Royal.io
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Royal (Royal.io) is a US-based platform that sells music rights as limited digital assets.[1] It was founded by Opendoor co-founder JD Ross[2][3] and DJ and electronic music producer Justin "3lau" Blau[4][5][6] It is headquartered in Austin, Texas.[7]
| Industry | Music |
|---|---|
| Founder | 3lau (Justin Blau) |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people | 3lau (Justin Blau) |
| Website | www |
History
Royal was founded in May 2021 by Justin Blau, who is popularly known as 3lau.[8] The company is backed by musicians such as The Chainsmokers, Logic, and Kygo.[9][10]
Royal founder 3lau gave away the first tokenized music offering in a contest for 50% of royalties for his song "Worst Case" in 2021.[11] After the giveaway, the song was noted as the world's first fan-owned song.[12][13]
Royal partnered with rapper Nas to sell streaming royalty rights for the songs "Ultra Black" and "Rare" through its platform in January 2022.[14][15] Through this initial sale, Nas became the first artist to sell song rights through Royal.[16][17]
Diplo became the next major artist to sell streaming royalty rights through Royal in March 2022, selling royalty rights to the song "Don't Forget My Love."[18][19][20] Duo Tritonal followed shortly after, selling ownership of their single "Getaway" in April 2022.[21]
On 17 May 2022, The Chainsmokers dropped via Royal 4000 NFTs to fans, granting them the license to receive a share of streaming royalties of the album "So Far So Good".[22]
In July 2022, Royal started the first round of royalty payout to the fans.[23]
Other artists who have sold song rights through Royal include Vérité[24] and Ollie.[24]
Services
Royal sells Limited Digital Assets (LDAs), which grant buyers a package of music rights and benefits. Buyers own a portion of a song's streaming royalty rights and earn royalties alongside the music artist.[citation needed] Royal also allows buyers to redeem benefits and rewards chosen by the music artist who created the song they own.[25]
Song rights are divided into three different tiers with separate rewards and ownership percentages.[21]