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AVLA is a British not-for-profit collective management organisation.
We offer the most comprehensive audiovisual licence for hospitality accommodation businesses. Our mission is to ensure that creatives are fairly rewarded for the use of their work. AVLA is an official licensor recognised and monitored by the UK government.
AVLA is an alliance of associations representing the largest community of creators of audiovisual works.
Who we are?
Collective management organisations (CMOs) are entities established and operated by rights-holders or their representatives to manage their protected works. At AVLA, we license our repertoire, collect royalties and, in turn, distribute revenues to their creators. As CMO, we are strictly regulated and under strong public scrutiny.
AVLA was set up by a group of not-for-profit CMOs representing producers, writers, performers, directors and visual artists. Our founding members – AGICOA, ALCS, BECS, DACS, Directors UK and PICSEL – joined forces to offer a unified and broad licence, and to provide a single point of contact, relieving customers of the burden of dealing with multiple organisations.
Who do we represent?
AVLA represents the broadest and most varied community of creators of audiovisual works, comprising tens of thousands of producers, authors (TV and film screenwriters), performers (actors, stunt performers, entertainers, etc.), directors and visual artists (graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, etc.).
Learn MoreHow is AVLA Run?
Governing & Policies
Our Members
Your contribution makes a difference
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a collective management organisation?
Collective management organisations (CMOs) are entities created and managed by rights-holders or their representatives in order to license their protected works, collect royalties and distribute revenues stemming from the use of these works.
As a not-for-profit CMO, AVLA is governed by strict policies that emphasize efficiency, accountability and compliance with UK and international legislation. These policies are published on our website, along with our results. You are welcome to consult our annual and transparency reports.
Our purpose is to make sure that the rights-holders who mandate us to represent them – individuals and companies – receive the royalties they are owed, which is why transparency and responsibility are our core values. We are under the scrutiny of our members, a supervisory board, external auditors and public authorities.
Who are the members of AVLA?
Our founding members – AGICOA, ALCS, BECS, DACS, Directors UK and PICSEL – are all non-profit CMOs representing different categories of rights-holders: producers, authors, performers, directors and visual artists involved in the creation of audiovisual works.
Who does AVLA represent?
AVLA represents the broadest and most varied community of creators of audiovisual works, comprising multiple categories of rights-holders:
- Producers: We represent more than any other UK organisation, with over 16,000 production companies – from big studios to small indies – on our books.
- Writers: We act on behalf of around 115,000 writers of TV/film scripts and underlying literary works, giving us near-comprehensive coverage.
- Directors: We are mandated by the vast majority of working TV and film directors in the UK – around 8,000 in total.
- Performers: We collect royalties for around 30,000 actors, stunt performers and other entertainers, representing the overwhelming majority of British audiovisual performers whose works have been recorded.
- Visual artists: We license works for a huge number of graphic designers, illustrators, photographers and other visual artists.
AVLA encompasses all existing CMOs dealing with audiovisual works in the UK. Moreover, our member organsations have reciprocal representation agreements with a network of counterparts abroad, which expands our coverage even further.
Where does the money go?
Almost all of the licence fees we collect are passed on to the rights-holders we represent. For example, for a film, the royalties will go to the production company that financed and distributed it, the screenwriters and actors, the director, and the people who designed the logo and posters.
As a non-profit organisation, we retain only a small portion of these revenues to cover our operating costs. And because we are a member-led organisation, these costs are strictly controlled.
By taking out the AVLA licence, hospitality accommodation businesses are directly helping to maintain a vibrant audiovisual sector, in the UK and beyond. The royalties we collect help to finance the production of new films, series, documentaries and other TV shows, and to sustain tens of thousands of workers and companies involved in the process.