DG©M is an estate planning consultancy and intellectual property management program that manages works that are bequeathed to the Dramatists Guild or to one of its affiliated non-profit sister organizations (including the Dramatists Guild Foundation, The Dramatists Legal Defense Fund, and the Lilly’s). By enrolling your works with DG©M, you ensure that dramatists are the ones making the artistic decisions about your work and that the revenues generated by your properties will go to help support the mission of the Guild and the generations of playwrights, librettists, lyricists, and composers to come.

After enrollment is completed, your work will be under DG©M’s active management ONLY when the copyrights are finally and properly transferred under your will to the Guild, or to one of its related non-profits. Upon the successful transfer of ownership, a “DG Estate Membership” will be established in your name, with the new copyright owner designated as your estate representative for the purposes of managing the enrolled work. DG©M can then engage in activities such as granting rights to publishers and producers, exercising authorial approvals, working with agents/publishers to seek and evaluate offers and opportunities, and seeking publishers and licensing agents to represent the work if it is unpublished. Our current roster of partners includes organizations such as Dramatists Play Service and The Musical Company. 

As to our specific management activities, while they will always vary from work to work, DG©M will generally engage in the following sorts of activities for published works:

  • Evaluate all grants of rights in the work (including grants to publishers/music publishers/performances rights societies/agents/producers), and exercise termination rights where needed;

  • Work with agents/publishers to seek and evaluate offers and opportunities;

  • Act as authorial proxy in exercising all authorial approvals;

  • Include and promote the work in all our marketing materials, including our online catalogue;

  • Track all revenues due the copyright owner and make all required 3rd party payments; and

  • Conduct such audits as may be necessary, from time to time.

In addition to the activities the DG©M engages in for published works (where applicable), the DG©M will also perform the following management activities specific to unpublished works:

  • Exercise unexploited rights in the work, to the extent possible;

  • Register with performing rights societies (e.g., ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) as needed; and

  • Seek other publishers, music publishers, and licensing agents to represent the work.

We currently partner with Dramatists Play Service and Concord Music. Please contact us for more information.

DG©M generally accepts plays, librettos, lyrics, musical compositions and/or songs that are either:

  • Professionally produced in any one of the following ways:
    o   On Broadway;
    o   Off-Broadway;
    o   In London’s “West End”;
    o   On the main stage of a LORT theater;
    o   In an Equity tour; OR

  • Published by an established third-party publisher (listed in the Guild Resource Directory) that licenses stock & amateur productions; OR

  • Recorded and distributed through standard channels of commercial distribution by a third-party record company or producer (for musical works only).

DG©M may also accept any works that are authored by an individual that has authored at least one work that meets the above criteria. Please complete an Initial Inquiry Form to start the conversation.

DG©M understands that there are works of merit that may not meet the criteria for enrollment outlined above. (See, “What works qualify for enrollment?”) For example, perhaps your work has had a vibrant life in the High School/University circuit but has never been published by a third-party publisher. Works that do not automatically qualify for enrollment can still be left to the Dramatists Guild where they will live in the DG Library. (See, “What is the Dramatists Guild Library?”)

The DG Library is an online repository for works that are not enrolled in or managed by DG©M but that are nonetheless gifted to and accepted by the Dramatists Guild. It is an avenue though which your work may be preserved for all time and licensed by DG(c)M at the sole discretion of the Dramatists Guild. These works will not be managed or actively marketed at this time. Please contact the Dramatists Guild for more information.

DG©M offers three gifting options for your copyrights: a gift to the Dramatists Guild, a gift to the Dramatists Guild in which designated beneficiaries receive a share of the Guild’s net revenues earned from that work, or a gift to a Dramatists Guild related non-profit. You can read more about these options HERE.  

If you choose to leave your work to the Dramatists Guild, you may choose to assign up to four (4) beneficiaries a share (up to 49%) of the Dramatists Guild’s net revenues earned by the copyrights during their lifetimes. This option is only available for works left to the Dramatists Guild.

If you are interested in learning more about DG©M, we welcome you to submit an Initial Inquiry Form. This lets us know that you are interested in the program and provides us with your contact information and the name of at least one work that you are considering for inclusion in a bequest to the DG or to one of its related non-profit companies. This step does not bind you or encumber your work in any way.

The first step in the application process is to submit an Initial Inquiry Form. Once we receive your initial inquiry, you will be contacted by a DG©M administrator who will address your questions about our services while learning more about you, your work and any other works you may be considering for a bequest.

During this conversation, the administrator will assess if your work meets DG©M’s enrollment criteria. (See, “What works qualify for enrollment?”) If your work does not meet the criteria, the administrator will make a recommendation as to your next steps which might include leaving your work to the Dramatists Guild Library. (See, “What is the Dramatists Guild Library?”)

After you speak with our administrator, you will be asked to submit an application to DG(c)M and being the onboarding process. The onbording process includes two parts: review of your will and completion of an onboarding form.

DG©M will need to review a draft of your will or codicil to ensure that the language contained therein will effectively transfer ownership of your property and ensure management by DG©M. Our staff attorneys are able to speak with your personal attorney and provide you with model language to ensure that the work is properly transferred. Once your final will has been executed and received by DG©M for our files, your work will be fully "enrolled" and listed as part of DG©M catalogue online, alongside our esteemed clientele.

[NOTE: Please remember that DG©M IS NOT YOUR ATTORNEY and is not offering you legal advice. We are simply offering business advice about the process for enrolling your work in our program. You can refer to our Attorney Resources to help you find Trusts & Estates attorneys licensed in your jurisdiction.]

During this time, you will also be asked to complete an “Onboarding Form” for each work that has been accepted. This form provides us with the information that will allow us to effectively manage your work and ensure that your authorial intent is understood and enforced. We may also ask for copies of certain documents and contracts for our files.

At DG©M, we cater to the author, not the work. Therefore, once you are accepted into DG©M, you can enroll any number of other works. These works need not meet the qualifying criteria outlined above. We do require an Onboarding Form for each individual work.

At this time, DG©M is only accepting plays, librettos, lyrics, musical compositions and/or songs. Other materials, like screenplays and articles, may be accepted on a case by case basis.