LooksRare Becomes The Latest NFT Marketplace To Scrap The Option Of Creator Royalties By Default 

• LooksRare is the latest NFT marketplace to opt for a zero-royalty mechanism 
• The platform will share 25% of the protocol fee with NFT creators and artists.

LooksRare, the leading Ethereum-based NFT marketplace, has announced its new decision, stating the firm will no longer support creator royalties by default.

In addition, the platform will be moving forward with plans to share 25% of the LooksRare protocol fee with creators and collection owners in its bid to “support” NFT artists and sellers.

LooksRare Is Set To Remove Standard Creator Royalties 

In an updated blog post published on Thursday, leading NFT marketplace LooksRare announced that the platform is stripping the standard creator royalties option from its marketplace. Instead, the platform will be sharing 25% of the LooksRare protocol fees with its creators. LooksRare further added that the buyers will still have the choice to pay optional royalties at checkout.

“LooksRare will be directing 25% of protocol fees to creators and removing standard creator royalties. Buyers can opt-in to pay optional royalties at checkout. ” the post later added 

🧵 Starting today, #LooksRare will no longer support creator royalties by default, and instead, share 25% of the LooksRare Protocol fee with creators/collection owners.https://t.co/roNvv1q30R

— LooksRare (@LooksRare) October 27, 2022

The post further shared how the platform is also introducing changes to its protocol fee ratio. The leading NFT marketplace will be redirecting 1.5% of each trade to LOOKS stakes while 0.5% of the fee will go to the “collections if they’ve set up a receiving address.”

“Still 2% total, except now 1.5% of each trade goes to LOOKS stakers and 0.5% goes to collections if they’ve set up a receiving address. (If they haven’t, total fees are only 1.5%). The blog post adds

In terms of changes introduced in the LooksRare trading reward system, the platform stated that “95% of trading rewards will go to sellers, while 5% of them will be given to buyers.”

The marketplace later clarified its stance on scrapping the option of creators’ royalties, adding how the growth of zero-royalty marketplaces has eroded the “general willingness to pay royalties” in the NFT domain.

The growth of zero-royalty marketplaces has eroded the general willingness to pay royalties throughout the NFT space. Good news for traders, but with a big downside: the move away from royalties has removed an important source of passive income for most creators.

— LooksRare (@LooksRare) October 27, 2022

The post later backs up LooksRare’s decision to remove the option of creator royalties by introducing a competitive solution of sharing the protocol fees with its creators. The platform further stated that the new changes being implemented will benefit creators in the long run.

“That’s why we’re choosing to lead the charge in this new landscape by creating a competitive solution that still benefits creators: diverting protocol fees directly to creators. In this update, creators and collection owners will be able to share a flat 25% of the LooksRare protocol fee. This approach allows us to offer the most favourable conditions to NFT sellers while still supporting creators and collection owners. ” The post said

The platform was earlier known for its pro-creator stance and had tweeted about how royalties play a crucial role in supporting budding NFT artists and owners.

“This update is an evolution of our previous stance, and it’s not something we’re taking lightly. The industry is trending towards zero-royalty, but it’s still our responsibility to support creators in the new landscape,” the NFT marketplace later adds.

LooksRare isn’t the first NFT marketplace that’s transitioning towards a zero-royalty NFT platform. Several NFT platforms have made amends in recent times to manoeuvre through the harsh crypto winter. Apart from LooksRare, Magic Eden announced its decision to offer optional royalties to NFT creators and sellers.

Image: LooksRare/Twitter