The Authors Registry

The function of the Authors Registry is to act as a clearinghouse or payment agent for organizations wishing to distribute payments to individual U.S.-resident authors. Based on its agreements with the organizations, the Registry receives lump-sum payments and distribution data from (usually foreign) payers. The Registry's job is to get the payments to the individual authors for whom they're designated. This involves locating the author-payees (if they're not already in our database), creating an account for each one (this involves some minimal paperwork), and sending out checks. We also keep the records necessary for required reporting to the IRS (although we don't withhold taxes).

Payments are typically for photocopying and other similar uses of copyrighted works, carried out under national blanket licensing systems, and collected by local authors' rights organizations.

No. The Registry does not deal with publishers' royalties. We will contact you if we receive payment for you from one of the organizations with whom we're working.

We send out both postal mailings and e-mailings to authors for whom we've received payment. We give a brief account of where the payment comes from, what work or works it's for (when possible), and how much it amounts to. We also include the paperwork necessary for us to set up an account for the author.

The necessary paperwork includes a W-9 form, which is the IRS request for the payee's Social Security number. We are required to report any payment we make in excess of $10, and must use the payee's Social Security number for this reporting. Also included is our Commission Authorization form, which collects the author's contact information and authorizes us to retain our standard 5% commission.

The Authors Registry retains a 5% commission from all payments we distribute. This is the lowest commission in the industry, and covers only part of our operating expenses.

Checks are sent out in batches, on a schedule determined by a number of variables. Generally, you should receive payment within a few weeks of returning the paperwork.

The majority of authors who receive payment through the Authors Registry do receive further payments in the future. However, we are unable to predict with certainty when, or whether, a given author will receive another payment. Once you have submitted the required forms, we will not request any further paperwork. Future payments will be sent automatically as we receive them.

No and no. Since the Authors Registry functions purely as a clearinghouse, it does not calculate or generate any payments on its own. We merely receive payments and pass them along. We do not represent the rights of our author members.

Our contact database is not connected to the Internet or available to the public in any way except by individual inquiry. If we receive an inquiry that requests your contact information, we will release only the information that you permit us to. Both the Application Form and the Commission Authorization form have sections that allow you to designate what contact information, if any, you authorize us to give out to inquirers.

For further information on enrolling with the Registry, please contact Terry King at (212) 563-6920 or by email at staff@authorsregistry.org.