Asset Management Software

Asset management in publishing is a tool to help ensuring that you have the rights to utilize each asset in your publications, as well as the process of organising, storing, and tracking assets, such as images, videos, documents, or audio files that are used in both physical and digital publications. For example, educational material often includes many pictures, quotes, and illustrations, while digital works may include lyrics and animations. Each of these items represents an asset. It is very important that you hold the right for every asset that you use. A good asset management solution ensures that all your assets are always easy to find, up to date, and do not violate any copyrights. It should also provide insight into where specific assets have been used in different publications, as well as giving you warnings when an asset is about to expire.

Asset management can be very complex because a particular asset may be used in various titles and formats, both digital and physical. An asset can also be created by several contributors (originators) who must get paid for their contribution. For each asset it is defined for how long the publisher has the right to use the asset; there may be a combination of different termination rules, for example publishers may have access to a certain quantity or they may have access within a certain time limit. Managing these details manually can be challenging, but asset management software simplifies the process by providing a clear overview of assets, tracking permissions, and making sure that you do not miss any renewal deadlines.

Asset management software tracks rights and permissions and ensures that you only use assets that you have the rights to. It helps prevent costly mistakes, such as using unlicensed assets, by issuing warnings and notifications when rights are missing or expired.

An asset management system provides a centralised database where all assets are stored and organised. It allows you to see which assets are active and which have expired. It also gives you an overview of assets per originator and of which assets are used in a specific title or publication. Smaller publishers often keep track of their assets in an Excel spreadsheet but it may be difficult to keep an overview and ensure that all contributors are paid on time. The most critical issue is ensuring that you avoid using an asset after the rights of use have expired. A good asset management system eliminates these challenges by automating and streamlining asset tracking.

Asset management software can track expiry dates for asset permissions and give you an overview, for example notification before an asset expires so that you know well in advance if you need to renew the asset, or a validation before you send a physical publication to the print house.

Asset management software should handle all types of assets, such as images, videos, documents, and any digital content used in physical, audio or digital publications. Advanced systems allow you to specify asset types, owner(s), expiry terms, and the cost involved in using the asset.

Publishers should always have complete control of which assets they have the rights to use, and which ones are not approved yet are about to or have expired. The fee for violating rights is high so it is vital for publishers to be in control of their asset permissions. An asset management system helps publishers maintain a clear overview of permissions, reduce risks and costs, save time, and ensure compliance with copyright regulations.

The benefits of using asset management software is that you ensure that you only use the assets that you have the right to use. You also ensure that you require permissions or renew them in time if you keep selling the product.

In most asset management systems you should be able to easily create new assets by using templates. When considering new physical publications, you can easily validate against the publication date and the expected quantity to print. Asset management software should send you notifications if any of your rights are about to expire. If you create a new impression of a format where an asset is included, the asset management system should automatically suggest that the same asset should be included in the new impression.

An asset management system is software that stores, organises, and manages assets for publications. It helps publishers keep track of their assets, permissions and usage, allowing them to stay compliant with copyright laws and maintain a structured approach to managing their resources. A good asset management system also ensures that asset permissions are always up to date, which reduces the risk of copyright violations.