The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1977
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society
- Legal name
- Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society Ltd
- Website
- https://alcs.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1977
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Copyright Collective Management
- NAICS
- Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) (533), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Rights, ISBN & Publishing Administration Services (Identifiers, Metadata, Royalties) (MPAJAJAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Audiobook Rights & Licensing (Territorial/Format Rights, Agencies) (MPAJAIAG)
Keywords
Where The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Commission: ALCS charges a 10% commission on the money distributed to members, which funds the organization's operations. This is deducted from royalty payments before distribution.
- Lifetime Membership Fee: A one-time lifetime membership fee of £36 is charged, which is deducted from the member's first distribution payment rather than requiring upfront payment.
- Secondary Rights Royalties Collection: ALCS collects money from secondary uses of members' works including photocopying, digital reproduction, cable retransmission, educational recording, and certain online uses. Revenue is collected from UK and international sources and distributed to members.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Lifetime Membership - Single Fee |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Commission on Distributions |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | VAT Self-Billing Scheme |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ALCS is a not-for-profit collective management organization that collects secondary royalties — including photocopying, digital reproduction, cable retransmission, educational recording, and certain online uses — from over 100 worldwide sources and distributes payments to its 130,000+ members twice yearly. Membership is open to all types of writers at a one-time lifetime fee of £36, deducted from the member's first distribution. The organization also campaigns nationally and internationally for writers' rights and is developing an AI Copyright Licensing Framework with CLA and PLS.
Product overview
ALCS is a not-for-profit collective management organization (CMO) that provides a suite of services for writers, not a traditional software product. The core service is secondary royalties collection and distribution, where ALCS collects money from over 100 worldwide sources for secondary uses of members' works (photocopying, digital reproduction, cable retransmission, educational recording) and distributes payments based on registered works. Members access services through an online account platform supporting royalty search, works registration, statement viewing, and payment management. Additional services include VAT self-billing for registered members, Writers Digital Payments for audiovisual authors, and an AI Copyright Licensing Framework being developed with partner organizations. ALCS also administers awards for writers including the Ruth Rendell Award (literacy), ALCS Educational Writers' Award, and V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize, while conducting campaigning work on issues affecting writers through initiatives like The Smart Fund.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Secondary Royalties Collection and Distribution Service
- Lifetime Membership Service
- Works Registration Service
- Royalty Search Tool
- Writers Digital Payments Service
Quantifiable outcome
- £750 million total paid to writers since 1977
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Publishers' Licensing Services (PLS)corePLS and ALCS jointly developed an AI licensing scheme launched at London Book Fair 2026. PLS handles publisher relationships while ALCS manages author membership. The licence enables authors to opt-in works for AI training use with fair compensation.
- Writers' Guild of Great BritainminorWriters Digital Payments (WDP) is owned by Writers' Guild of Great Britain and Personal Managers' Association. ALCS generates statements and ensures payment to writers for digital clicks on BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub. Payments range from under £100 to several thousand based on programme clicks.
- Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA)coreCLA sells licences to businesses, educational institutions, and public sector organizations allowing photocopying and digital reproduction of copyrighted materials. ALCS receives income from CLA licences as the primary source of secondary royalties for book writers, with CLA Higher Education licences being the largest single income source. ALCS works with CLA on AI licensing development for training and workplace uses.
- 55+ International Collecting SocietiescoreALCS maintains reciprocal agreements with over 55 collecting societies worldwide, enabling cross-border royalty collection and transfer. When ALCS collects for foreign works, payments can be transferred to the relevant local society for distribution to members.
- International IPI DatabasecoreALCS contributes member data (names, gender, nationalities, dates of birth/death) to the secure international IPI database used by collecting societies worldwide for rights identification and payment processing.
- International IDA DatabasecoreALCS contributes audiovisual work data (titles, creator names, contributions) to the IDA database system used internationally for managing audiovisual rights and royalty distribution.
- Public Lending Right (PLR)minorPLR is a separate UK organization that pays authors for library lending of their books. ALCS recommends members also sign up for PLR as an additional income source. PLR handles primary library lending rights while ALCS handles secondary rights.
- Directors UKminorDirectors UK pays the primary Director of film or television programmes for exploitation of their work. ALCS recommends members who are also directors to consider joining Directors UK for additional royalty collection.
- DACS (Design and Artists Copyright Society)minorDACS collects and distributes royalties to visual artists through payback scheme, artist's resale right, and artimage. ALCS recommends members who are also visual artists to consider DACS membership.
- International Authors Forum (IAF)minorALCS played instrumental role in establishing IAF, which brings together authors' organizations from around the world. IAF advocates for authors' rights internationally and ALCS continues to participate in its work.
- Make It Fair Campaign PartnerscoreCross-industry coalition including authors, publishers, musicians, and visual artists united to oppose the UK Government's proposed copyright exception for AI training. Generated unprecedented public response and media coverage opposing the government's preferred option.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Copyright Agency (Australia): Australian authors' and publishers' rights organisation providing reproduction licensing and royalty distribution. Directly comparable mandate to ALCS for the Australian market, with similar statutory authority and educational licensing focus.
- VG Wort: Germany's collecting society for authors and publishers, managing reproduction rights, public lending right, and remuneration from private copying. ALCS has reciprocal agreements with VG Wort and the two organisations share near-identical mandates, making it the closest international functional peer.
- ProLitteris: Swiss cooperative collecting society for literary and visual arts copyright. Manages reproduction rights, retransmission, and private copying remuneration for authors, with the same member-owned not-for-profit structure as ALCS.
- Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA): UK licensing body that issues licences to businesses, educational institutions and public sector organisations for photocopying and digital reproduction. CLA is ALCS's largest single income source via Higher Education licences and a strategic co-development partner for AI licensing, making it the most directly comparable peer.
- Access Copyright: Canadian collective rights organisation representing authors and publishers, offering reproduction licences to educational and commercial users. Same CMO model and reproduction-rights focus as ALCS.
- CEDRO (Centro Español de Derechos Reprográficos): Spanish authors' rights management organisation focused on reprographic reproduction rights. Operates the same core mandate as ALCS for a different national market and maintains reciprocal agreements with ALCS.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society social profiles
Digital presenceThe Authors Licensing & Collecting Society financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society
What does The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society do?
ALCS is a not-for-profit collective management organization that collects secondary royalties — including photocopying, digital reproduction, cable retransmission, educational recording, and certain online uses — from over 100 worldwide sources and distributes payments to its 130,000+ members twice yearly. Membership is open to all types of writers at a one-time lifetime fee of £36, deducted from the member's first distribution. The organization also campaigns nationally and internationally for writers' rights and is developing an AI Copyright Licensing Framework with CLA and PLS.
Is The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society a public or private company?
The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society founded?
The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society was founded in 1977. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society based?
The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Membership Commission is the primary driver. The others are lifetime Membership Fee and secondary Rights Royalties Collection.
Who are The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Copyright Agency (Australia), VG Wort, ProLitteris, Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA), Access Copyright and CEDRO (Centro Español de Derechos Reprográficos).
Does The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society.
What industry is The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society in?
The Authors Licensing & Collecting Society's product category is Copyright Collective Management. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAJAK, Rights, ISBN & Publishing Administration Services (Identifiers, Metadata, Royalties), with a secondary code of MPAJAIAG, Audiobook Rights & Licensing (Territorial/Format Rights, Agencies). Its NAICS code is 533 and its SIC code is 8600.