SuperRare was one of the first NFT art marketplaces to champion artist royalties. Nonetheless, as some platforms have recently rolled back artist royalty features, the question has arisen: Is SuperRare still committed to artist royalties? In short, 100% – now and forever.
In the traditional art world, if a piece is sold on the secondary market, it seems like everyone gets a cut except for the artist who created it. The collector gets a new piece of art, the seller gets paid, and if there’s an auction house or a broker or a gallery involved, that third party gets its share, too. For other creatives, like musicians and authors, collecting royalties on the future sale and use of your work has long been the standard. So why not visual artists? Part of the issue lay in tracking artwork provenance. But blockchain changed all of that.
With on-chain artwork provenance, artist royalties can now be coded into smart contracts, meaning that artists can collect royalties in perpetuity when their works are bought and sold on secondary markets.
"CRYPTO OG" by kingxerox on SuperRare
Artist royalties are enforced on-chain through smart contracts, and most artists minting on a marketplace use a standard contract provided by that marketplace. Not all marketplaces support artist royalties. Custom smart contracts may allow for artists to enforce their royalties, but not all marketplaces support custom smart contracts. Many marketplaces that used to enforce artist royalties have since gone royalty optional.
As a platform, SuperRare supports and enforces artist royalties. By minting on SuperRare, artists can take steps towards earning income from their work in perpetuity, and by collecting on SuperRare, collectors not only bolster the NFT art ecosystem by ensuring that artists can prosper, but they also earn collector royalties on secondary sales.
"artonomous self-portrait 2020" by Pindar VanArman on SuperRare
The ability to earn royalties is essential to the success of the sovereign artist–it’s not just about money, but about building a sustainable art market.
Learn more about SuperRare’s artist and collector royalties here.