rights management services. These importantly help artists to make a living, develop their practice and maintain their legacy for future generations, and contribute to the UK’s creative economy.
DACS continues to safeguard artists’ revenue streams
We also highlight in our Annual Review the important work we are doing to protect and develop these income streams for artists, in light of the changing political and economic landscapes of the UK and further afield.
We are working with auction houses, galleries and art dealers on Artist’s Resale Right compliance, to ensure they pay the royalties due to artists from secondary sales of art in the UK. In addition, we are lending our support to campaigns to introduce the Resale Right in the US and China – two key markets where the Right is not currently recognised.
We also continue to participate in EU discussions about the Digital Single Market, to ensure that visual artists’ rights and interests are recognised in proposals to reform copyright in Europe.
Reporting in the Annual Review, Gilane Tawadros, Chief Executive, DACS, says: “With the election of a new Government, DACS will be monitoring the impact of proposed new legislation and budget cuts on individual artists and their livelihoods. We shall continue to campaign for artists’ rights and promote the vital contribution that artists make to British culture, society and the economy at large.”
Download and read our Annual Review 2014
Image: Front cover of DACS' Annual Review 2014. Featured artwork: Untitled, 2012 (installed at De Hallen Haarlem, The Netherlands, 1 December, 2012 - 24 February, 2013) © Roger Hiorns. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2015. Image courtesy Corvi-Mora, London. Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij