ARE YOU DUE A PAYMENT?

If you are, we will:

• Send an email to your registered email address to let you know your statement is ready to be downloaded
• Put a notification in your online account to let you know that a new statement is available for download

If you don’t receive an email and there is no notification in your online account, then you haven’t received a payment this time. The March distribution is one of two ALCS distributions each calendar year. The second annual distribution takes place in September, although it’s worth remembering that the September distribution is the smaller of the two.

We are no longer sending out paper statements to members, so you’ll need to login to your online account to access these. If you don’t have an online account, click here to set up a password and log in.

MAKE SURE WE HAVE YOUR CURRENT BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS

Around 500 payments failed in last year’s March distribution because of out-of-date account information so if you’ve recently changed your bank account, please let us know by 5 March 2020 either by using your online account or giving us a call on 020 7264 5700.

KEY DATES

• 5 March – final date to tell us about your new bank account to ensure payment
• 25 March – date we’re making payments (please note it can take a few days for payments to arrive, depending on who you bank with)

All online services will be closed from 6 March while we process payments.

WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM

The March 2020 distribution includes payments for retransmissions of audiovisual work, photocopying of books in the education and government sectors in both the UK and overseas, and journal and magazine articles, as well as overseas Public Lending Right.

GUIDE TO YOUR STATEMENTS

Your statement will include a list of sources against each payment. See the MARCH 2020 sources guide to help you understand where the money you are due has come from.

What is the ALCS Investment Return (Gross of commission) shown on the statement?

ALCS holds reserves which both help protect the Society and generate returns that help us to keep commission rates down. Whilst most of our reserves are held in cash or short term deposits, some are deemed medium/long-term and are invested in financial securities; such as bonds and equities.  These investments have performed well and this year our board decided to pass some of the investment gain back to ALCS members.

HOW TO DOWNLOAD YOUR STATEMENT

If you are due a payment in this distribution, you will receive an email letting you know that you can download your statement.

You will find it in your account in the folder marked ‘2019-2020’ and you can either:

• download it or
• click to have it emailed to you.

1. To download your statement in PDF format click on Request Statement Download
2. When your statement is ready for download, the message will change to Download Statement
3. Click on Download Statement and your statement will download (most likely to your computer downloads folder)
4. Alternatively, click the option that emails your statement over to you

FREQUENTLY ASKED DISTRIBUTION QUESTIONS

You haven’t received a payment or an email

We estimate payments should reach bank accounts on or around 25 March, but it could be later depending on who you bank with, so please give it a few days to arrive. We also stagger sending emails out to members to let them know they’ve received a payment, so it may just be that we’ve not sent yours out yet.

If you’ve not received a payment or an email notification about your statement, you can log into the members’ area to check if you have a statement on your account and will be receiving a payment in this distribution. If there’s no statement on your account, this means you weren’t due a payment this time. Check again at the time of the next distribution in September 2020.

You’ve had a notification email but no money

In the first instance, check which bank account we have sent your payment to by logging into your online account and checking your payment details. If you have recently updated your account and forgotten to tell us, then get in contact with our membership team who can advise you on the next steps. If your bank account is correct, please allow a few days after the 25th for the money to reach your bank account for it to arrive.

You’ve had money but no notification email

We will have sent an email to the address currently listed on our database to inform you that your statement is ready to view in your online account. If you have changed email address recently, please contact us and we can update this for you so that you can access ALCS’ online services.

You’ve been paid a lot less than usual

There can often be fluctuations in payments, despite some members receiving similar amounts of money over a period of time. Read why there can be fluctuations in payments.

I made a claim for visual contributions last year – will I be paid?

Visual claims are paid out in September so if you made a claim for visual contributions in 2019, you’ll receive a payment in September 2020. Take a look at our visual contributions FAQs if you have any more questions about this.

Why isn’t my book earning any royalties yet?

Some books may take a while to earn secondary royalties. See why.

Still have a question? Read our FAQs.