Why Writers Need To Join The ALCS
Not so long ago I was invited to the shiny new offices of the ALCS in the swish City of London. As a recently recruited member I was part of a focus group on the organisation’s website and their enrolment process.
“Who?” you ask. If you are based in the UK and write anything – journal essays, books, short stories, scripts, articles – then you should be a member of the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society. Even if it’s just a single study in a medical paper, or a review in a magazine, you could be owed monies for rights use overseas.
The ALCS are a group that manage overseas copyright licensing and international Public Lending Rights issues (PLR) for British writers. By licensing copyright to academic institutions, businesses, public bodies and the like in over 40 countries, the ALCS earn you extra money for your work. They also collect the equivalent of PLR in eight other countries (although if you are registered with UK PLR you already have the option of directly registering with the Irish system too).
PLR is the money you are owed as an author for copies of your work being leant out from public libraries, to compensate for lost sales royalties. Currently it stands at 6p per loan for the UK, capped at a maximum of £6,600 (so JK Rowling and other bestsellers don’t take the whole pot of cash). Other systems are in place in many other countries, although accessing each could be tricky which is where the ALCS come in. Unfortunately, there is currently no US PLR system…
Interesting fact – although not widely available in stores The Crown of the Blood series continues to make me a few quid a year in PLR payments, and the books are taken out more than many of my Black Library titles.
Top facts about the ALCS:
• Licensed copying in over 40 countries and PLR in eight countries.
• More than 87,000 members.
• Paid out £32,000,000+ to members last year.
• An independent company – not a government quango.
Author Earnings
The ALCS regularly conducts a survey of its members to track writers’ earnings and shifts in the writing industry. They released this in their ‘What are Words Worth?’ Report. Most dramatically they have charted a decline from 40% of authors in 2005 who defined themselves as ‘professional’ to just 11.5% in 2013. Median author earnings are down from £15,450 (real terms) to £11,000. Part of this can be attributed to more people taking up writing in their spare time, but other studies have shown a sharp drop in the earnings of authors.
For these reasons it is important that writers explore every revenue stream they can, and the ALCS is a straightforward step toward accessing additional funds. You can read analysis of the report here.
“Free money? Where do I sign?”
The registration process is slightly cumbersome, mainly due to the need for the ALCS to check you are who you say you are and that you have written what you say you have written. You can register online and will be required to enter your details and list your works by title and (where appropriate) ISBN.
When you have done this the folks at ALCS will double-check your registration and send you a welcome pack, a couple of other forms to complete and a membership card. It is a little laborious in this modern digital age, especially if you have many back titles and overseas editions to add, and they are looking to streamline the system based off recent feedback (including from the focus group I was in).
There is a one-off lifetime fee of £36 but you do not pay this until you have received any monies from the ALCS. It’s kind of like a no win, no fee deal – you don’t pay anything for membership until the first statement in which you earn money. If you are a member of the Society of Authors, National Union of Journalists, and a few other organisations your membership of the ALCS is free.
So, in summary what you have to do is:
• Register at the ALCS website.
• Fill in the details of your works and keep the list updated.
• Pay £35 out of your first royalties for lifetime membership.
• Receive royalties statements every six months for life.
Caveat – As a new member, and with a bit of confusion over my registration because of a server thing, I haven’t received my first statement yet. It could be pennies, it could be quite a lot of money. I don’t expect to pay off the mortgage just yet, but even if it’s enough for a nice meal it’ll be worth it.
Not a Scam
The ALCS might already be collecting money for you. The ALCS take a percentage of your earnings as commission, which is why they are eager to hunt down writers that are owed money so that they can take their cut. A bit like those will beneficiaries in Heir Hunters (okay, maybe you haven’t seen as much daytime TV as me…) the ALCS have collected monies for writers that they are trying to pass on. You may find yourself receiving a letter from the ALCS saying that they have money for you. It isn’t a scam, they won’t ask for any money up front.
“Statistics produced by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in 2014 show that the creative industries are now worth £71.4 billion per year to the UK economy (over £8 million per hour), and the UK is reported as having “the largest creative sector of the European Union”, and being “the most successful exporter of cultural goods and services in the world”, according to UNESCO.” From ‘What Are Words Worth Now? Not Enough’
Writers’ Advocacy
So we all like extra money, but the ALCS isn’t just about padding the bank account. They are an advocacy organisation too, arguing for creators’ rights at the UK and EU level. They work with the All Party Writers Group in parliament, deal with the Arts Council, as well as lobbying for writers’, erm, rights across at the EU.
With the increase in digital publishing, piracy, libraries facing government cuts and other strains on the creative industries it is important that the rights and earnings of writers as well as publishers and producers are safeguarded. Not only that, a small proportion of the commission you pay on your royalties goes to the ALCS ‘Support & Sponsorship Fund’ to directly help writers with grants.
So, in case you missed it, go to the (slightly dated but soon-to-be-revised) website and find out more: http://www.alcs.co.uk/Home.aspx
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