ALCS Website Re-launch August 09

LONDON -

- See www.alcs.co.uk Today!

- ALCS Website Re-Launched in Response to Writers’ Needs

In the first week of August, the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) re-launched its website. The re-launch follows an overhaul of the functionality of the site and expansion of key areas in response to their writer Members’ comments.

“We are first and foremost a membership society,” comments Barbara Hayes, Deputy CEO. “We therefore consider it important to invest time talking to our Members to ensure we understand how we can best serve their needs, in this instance when it comes to electronic communication.”

The overhaul of the website was informed by a series of Members’ focus groups held up and down the country at which Members’ opinions and views on the functionality of the website and ease of use were actively sought. Members were also asked to comment on what other information would be useful to them so this could be added.

Overall navigation of the site is now far easier than it was before. The pages that explain how ALCS works, ‘where the money comes from’ and ‘what we do’, have been expanded in response to Members’ requests to understand more about the operational aspects of the Society. Most importantly, for both the membership and ALCS itself, the area where writers input information about their work has been made much clearer to ensure ALCS can help Members maximise their earning potential for secondary uses of their work.

ALCS also reviewed the logging on procedure both for the online application process and for those seeking access to the Members’ Area for the first time. Whilst the process is now more intuitive and, therefore, user-friendly, ALCS has carefully balanced this with the need to safeguard users’ confidentiality and security by emulating procedures people experience everyday when banking online.

The ‘Search for royalties’ facility has been kept in place which allows searches against books, scripts and other works to see whether ALCS is holding any royalties against them. This has been especially popular amongst potential Members as they can immediately see if ALCS may be holding money for them prior to joining as a Member. However, it is still the case that many people do not consider themselves to be a ‘writer’ in the true sense of the word, quite often they are lawyers, doctors, educators or other professional who don’t consider writing to be their primary role. This search facility has been especially well received in the past when they see the recognition of the works being used and monies collected by ALCS being available to them.

‘Twitter’ with ALCS

At the same time as re-launching its website, ALCS has also joined the micro-blogging site, Twitter and will be trialling it to communicate with Members for the next few months. This social networking site is one of the fastest growing Member communities on the internet and offers ALCS an ideal way to keep its Members up to date. ALCS will publish ’status updates’ or mini-blogs referred to as ‘tweets’ on their personal page to share with their ‘followers’ (Twitter slang for ‘friends’). Members who choose to ‘follow’ them will be able to keep right up to date with events, news and website developments as they happen.

Notes for Editors

ALCS - Sources of Income

ALCS has developed highly specialised knowledge and sophisticated systems which track writers and their work (both print and audiovisual) against various secondary uses for which they are due payment. The main sources of fees due are secondary royalties from: photocopying (through the Copyright Licensing Agency which is jointly owned by the ALCS and the Publishers Licensing Society); international Public Lending Right; cable retransmission; fees from the Educational Recording Agency (ERA) and sources such as blank tape and machine levies for private copying and small miscellaneous literary rights.

ALCS - Protecting and Promoting Authors’ Rights

ALCS also protects and promotes authors’ rights concerning their intellectual and moral property to ensure they are fully respected and fairly rewarded. ALCS is committed to fostering an awareness of the value of copyright issues amongst writers as well as the wider public who use, enjoy and benefit from the written word in all its forms.

Set up in the wake of the campaign to establish Public Lending Right in 1977, ALCS is a not-for-profit company that has distributed a total of GBP200 million to writers since its inception.

In its role promoting and protecting authors’ rights, ALCS consults regularly with policy makers in the UK and Europe over copyright, digital rights management and intellectual property matters.

The All Party Parliamentary Writers Group (APWG)

ALCS has also supported the setting up of the All Party Writers Group (APWG) chaired by Janet Anderson MP. APWG is a forum for elected Parliamentarians in Westminster to consider and discuss matters of importance to writers. As a focal point for authors’ interests, with its links to UK writer organisations, APWG is well placed to draw attention to the current issues facing writers amongst an audience of decision-makers at Westminster and beyond.

ALCS - The International Picture

The Society is recognised internationally as a leading authority on copyright matters and authors’ interests. It maintains a close watching brief on all matters affecting copyright both in the UK and around the world and makes regular representations to the UK government and to the European Commission. ALCS pays royalties to Member writers based in 137 countries around the globe. ALCS has reciprocal arrangements with over 50 collecting societies around the world.

ALCS contact information

ALCS, The Writers’ House, 13 Haydon Street, London EC3N 1DB Tel: +44(0)20-7264-5700; email: alcs@alcs.co.uk

Website: www.alcs.co.uk

Source: ALCS

Media Contact (please do not publish these numbers) Becca Wyatt: +44(0)1798-867-117; +44(0)7801-061-420, ALCS, Alison Baxter: +44(0)20-7264-5700