ACID supports the Alliance for IP and DACS (Design and Artists Copyright Society) position on Artist’s Resale Rights (ARR)

Artist’s Resale Right (ARR) is a legal principle that provides artists and their estates with a modest royalty from the resale of their works through galleries and auction houses. In the same way that musicians continue to generate revenue from a song or album, years after its release, ARR deploys this principle for visual artists and gives them an ongoing stake in their work.

• Creative industries play a significant role in the success of the UK’s economy and visual arts contribute to this success. The UK’s art market is the third largest in the world worth £9.2bn in 2017. But a thriving cultural economy must support the artists it depends on. Artists operate as small business enterprises, ranging from a single person to 20 people in a shared studio. The shocking fact is that most artists in the UK earn less than £5,000 a year after tax.
• ARR royalties help artists sustain their practice, as each royalty payment goes towards their living expenses, materials and studio space. This revenue ultimately gets invested back into the UK’s cultural heritage. The Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) exists to make sure artists can keep going, and in 2017 they distributed more revenue in royalties (£15.2m) than Arts Council England Grants for the Arts (£11.9m).
• Artists receive ARR royalties whenever their works are resold by auction houses, galleries or art dealers, but the royalty is capped to protect the art market. An artist can only receive a maximum of €12,500 (GBP equivalent) on each sale – even if it’s for many millions. The UK’s art market has continued to prosper whilst ARR has been in effect: since 2006 DACS has distributed over £76m in ARR and the UK’s art market is still the largest in Europe.
• ARR is a crucial right for artists, which helps our creative economy and cultural soft power. It must be safeguarded in uncertain times.

ACID CEO Dids Macdonald said, “We agree with DACS that the business side of being an artist is incredibly important and cannot be under-estimated. All artists should be aware of ARR.  ACID supports DACS in keeping this high on radar in any FTA negotiations.”