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Artists: Complete our Earnings Survey to support our campaigns for fair pay

A woman in an art studio working on geometric clay sculptures
Halima Cassell, Anne-Katrin Purkiss, 2021 © Anne-Katrin Purkiss. All Rights Reserved, DACS/Artimage 2024.

DACS has commissioned an independent study of visual artists’ earnings from CREATe, University of Glasgow.

We want to hear about your earnings and how you generate income.

The survey is open from Thursday 7 March – Sunday 7 April, and will take around 15 minutes to complete.

You will be asked to provide financial details for the tax year 2022-2023, so we recommend having this information to hand.

All responses to the survey will be anonymous.

As a token of appreciation for your time and insights, we're offering respondents the opportunity to win a cash prize worth £500. To enter the draw, simply follow the instructions at the end of the survey.

Full Terms and Conditions on the Prize Draw can be found below.

We need to build a clear and comprehensive picture of artists’ earnings today and how they are generating income, to understand the challenges they face in sustaining their practice.

We want to hear from artists at all stages of their careers, from all disciplines.

Christian Zimmermann
Chief Executive at DACS

Why has DACS commissioned this survey?

Back in 2010, DACS commissioned a survey which shed light on a stark reality: artists' total earnings averaged around £10,000 annually, a figure well below the then national average. Those findings were crucial in helping us campaign for stronger intellectual property protections for artists.  The landscape, however, has dramatically evolved since then. From Brexit to the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth of online marketplaces, the development of new technologies and Generative AI, to the stagnation of funding models for the arts, artists find themselves navigating an entirely transformed world.

This survey is your platform to voice the challenges and opportunities you've encountered in this evolving environment. By sharing your experiences, you contribute to a collective effort that aims to improve the framework within which artists operate, ensuring fairer treatment and recognition.

In 2011, together with DACS, we published the first comprehensive survey of the earnings and contractual dealings of visual creators in the UK. Our more recent research with writers and journalists indicates that the earnings position of creators is under severe pressure in a fast-changing digital environment. Reliable evidence is much needed to support better policy in this field. We are very pleased that DACS is again working with CREATe as an independent research institute.

Professor Martin Kretschmer
Director at the CREATe Centre for Regulation of the Creative Economy, University of Glasgow
    1. Unless otherwise stated, the Promoter is the Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS), 33 Old Bethnal Green Road, London, E2 6AA, Company no. 01780482. Any questions regarding the prize draw shall be directed to the Promoter at communications@dacs.org.uk
    2. The title of the prize draw is ‘Complete our artists’ earnings survey to support our campaigns for fair pay’.
    3. The Opening Date is 7 March 2024 at 9am. The Closing Date for the prize draw is 7 April 2024 at 12.00pm GMT.
    4. The prize draw is free to enter.
    5. Entrants must be at least 18 years of age and a resident of the United Kingdom.
    6. To enter the prize draw: complete the survey and opt in to the prize draw by ticking the box on the survey and entering your email address so that we can contact you, by the survey Closing Date.
    7. The Promoter reserves all rights to disqualify participants if their conduct is contrary to the spirit or intention of the prize draw.
    8. Entries received after the Closing Date will not be included in the prize draw.
    9. Only one entry per participant is permitted. Anyone found entering with multiple accounts will be ineligible.
    10. The Promoter will not accept competition entries that are:
      1. automatically generated by computer;
      2. completed by third parties or in bulk;
      3. incomplete (this includes failing to follow the steps detailed at Clause 6 of these Terms and Conditions).
    11. The winner will be selected by random draw after the Closing Date from all eligible entries received before the Closing Date.
    12. The Promoter accepts no responsibility for entries not successfully completed due to a technical fault, technical malfunction, computer hardware or software failure, satellite, network or server failure of any kind.
    13. The winner will be notified by email within 14 calendar days after the Closing Date. The winner may be required to submit documentation (such as an invoice) to nominate the UK bank account that will be used for receipt of the prize. The prize will be paid to the winner’s nominated UK bank account by electronic transfer. If a winner does not respond to the Promoter within 7 calendar days of being notified by the Promoter, then the winner’s prize may be forfeited and the Promoter will be entitled to select another winner in accordance with the process described above.
    14. The prize is one (1) cash amount of £500. This prize is non-exchangeable and non-transferable. The Promoter reserves the right to substitute the prize with a prize of equal or greater value.
    15. The prize will be paid within 30 calendar days from receipt of the winner’s UK bank account details provided in accordance with Clause 13 of these Terms and Conditions.
    16. The winner of the prize draw agrees that the Promoter may use their name, image, town or country of residence to announce the winner of the prize draw and for any other reasonable and related promotional purposes.
    17. The decision of the Promoter regarding any aspect of the prize draw is final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into about it.
    18. Participants are deemed to have accepted and agreed to be bound by these Terms and Conditions upon entry into the prize draw.
    19. Personal information provided by participants will be used for the purposes of administering the prize draw and despatching prizes in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information on how DACS may collect and use your personal information and who it may be shared with.
    20. The prize draw will be governed by English law and participants submit to the jurisdiction of the English courts.

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