OpenSea empowers on-chain enforcement of new NFT creator fees
The year 2018 brought a new space for artists to flourish financially. Non-fungible tokens proved to be an effective way to reach out to everyone across the globe and sell a digital piece of art. However, it experienced a drawback regarding creators’ fees or royalties.
OpenSea has resolved the issue by announcing the launch of a tool that enforces creators’ fees for new collections that carry upgraded or upgradable contracts. The tool goes live on November 08, 2022, at noon ET. OpenSea further plans to roll out more improvements and tools in the future, allowing the existing collections to teach the tool launch.
While some platforms have been noted to pay creators their due, many do not consider including the option of paying royalties to the creator. If they do, the payout is restricted to less than 20%, which does not suffice the hard work invested by the creators.Only new collections qualify for the update. Existing collections can expect the same to be implemented in the category effective December 08, 2022. The consideration is not yet set, but creators can expect a wide range of inclusion.
The on-chain tool is a code snippet that creators are required to add to their NFT contracts. Existing NFT contracts can add the code snippets only if they are grounded on the contract with the capability to be upgraded. Unless there is rigidity in the creation, users are all good to proceed with implementing the code snippet.
Enforcing the creator fee required creators to sacrifice censorship resistance and the permissionless nature of their NFTs. Creators will still be free to create according to their choice for the suitable community. Buyers and sellers will also have the right to choose with whom they want to engage on the platform.
Existing NFT collections with non-upgradable contracts can include the code snippet only after undergoing a drastic change. For instance, creators will have to shift their canonical collection to a new smart contract. It could prove to be a lot of work, but it will eventually payout better prices. Considering monetization is the ultimate goal of every creator, a minor shift to a new contract proves to be nonchalant.
The current mechanism of NFT marketplaces stands strong if a creator looks for exposure. The recent launch of the tool by OpenSea considers that royalties matter, and their enforcement is the need of the hour. With Web3 coming up amid its wide adoption, creator fees will only become more relevant within the community. Truth be spoken, if a particular platform does not enforce it, then some other platform will. A shift is then inevitable, not just for creators but the entire NFT community.
