When you buy an NFT royalty, a percentage of future sales paid to the original creator. Also known as resale royalty, it's the promise that artists keep earning every time their work changes hands. This isn't just nice—it's how many digital artists survive. Without royalties, creators get one payment, then watch strangers flip their art for ten times the price with zero return.
NFT royalties rely on smart contracts coded into the token itself. When someone resells on a platform that supports them, the contract automatically sends a cut—usually 5% to 10%—back to the original artist. But here’s the catch: secondary sales, the resale of NFTs after the first purchase aren’t controlled by the blockchain alone. They’re controlled by marketplaces. OpenSea used to enforce royalties. So did Blur. Then came the backlash. Big buyers, hedge funds, and whales started ignoring them. They moved trades to platforms like Tensor and Magic Eden that don’t enforce royalties at all. Now, the system is broken. Artists are getting paid on some exchanges, ignored on others. The blockchain says pay. The market says no.
This isn’t just about money—it’s about power. NFT royalties were meant to give creators control. Instead, they became a battleground between artists and speculators. Some argue royalties kill liquidity. Others say removing them kills creativity. The truth? Without royalties, most NFT art becomes a one-time gamble, not a career. And if artists stop making, the whole NFT ecosystem loses its soul.
What you’ll find below are real cases. A creator who lost 90% of income when a major exchange dropped royalties. A collector who paid $200,000 for an NFT, then resold it on a royalty-free platform. A Solana artist who still gets paid every week because her collection stays on a platform that honors the contract. These aren’t hypotheticals. They’re happening right now. This collection cuts through the noise. You’ll learn which platforms still pay, which ones don’t, how to check if your NFTs are protected, and what you can do if your royalties vanish.
Music NFTs let artists earn more from their work, keep royalties on resales, and build deeper connections with fans-bypassing traditional industry middlemen. Learn how blockchain is changing music revenue in 2025.
