5 February 2016
PLR ANNOUNCES MOST POPULAR AUDIO-BOOKS IN UK PUBLIC LIBRARIES
PLR makes first ever payments on audio-book titles
Top 10 Most Borrowed Audio-books 2014/15 (includes both registered and unregistered titles) 1. Without a Trace Lesley Pearse, read by Emma Powell 2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone J K Rowling, read by Stephen Fry 3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J K Rowling, read by Stephen Fry 4. Demon Dentist David Walliams, read by David Walliams 5. The Cuckoo’s Calling Robert Galbraith, read by Robert Glenister 6. Demon Dentist David Walliams, read by David Walliams 7. The Silkworm Robert Galbraith, read by Robert Glenister 8. Never Go Back Lee Child, read by Jeff Harding 9. Be Careful What You Wish For Jeffrey Archer, read by Alex Jennings 10. Ratburger David Walliams, read by David Walliams
[NB: entries 4 and 6 are separate editions of the same title]
Children’s authors are highly represented in the top 10 most borrowed audio-books with J K Rowling’s Harry Potter books taking 2nd and 3rd spot. Titles by David Walliams came in in 4th, 6th and 10th position. In fact, the popularity of Walliams is shown by two different editions of Demon Dentist being represented in the top 10.
In 2014/15, almost 16,000 audio-books were registered for PLR. During this time 109 narrators (eligible for PLR for the first time) registered with PLR. Jeff Harding, was one of these and he has registered over 650 titles including The Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver and Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer. His 20% narrator’s share in these titles will earn him over £3,000 in the February 2016 payment round.
Commenting on his delight to receive his first PLR payment Jeff Harding said:
“I honestly thought that PLR income would be pennies, not pounds. I am happily surprised and sure to spread the good word among my fellow narrators!”
Public Lending Right (PLR) was established by Act of Parliament in 1979 and is the responsibility of the British Library. PLR gives authors the legal right to receive payment from government each time their books are loaned through the public library system.
This year, PLR has opened up for new business. The Digital Economy Act, passed in March 2010, cleared the way for the legislation to be extended to include public library loans of audio- books and ebooks downloaded to library premises for taking away as loans.
While the latter is still restricted by legislation about how ebooks may be borrowed, the former is now up and running. The new arrangements to reflect and reward this new business officially began on 1 July 2014, at the start of the first year in which loans data for audio-book borrowing could be collected in readiness for the PLR payment distribution in February 2016.
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Media Contacts
Julia Eccleshare: 020 7 412 7275/07824 350 481 or [email protected] Susan Ridge: 01642 604699 or [email protected]
Editors’ Notes
1. The Public Lending Right scheme is the responsibility of the British Library. It is administered from PLR’s existing offices in Stockton-on-Tees.
2. PLR is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) through the British Library. This year PLR is distributing £6 million to 22,347 authors at a Rate Per Loan of 7.67 pence. Since its inception in 1979, PLR has distributed over £150 million to authors. The Chancellor announced the results of the government’s spending review on 25 November 2015. As part of this announcement the British Library was informed that PLR has received a ‘flat-cash’ settlement. Its funding will therefore remain at £6.6m up to 2019.
3. Authors are eligible for payment if their PLR earnings reach a minimum of £1. There is a maximum payment threshold of £6,600 for the top-lending authors. This year, 202 authors will receive the maximum payment.
4. The PLR Act was passed after a long campaign by British authors for recognition of their right to receive payment for the lending of their books by public libraries. Now firmly enshrined in law, payment is made from government funds to authors, illustrators and other contributors whose books are borrowed from public libraries. Distributed annually, these payments are made on the basis of loans data collected from a sample of public libraries in the UK. All that authors need to do to qualify for payment is to register their book when it is first published and to register all subsequent editions of it as they appear.
5. This highly valued, simple but effective system, has brought additional funding that helps to encourage creativity. In particular, at a time when new books attract the most attention, PLR payments can reflect the value of older titles which may still be popular despite being less visible in bookshops. And it is not just the extra money that authors and illustrators appreciate; it is also that, implicit in the government funding, is recognition for the contribution that authors and illustrators make to the UKs creative success and prestige abroad.
6. The Digital Economy Act, passed in March 2010, cleared the way for the UK PLR legislation to be extended to include public library loans of audio-books (‘talking books’) and ebooks downloaded to library premises for taking away as loans (‘on-site’ ebook loans). The UK PLR Scheme has been extended from 1 July 2014.
The government-commissioned Sieghart Report (published December 2014) on the future of public libraries in the UK has recommended that the government seeks to secure changes in European and UK copyright law in the next legislative term to extend PLR to include remote ebook loans.
7. British authors qualify for payment from a number of other European PLR systems. These include the Irish PLR system which is now administered through the UK PLR office on behalf of the Irish government. Payments to UK authors from PLR systems in countries such as France, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands are distributed by the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society.
8. PLR’s data analysis system (LEWIS) offers public libraries a vital tool to support effective and efficient business decisions. The analysis gives them a comprehensive picture of national reading trends, changes in our national and regional reading habits and a fascinating insight into our preferences, pastimes and obsessions.
9. “What Are Words Worth Now?”, a survey commissioned by the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) and carried out by Queen Mary University of London found that in 2013, just 11.5% of professional authors earned their incomes solely from writing. In 2005, 40% of professional authors said that they did so.
10. National Libraries Day (6 February 2016) is primarily a celebration of public libraries. It is strongly supported by libraries of all kinds including school, university, workplace and government libraries and by organisations, politicians, public figures, celebrities, writers and illustrators and service users. National Libraries Day will be the finale of a week’s celebrations in all types of library. For more information see http://www.nationallibrariesday.org.uk/.
11. For all the latest news follow PLR on Twitter @PLR_UK.
Public Lending Right First Floor, Richard House Sorbonne Close, Stockton-on-Tees T +44 (0) 1642 604699 TS17 6DA, United Kingdom www.bl.uk/plr