On the 7th May, The Publisher’s Association (PA) launched its report, Publishing and soft power: Our contribution to knowledge exchange and cultural collaboration. The report comes after the PA commissioned Public First to conduct new research using public opinion polling, case study interviews, and economic modelling to better understand and quantify the global impact of the UK’s publishing industry.
I have read this report with interest and was keen to draw out what it highlights about the role of UK rights teams, as well as UK publishing on the global stage.
The importance of the UK publishing industry on the global stage
In her introduction to the report, Incoming President of the Publisher’s Association, Mandy Hill (Managing Director of Academic at Cambridge University Press and Assessment), says:
“Publishing is both a crucial export strength for the UK and a key tool of soft power. The UK’s world-leading creative industries inspire cultural exchanges with countries around the globe, as well as a having a key role in trading relationships.”
The report reveals that 80% of international adults surveyed believe that British literature and academic research positively contribute to the country’s international reputation. Incredibly, this was higher than music, sport or business and economics!
Where does the role of rights come in?
International cultural exchange opportunities
The role of UK rights professionals in this publishing success story, whilst not explicitly drawn out in the report, is hinted at by the inclusion of an illustrative segment featuring Tracy Phillips, Group Rights Director at Hachette. Tracy reports that at the recent Bologna bookfair, the Hachette children’s rights team “had around 420 meetings across roughly 45 territories”.
That is a huge amount of international cultural exchange in a very small time period. If you multiply that up by all of the British rights teams (publishers and agents) attending Bologna, Frankfurt, London, Beijing, Shanghai, Sharja, Abu Dhabi, Guadalajara and other book fairs, as well as sales trips and daily email and telephone correspondence that take place, you can start to imagine the scale of international cultural exchange and trading relationships centred on British books that rights professionals facilitate.
TV and film rights, Theatrical performance, Translations, and more…
There is another nod to the work of rights teams in the report’s introduction:
“publishing truly sits at the heart of the UK’s creative industries. Books are the basis for many of our favourite television shows, films, and theatre productions, many of which achieve international success themselves.”
None of these book to screen or book to stage (and increasingly book to game) adaptations would be possible were it not for the rights teams who make them happen.
The international trade and cultural exchange facilitated by rights professionals is not limited to trade publishing. The report says that:
“61% of international adults in Public First’s study reported that they had used UK-made educational resources (e.g. dictionaries and textbooks) when growing up.”
and that:
“82% of the international adults in Public First’s study placed the UK among the top 5 most influential countries globally for academic research.”
Those working in rights for academic and educational publishers play a critical role in enabling access to British research, scholarship and teaching and learning content. They do this through digital licensing, local reprints, translations and the granting of permission to reproduce extracts of content internationally, amongst other activities.
Highlighting the impact (and revenue!) from permissions and licensing
And speaking of permissions, the reciprocal exchange of repertoire between collective rights management organisations (CMOs) means that book chapters and journal articles from British works can be copied and scanned all over the world, with revenue flowing back to the original rights holders. The role that CLA, PLS and co. play in ensuring that UK works can be accessed by those that need them wherever they are in the world should not be underestimated. The CLA’s annual transparency report for 2023-24 suggests that close to £15million was received from international CMOs in that year.
The PA report states:
“A third (36%) of international adults (residing in the UK) who participated in Public First’s survey report that their first introduction to British culture was through a British book or textbook; demonstrating how pervasive British publishing exports are around the world.”
The licensed edition vs the original
It is not clear whether the British books in question would have been the publisher’s original edition in English, an affordable local language reprint, a translated edition or even a copied chapter from a book. Would their first experience with a British book be as likely to have come from a licensed edition of that work than of the original? I think there is a good chance it could.
The report reveals that JK Rowling, Jane Austen, and Agatha Christie were amongst the most cited authors when international adults (residing in the UK) were asked what their favourite books were. The Harry Potter books have been translated into over 80 languages, Jane Austen’s novels in over 40 and Agatha Christie’s in 103! For many citizens of the world, regardless of whether they come to later reside in the UK, it will be a licensed, locally published version that they access first.
The prevalence of British books around the world is thanks to both the important role that export teams play in getting original editions into all corners of the globe AND those working in rights teams who can enable books to transcend their original language, format and media ensuring that they can reach many more readers than would otherwise be able to access them.
It takes more work than people realise to identify potential licensees and match them with the right books, to pitch opportunities, negotiate licences, review royalty statements and manage licensee and author relationships throughout the process and all this for both frontlist and a longtail of backist publications.
Rights teams = experts in global relations
For UK rights teams, building and sustaining relationships with licensing partners around the world is the bedrock of all that they do. Let’s celebrate this and the important role we play in cultural exchange and international trade – our contribution to publishing and the UK’s soft power.