NFT Creators Seek Alternatives as OpenSea Discontinues Royalties

NFT is most probably the best thing that could happen to artists. It’s a boon for every creator who wants to generate a reliable income from their work. To make that happen, the marketplaces play a pivotal role. These platforms help artists sell their digital artifacts to a wide audience. They also ensure that the creators secure long-lasting sources of income.

OpenSea is one of the world’s largest NFT marketplaces. The platform is responsible for bringing a wide spectrum of creative work into the digital space. It is actually the go-to choice for a large number of creators, artists, musicians, and collectors. However, a recent announcement made by OpenSea has forced the creators to look for some other options.

Impact of OpenSea’s Doing Away With Royalties

OpenSea aired that it would stop mandating creator royalties at its marketplace on August 17th, 2023. It said that the changes would take effect on August 31. The news quickly spread like wildfire among the creative professionals who were using NFTs.The non-fungible tokens have been the most feasible solution that has come out of cryptocurrency so far. This form of digital asset allowed creators to prevent plagiarism.

It allowed them to receive every dime from the sale of their artwork. With royalties, artists could create a sizable amount of money. Zancan, a pseudonymous generative artist, pointed out the massive sums that artists could earn with royalties. His own collection generated over $118,000 with a 15% royalty fee. He said that cutting royalties is the worst thing any NFT marketplace could do for the artists.

According to him, royalty is the best part of the whole NFT deal. In fact, it is the key reason behind switching to blockchain for artists he said.

Why is it Happening?

Notably, OpenSea took this decision as the entire NFT market was seeing a downturn. On September 19, the Forkast 500 NFT Index hit an all-time low of 1,999.14 points. Hence, some are hopeful that royalties will be back once the situation gets better. Many artists have said that this decision will affect their livelihood. It is because royalties become a major secondary income for creators.

On the other hand, it should be noted that OpenSea royalties have always been optional for creators. Tommy Chandra, an illustrator and graphic designer said that it allowed creators to set their desired percentage. Yet, he said exploring secondary marketplaces is a wise thing to do right now. The most feasible options are Rarible, Blur, and LooksRare. Moreover, having a presence on different platforms increases the chances and scale of earnings.

It also gives more exposure to the artists and brings many possibilities for them. As per the Dune data, creator royalties on OpenSea saw a major downward movement. On Thursday, it plummeted to $83,970 from the three-month high of $354,008. It took a fall of a resounding 76%. Right after OpenSea’s announcement, the royalty fee fell 12.9% from $96,430 on August 31.

While seeking other options, artists are hopeful that OpenSea will soon resume the royalty. Only time will tell if that will really happen or not.