Carolyn Davidson, also known as the “logo lady,” is an anomaly in the design world. Initially hired in 1971 to create charts and graphs for Blue Ribbon Sports, Davidson was asked by CEO Phil Knight to come up with a last-minute logo for a line of running shoes the company was about to launch.
Davidson created five designs for this project. The one selected continues its reign as the most iconic logo in sportswear today. Davidson completed this project for $35. Aptly named the “Swoosh,” her logo went on to catapult Blue Ribbon Sports into a major international brand, now known as “Nike.”
To show his appreciation, Knight later presented Davidson with 500 shares in the company, which she still owns today. These shares have since been split and are now worth around $1,000,000.
Davidson’s story is far from the norm for most artists, designers, illustrators, or other creatives. Because usually, when a creator completes a piece of work for a client, their client owns that work. The client then uses that work for branding, promotion, and anything else that might generate revenue – with none of this ending up back in the pocket of its original creator.
Que sont les redevances NFT ?
Royalties are standard in most creative industries like television, film, music and digital media. But visual art is not traditionally a royalty-based profession. When a visual artist completes or sells their work, the artist is paid. At this point, the work no longer belongs to them, but to their buyer. If that buyer sells the work for a profit, none of this profit ends up back in the hands of the artist. This is the case for many other types of creators as well. But this is the old model.
The new model [made possible by NFTs] provides the opportunity for all creators, including visual artists, to earn royalties – or passive income – on their work indefinitely.
Qu'est-ce que le revenu passif ?
Si vous êtes totalement novice en la matière, le revenu passif consiste à gagner de l'argent en détenant simplement des actifs ou des investissements. Pensez à percevoir des loyers sur un bien immobilier ou à détenir des actions d'une société dans votre portefeuille qui vous rapportent un dividende régulier.
Comment les redevances NFT créent-elles des revenus passifs ?
Let’s circle back to the example of a project in the entertainment industry here. Traditionally, when a project in this industry gets made, everyone involved signs a contract. This contract outlines how each participant gets paid. Payment can be cash up front, separate payments based on project milestones, or any number of other ways that allow the participant(s) to get compensated for their work. Either way, most actors, musicians, producers and others involved in these projects have royalties included in their contract(s).
Royalty payments are based on the success of the project. The more views, streams, sales, etc. that the project generates, the more those involved receive royalties [or passive income]. If the project fails, these royalties could be pennies or even nothing.
NFT royalties basically work the same way, but the contracts and royalty payments are digitally generated. NFT contracts live on the blockchain. Meaning that any creator can skip the pre-project contract, create their work, add it to the blockchain, and sell it with the condition that [if it’s successful], they receive a percentage of any future profits generated [from that project].
Comment les redevances NFT sont-elles structurées ?
Ce modèle générateur de revenus passifs comprend deux ingrédients principaux : les contrats intelligents NFT et les redevances NFT.
Contrats intelligents NFT
An NFT smart contract is an agreement between the buyer and the seller of a digital asset (in this case, an NFT). An NFT (Non-Fungible Token) is a digital asset that represents an object or concept like art, music, a video, a certificate, or a key that gives the owner exclusive access to something. A smart contract doesn’t require lawyers or other third parties to get involved in creating or overseeing it.
To attach a smart contract to a piece of work, a creator takes their work and mints it. By minting it, the creator turns that work into an NFT, which adds it to the blockchain. The smart contract is now embedded [or attached] to that work indefinitely. Once it’s on the chain, a buyer can purchase it. By purchasing it, the buyer agrees to the terms of the smart contract. These terms may include royalties set by the creator in the event of any future resale of their work. We recommend a 10% royalty, but some creators opt for more.
Redevances NFT
Anytime the work is resold, the royalties set in the smart contract go to the creator. These royalties go straight into the creator’s digital wallet. The seller keeps the rest. Whether resale happens once, twice or a thousand times, the creator gets the royalties outlined in the smart contract.
NFT royalties can also be used to support fundraising efforts by adding charities or causes to payouts. Creators can allocate a portion or the total amount of their NFT royalties to their favorite charities. This allocation is set in the smart contract during the minting process.
Transparence des redevances NFT
Each smart contract uses Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). DLT is essentially an unalterable contract. This unalterable contract is decentralized, meaning that it is not controlled by a single entity; instead by a network of computers that validate its transactions. It also guarantees the authenticity of the NFT by maintaining a record of the original mint made by the creator.
The DLT establishes transparency for the creator, the buyer(s), and the reseller(s) throughout the lifecycle of the NFT. All parties involved in the first transaction and any subsequent transactions have access to who bought the NFT, who sold it, and who is currently holding it. Having access to this information is especially important for the creator who can see whenever their work changes hands and monitor their royalty payouts accordingly.
NFTs libres de droits
Tous les créateurs n'optent pas pour les redevances lorsqu'ils vendent leurs NFT, préférant ajouter leur œuvre à la blockchain pour une vente unique. Ce faisant, le créateur cède à l'acheteur le pouvoir de faire ce qu'il veut de son œuvre. C'est ce qu'on appelle une vente de NFT libre de droits. Bien qu'elle ne génère pas de revenus passifs, cette méthode peut aider les créateurs qui débutent à obtenir une première exposition et une traction sur le marché. Pour les acheteurs, les NFT libres de droits sont gagnants car ils perçoivent le revenu du montant total de la vente s'ils décident de revendre le NFT.
Pourquoi les créateurs devraient utiliser les redevances NFT
Celle-ci est simple : les créateurs qui réalisent une vente unique ne peuvent jamais profiter du succès futur de leur œuvre. Si un créateur vend son œuvre pour 2 000 dollars, puis que trois mois plus tard, son acheteur revend cette même œuvre pour 8 000 dollars, il garde l'intégralité du bénéfice de cette nouvelle vente. Mais avec un contrat intelligent NFT en place, le créateur de l'œuvre reçoit une redevance sur cette nouvelle vente. Dans ce cas, si le créateur a fixé la redevance à 10 %, il voit l'équivalent de 800 $ [en crypto] déposé directement dans son portefeuille numérique [au moment de la transaction de revente].
3 façons de gagner des revenus passifs sur les NFTs
En tant que créateur, la vente de votre œuvre est un moyen de gagner un revenu passif, mais il existe d'autres moyens de générer de nouvelles sources de revenus à partir des NFT [tant pour les investisseurs que pour les créateurs]. Il s'agit notamment de :
Vente de NFTs
Gagner des redevances NFT en vendant votre travail est le moyen le plus populaire de générer un revenu passif. C'est assez simple. Faites votre NFT. Monnaie votre NFT. Fixez votre pourcentage de redevance. Vendez votre NFT. Une fois votre produit vendu, vous recevez le revenu de cette vente. Si votre acheteur revend votre NFT, vous recevez un pourcentage de cette nouvelle vente. Et ainsi de suite.
Jalonnement de NFTs
Une autre façon de gagner des redevances NFT est de jalonner un NFT. La mise en gage consiste à verrouiller votre NFT. Un NFT jalonné ne peut être ni acheté, ni vendu, ni échangé. Le propriétaire doit les conserver. En échange du jalonnement, le détenteur du NFT reçoit des paiements réguliers en crypto-monnaies. Le seul inconvénient du jalonnement est que le propriétaire doit conserver le NFT pour générer le revenu passif. Si le prix de ce NFT chute, il peut perdre de l'argent. Cependant, s'il prévoit de conserver le NFT, le jalonnement est une bonne option pour gagner de l'argent.
Location de NFT
Forget being a property owner – generating cash from renting out NFTs is much easier [and cheaper]. Renting out NFTs is popular in gaming right now. One example would be when a player cannot afford to purchase an NFT required to participate in a play-to-earn game; they can rent that NFT to gain access and earn money.
This model will enter other industries – think fashion, furniture, and other things users will want in the metaverse. Renting out an NFT is simple – you have a smart contract that designates the NFT as a rentable asset. As the owner you select the amount of time or rate that you will rent the NFT out for. Renters select the NFT, pay your rate, use it, then return it the end of the rental period. NFT owners don’t need to search for renters either because the blockchain does this for them.
Conclusion
Returns on NFT royalties can add up quickly. For savvy investors, the passive income can easily surpass the revenue generated by other assets like stocks and real estate. Plus, NFT royalties come with little or no maintenance (unless you make a massive commitment to a high-ticket sale, like the artist, Beeple did in March 2021). NFTs are forging a path for all kinds of creators to cash in on their hard work.
Because the generosity that Phil Knight showed his designer, Carolyn Davidson, many moons ago is not the norm. The Knight/Davidson example is a unicorn in the creative space and one that has rarely [if ever] been replicated on that scale since. For traditional employers, agencies and investors, profiting off the creativity of others is one of the many ways that they grow their wealth. This has never been entirely fair. It’s time for creatives to level the playing field and benefit from the wealth accumulated their work through royalties and passive income.
