NFT Royalties: How Creators Earn Every Time Their Art Sells

When you buy an NFT royalty, a payment built into a digital artwork’s smart contract that gives the original creator a cut every time it’s resold. Also known as secondary sale fees, it’s the only way many artists make money after the first sale. Unlike traditional art, where the artist vanishes after the gallery sale, NFT royalties keep them in the loop—literally—every time the piece changes hands on OpenSea, Blur, or any other marketplace.

This isn’t magic. It’s code. Smart contracts, self-executing programs on the blockchain that automatically enforce rules like royalty payments handle the payout. If the original creator set a 10% royalty, then every resale triggers a 10% cut sent directly to their wallet. No middlemen. No invoices. No waiting. That’s why NFTs changed the game for digital artists, musicians, and game developers. But here’s the catch: not all marketplaces honor these rules. Some, like OpenSea, used to enforce them. Others, like Blur, dropped them entirely. That’s why the NFT secondary sales, the reselling of NFTs after the initial mint, which is where royalties are typically collected debate got so heated. Creators aren’t just fighting for money—they’re fighting for control over their own work.

And it’s not just about art. Think music NFTs where a producer gets 5% every time their track flips. Or virtual land in a game where the designer earns a cut each time the plot sells. These are real income streams. But they’re fragile. If platforms ignore royalties, creators lose. If buyers refuse to pay, the system breaks. Right now, it’s a tug-of-war between fairness and freedom. Some say royalties hurt liquidity. Others say without them, no one would bother creating in the first place.

What you’ll find below are real cases—some creators who made thousands from royalties, others who got burned when a platform changed the rules. You’ll see which blockchains still honor them, which exchanges don’t, and how to protect your own work if you’re building something new. This isn’t theory. It’s what’s happening right now, on-chain, in real time.