2011-12 Author Payments

Statistics – February 2012
Registered authors:                                         19,265

Authors receiving payments:                            17,885
Eligible titles in PLR database:                        85,196
Titles found:                                                   72,870

Total amount paid to authors:                $9,921,247.93

Minimum author payment:                                $25.00
Maximum author payment:                          $3,360.00

Average author payment:                                $555.00
Median author payment:                                 $268.80

 

Province

Number of authors

Total Paid

Quebec

6,033

 $4,052,287

Ontario

5,666

 $2,938,520

British Columbia

2,525

 $1,257,557

Alberta

902

 $441,851

Outside Canada

562

 $304,102

Nova Scotia

656

 $269,586

Manitoba

437

 $170,627

Saskatchewan

328

 $166,048

New Brunswick

395

 $163,762

Newfoundland and Labrador

261

 $108,530

Prince Edward Island

71

 $33,553

Yukon

30

 $8,314

Northwest Territories

17

 $6,278

Nunavut

2

 $232

Total

17,885

$9,921,248

Library sampling
Sampling involves checking the PLR program’s registered titles against the catalogues of a selection of public libraries each year. Through sampling, we are able to determine the number of hits for a title, that is, the number of libraries in which the title is found.

PLRC’s Budget
In June 2009, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages announced that the $25 million in annual funding to the Canada Council for the Arts would be extended for five years. Author payments through the PLR program continue to benefit from $1 million of this funding.


We survey six public libraries in each official language and double results for libraries in large urban centres.

Calculating the payments
PLR payments are calculated using a four-category payment scale. The categories correspond to the number of years that a title has been registered with the program. This year, for any title found in the PLR’s library sampling, the payment was calculated as follows:

 

Number of Years Title Registered with PLR

Payment if Title Found

Category I: 2007 to 2011

$48.00

Category II: 2002 to 2006

$38.40

Category III: 1997 to 2001

$33.60

Category IV: 1986 to 1996

$28.80

The amounts in this scale apply to authors claiming 100% of a PLR payment. In situations where there is more than one eligible contributor to a book, payment is calculated based on the percentage of the book that was their contribution.

Re-Activated Files:  An author whose file is re-activated will receive payments based on the category corresponding to the original date of registration of his titles.