Art Articles & Reviews

The CARFAC-RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule is sort of like a minimum wage for artists. It sets minimum recommended rates for the use of artwork and certain services that visual artists provide.

Widely recognized as the national standard, rates are all recommendations. That said, many arts councils require that public galleries pay artist’s fees as a condition of their funding. And artists have rights that help them to get paid.

For example, did you know that when your work is exhibited and it’s not for sale, you are supposed to be paid? Unless you have signed over the copyright, no one can exhibit or copy your work without your permission. This is your negotiating trump card – you can always walk away if you don’t like the conditions under which you are being asked to work.

The CARFAC-RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule provides guidelines on what visual and media artists should be paid for their copyright and other professional services. Canadian Copyright laws provide artists with the right to be paid for exhibitions and reproductions, and most public funders require that museums and public galleries pay royalties and fees according to our guidelines. All rates shown in the Fee Schedule are in Canadian dollars and PST/GST/HST (if applicable) is not included.

To view the correct rates for your project, choose the year in which the exhibition, reproduction, or service takes place from the tabs at the top, and then visit the relevant section(s) for your project.

Rates for 2024 are now available. Rates for 2025 to 2027 will be available soon.

What does the Fee Schedule apply to?

If an artwork is exhibited in a public gallery where the work is not for sale, the artist should be paid a royalty. Those royalties are found in Section 1 of the Fee Schedule.

If an artwork is reproduced in a book or on a website, etc. the artist should receive a royalty. Those royalties are found in Section 2 (non-commercial/non-advertising uses) and Section 3 (commercial/advertising) of the Fee Schedule.

If an artist is asked to give a presentation, speak on a panel, write an artist statement, install their work, etc, they should be paid a fee for those services. Professional services fees are provided in Section 4 of the Fee Schedule.

What rates apply to members of Copyright Visual Arts?

Copyright Visual Arts negotiates copyright licenses on behalf of their affiliated members, and their rates sometimes differ slightly from ours. Contact them for details.

Changes to the CARFAC-RAAV Fee Schedule

The Fee Schedule is updated regularly through negotiation and usage. A proposal for changes to the CARFAC-RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule was presented to the members of CARFAC for a vote at our AGM on September 10, 2023.

The proposal included:

– an 8% increase in rates for 2024 and a 4% annual increase for 2025 to 2027;

– changes to the way group exhibitions and permanent collection exhibitions are calculated;

– the creation of a new type of fee for exhibitions with art for sale; and

– various modifications to reproduction royalties and artist professional services fees.

FEE SCHEDULE

The changes were approved, and they are in effect as of January 1, 2024.

Information about the proposal and our consultation process remains available here.

If you have any further questions, please contact:

April Britski, CARFAC National Executive Director

Camille Cazin, General Director, RAAV