15 April 2025
Hard times; using commercial licensing to generate income
By Sean Waterman, Head of Intellectual Property
Quarterly statistics released by the Department for Culture Media and Sport show that UK museums and galleries have struggled to reach pre-pandemic visitor levels, overall visits in October-December 2024 were 15% down on the equivalent time period in 2019. Combined with the cumulative effect of funding cuts, fiscal pressure on Government spending and rising operational costs the cultural heritage sector continues to face hard times.
Even relatively prosperous cultural institutions such as The Tate [1]and The National Trust [2] announced staffing cuts and recruitment friezes to balance the books. The finances of smaller institutions, especially those funded by local government, are in a critical state. As such income generation through commercial activities is more important than ever and commercial licensing can be a viable option.
Although the development of a commercial licensing business will require investment in time, staff and resources, GLAMs that have built successful commercial licensing businesses can see attractive returns on their investment that are not wholly dependent on visitor numbers.
GLAMs can be attractive licensing partners for many brands, they provide access to collections that have strong visual appeal or with rich backstories that lend themselves to marketing campaigns that resonate with their customers, and being associated with a cultural institution adds to a brand’s cultural credibility and prestige.
While prominent UK institutions like the V&A and the Natural History Museum have well-documented successes, regional and specialised museums and archives have also been successful in licensing and product development to generate income and increase public engagement.
The first step for smaller cultural organisations seeking to develop commercial licensing will be to draft a commercial licensing strategy which would include auditing their collections to identify objects that have commercial potential, bearing in mind that works that are in copyright will require licensing agreements and the payment of royalties to rights holders.
There are potential easy wins for organisations that lack the resources to invest heavily in developing their commercial licensing. For example, image licensing can be outsourced to commercial image libraries which could be more cost effective than handling licensing requests in-house. Companies such as Bridgeman Images and King & McGaw provide print on demand options for a range of products that do not require an investment in the production of stock and can reach customers beyond onsite visitors.
Naomi Korn Associates’ course on Commercial Licensing (Wed, 7 May 2025 09:30-13:00 GMT) explores how to navigate the steps required to develop the commercial potential your assets. Book today via Eventbrite or for more information, contact our Training Manager at info@naomikorn.com.