Plain English
NFT royalties are a percentage of each secondary sale paid to the creator. Set on-chain in the contract metadata, typically 2.5–10%. In 2022–23, many marketplaces moved to optional royalties to compete on fees — most are now defaulting back to enforced royalties via standards like ERC-2981.
How it actually works
Royalties were originally enforced at the marketplace level (OpenSea honored them, others did not). ERC-2981 introduced an on-chain royalty registry. Blur and other marketplaces use enforcement contracts (Operator Filter, Royalty Registry) that let creators opt out of marketplaces that strip royalties.
What it means for you
For tokenized creator income streams, royalties are how artists and brands earn from secondary markets. For collectors, the per-trade cost matters — a 5% royalty plus 1% marketplace fee plus gas adds up across active trading. For builders, design royalty structures around the marketplace landscape current at launch.
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Educational content only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice.