Royalties, what are they good for?

(Turns out, a lot)

We value creators

Creators are the lifeblood of our space and, historically, they have not been able to collect proper compensation for their creative talents. Then, Web3 came along and changed that in a really positive way. All of a sudden, a creator could put out something that resonated with an audience and through the power of royalties, earn an ongoing income stream as the work appreciated in value or changed hands.

We have always thought that one of the first “killer applications” of blockchain technology was secondary royalties for creators. This mechanism completely changed the game and made being a full-time creator a viable option for more people.

Secondary royalties meant the possibility of more creators, and thus, more art and innovation in the world.

Royalties perfectly align incentives

In the Web2 creator model, there isn’t as strong of an incentive to continue to engage on a particular collection or work because it was one and done. We gave away our Founder’s Pirates for free initially, and if people find value in it and want to own it and trade it with each other, then we benefit as well. It’s a tight, pure alignment with the owners of a piece of work and the original creators. With the royalty model, especially if the initial sale price is kept low or free, creators are incentivized to continue to invest in their brand and community at the benefit of all of their holders.

One-off mints are not sustainable and they dilute the value of other works

Some people are suggesting that creators do more mints, but forcing creators towards many mints will dilute the value of all their prior works. NFTs introduced the concept of digital scarcity and by asking creators to do more, we are asking them to devalue each individual piece they’ve made.

Here’s what we’re doing about it

We believe in a future where our games involve community members who can be rewarded with royalties for creating in-game items, skins, and maps. We’re committed to creating technology and products that shift the status quo, starting with the creator. We’re behind creators (a category we place ourselves in) and plan to find ways to encourage and protect creator royalties. It’s why we got into the business of building decentralized products and speaks to the type of future we want to build at Proof of Play.

If you feel strongly about this as well please reach out to us at creators@proofofplay.gg and let’s figure out how to solve this together.

Before and After