ALCS calls for members to support ECL initiative

If you are a member of the Authors Licensing and Collecting Society (the ALCS), as this blogger is, you should have received by now an e-bulletin which clicks through to an Extended Collective Licensing (ECL) Consultation. As the ALCS explains:

The regulations governing ECL require the members of the licensing body seeking the authorisation to consent to its application. ALCS is a member of CLA [the Copyright Licensing Agency, here] and we are therefore seeking the consent of ALCS members to the CLA application.

A fairly full and helpful page containing further information can be perused here. 

Oh, and if you are thinking of popping in to say hello to the folk at ALCS, the organisation is moving to a new address:

1st FloorBarnard's Inn86 Fetter LaneLondon EC4A 1EN

By sheer coincidence, the CLA is moving there too.

ALCS: tough times if you want to live off your writing

The Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) in the United Kingdom commissioned a survey on authors' earnings (by Queen Mary, University London's Phillip Johnson, Johanna Gibson and Gaetano Dimita). It's called What Are Words Worth Now? A Survey of Authors' Earnings and you can read the report (12 pages) here.

Here's what the BBC ("Typical writer 'earns £11,000 a year', research reveals"), The Guardian ("Authors' Incomes Collapse to 'Abject' Levels"), the Daily Telegraph ("JK Rowling’s 'little story about wizards' makes it hard for authors, says Joanne Harris"), the Bookseller ("Typical author earnings 'dropped to £11,000 in 2013'") and the International Business Times ("Writers' Block: Authors' Average Earnings Plummeted to £11,000 in 2013") have to say about it.

The reports concludes thus:

Adapt and survive

The UK creative industries are a proven world-leading success story, punching well above their weight internationally. However, these are concerning times for writers.

Digital use earnings are going up but overall incomes are coming down and the proportion of professional authors who earn a living solely from writing has fallen from 40% to just 11.5%.

For writers to continue making their irreplaceable contribution to the UK economy, they need to receive fair remuneration for their work.

This means ensuring clear, fair contracts with equitable terms and a copyright regime that supports creators and their ability to earn a living from their creations.

This blogger has done a fair amount of writing in his time, and there have been years in which he has earned a welcome addition to his income from this source -- but he costed out his first attempts at remunerative writing and worked out that, taking into account time spent not just writing but also reading and correcting proofs, dealing with publishers and so on, his earnings were somewhere around 30 pence an hour. While this experience may not be typical of all authors, the reality check proved to be of greater value than the royalty cheque ...

ALCS to lose educational copyright income?

The Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) in the United Kingdom has been emailing its members to warn them that their income from the ALCS may be about to take a hit:. The circular reads, in relevant part, as follows:

"Immediate threat to ALCS income for writers 

A recent and unexpected addition to the Government consultation on the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property is one that could effectively eradicate the income that ALCS receives from educational sources. We are asking for your help in trying to avert this very serious threat to your ALCS income.

This new addition to the consultation into copyright includes a proposal to replace the current licensing system in the educational sector with a broader free use regime. The licensing fees owed to writers for the copying activities carried out by the education sector flow through ALCS. If legislation accepting this change is passed then fees you currently receive from this source will be lost. 

Obviously, we do not agree with this proposal and it’s vital that a strong case is made to the Government to stop this potential legislation being passed. We must convince them that the income derived from this sector plays a vital part in adequately remunerating the very writers who help to enrich student learning through their writing and that it provides an important incentive to help keep them creating. We believe that this is purely a cost cutting exercise, and not about ‘simplifying copyright’ for either the user or the author".

According to further information on the ALCS website, the sum distributed in respect of educational copying is some £12 million a year. Given that most writers of academic papers receive no payment for their writings from publishers or other sources, the money is a welcome supplement to many researchers' and academics' incomes. Seeking to build an evidence-based case in favour of retaining the status quo, ALCS write:

"If you would like to give any more information about the impact that this change would have on you as a writer, we would be delighted to hear it".

So ,if you're an affected ALCS nember, you know what to do ...

Belgian SCAM brings cash to British journos

In 2008 the Authors Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) struck a deal with the Société Civile des Auteurs Multimedia (SCAM) in Belgium under which the latter was to collect fees due to UK authors under the terms of a statutory scheme dealing with the reprographic copying of UK newspapers in Belgium.  Having received the first payment of fees, ALCS is now preparing to make payments for this photocopying in its next distribution, scheduled for February 2011.

To receive a share of fees in this distribution, freelance journalists are invited to claim their share of the fund. They can only claim their slice of the revenue in respect of articles which are (i) written on a freelance basis, (ii) at least 250 words in length (this might pose problems for people writing for British red-top tabloids), (iii) accredited to the journalist by name and (iv) published in a national UK newspaper between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2008.  If you think you're entitled to a pay-out, visit the ALCS website or contact the ALCS Licensed Works department at on +44 20 7264 5700.