OpenSea, a blockchain-based marketplace for digital collectibles, announced today that creator fees have generated over $1 billion in royalties for creators in 2022.

Until the NFT standard was created in 2018, creator fees did not exist. Early on, OpenSea supported them in inviting more creators to the space.

Despite tumultuous market conditions, this year’s creator fees remain revolutionary.

• In 2022, creators using OpenSea earned $1.1B from creator fees thus far
• 80% of this year’s earnings from creator fees went to collections outside of the Top 10* (in terms of total 2022 creator fee earnings)

OpenSea analysts were blown away by the numbers, especially when they cross compared the creator payouts from other established platforms.

• In July of 2021, Meta said over $1 billion dollars would be paid out to creators on both Facebook and Instagram through the end of 2022.

• In 2020, TikTok pledged that they would hit $1 billion in payouts to creators over the next three years.

• Snapchat was paying out $1 million dollars a day to some of their top creators, achieving $365 million over one year.

• Patreon has paid out a total of $3.5 billion dollars to creators (as of 2021) in its nine years in business.

The Royalties Debate

Earlier this year, creator fees have been under attack by other marketplaces who have made them optional or eliminated them completely to cut costs for consumers. Creator fees are a revolutionary innovation of web3, which for the first time allows creators to share in the value of resales.

NFT creators receive royalties from secondary sales of the digital collectibles they create. The percentage of sales designated for royalties is set by the creator at the time of minting — typically around 6 to 8%.

On November 9th, OpenSea announced that its long-term plans will honor creator fees on all existing and new NFT collections.

1/ After hearing the passionate voices from the creator community last week, we believe marketplaces should honor a creator’s choice to set fees on existing collections, not just new ones. Thread ?

— OpenSea (@opensea) November 15, 2022

The royalties debate and conversations hit pivotal moments this past month. These have included opinions from founders like Goner of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) to pro-royalty campaigns and stances from artists like Bobby Hundreds and Betty of Deadfellaz.

“The NFT ecosystem would be a tiny fraction of what it is today if it weren’t for creator royalties,” wrote BAYC co-founder Wylie Aronow, aka Gordon Goner in a recent substack article on the matter.

The ‘creator economy’ as we know it is evolving. NFT technology is giving creators access to new, sustainable business models that can be layered on top of existing web2 revenue streams and are the key driver of the NFT ecosystem.

NFTs are a new way for creators to earn royalties and support other creators’ projects. With the NFT economy growing at an exponential rate, we will see more and more creators using them as a tool for funding their own projects or charities.

OpenSea’s commitment to protecting creators

The popular marketplace, has committed  to the rights and interests of creators, and continue to dedicate their platform to promote a safe, fair, and transparent environment for it’s users.

OpenSea believes in the NFT ecosystem, every creator has the potential to create their own universe. They hope to do more in empowering creators and help in creating more effecient and creative revenue streams.

They serve as a reminder that while many NFT markets have struggled with stability and value, OpenSea’s commitment to protecting its community has remained strong throughout this period.

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