What is collective licensing?
Every day, creative works are reused – scanned in libraries, photocopied in offices, or recorded for educational purposes. Often, it’s hard to track these uses or get paid directly.
That’s where collective licensing comes in.
Collective Licensing explained
Collective licensing allows organisations like DACS to receive money when your work is reused in ways that are difficult for you to monitor individually, and then we pay you your fair share.
Ways your work may be reused:
- a student photocopying pages from a textbook featuring your artwork
- a business scanning a journal containing your photograph
- An educational institution making recordings or copies of TV or radio content for teaching
The organisation pays a fee under a blanket licence that covers such uses, and DACS receives a share of this payment to distribute to artists and creators.
DACS is authorised to distribute these royalties on behalf of artists and creators, saving you time and ensuring you’re fairly compensated when your work is reused.
What could you be missing out on?
You might be owed royalties you didn’t even know about.
Collective licensing helps:
pay artists for reuses that are hard to track individually
protect your copyright
ensure fair compensation for your creative work
In 2024, DACS paid over 100,000 creators, beneficiaries and their representatives a share of over £5.3 million in collective licensing royalties.