The Open Metaverse Alliance for Web3 (OMA3), a consortium of key players in the blockchain, NFT and metaverse sectors, announced the creation of a specialized working group. They want to explore methods for standardizing and maintaining creator royalties within NFT marketplaces.
The importance of royalties for creators
Royalty, which are typically between 2.5% and 10%, are added to the cost of secondary sales of NFTs. These fees go straight into the pockets of the original creators. Despite being a long-standing principle in the crypto ecosystem that benefits artists, enforcing these royalties is facing increasing challenges.
For example, OpenSea, once a proponent of creator royalties, announced last August that it would stop enforcing them. This decision prompted NFT brands like Yuga Labs, responsible for more than $9 billion in trading volume, to pull their assets from the platform.
The newly formed working group
The newly formed working group will include notable brands in the crypto space such as Yuga Labs, creators of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection, and Magic Eden, a multi-chain NFT marketplace sourced from Solana.
OMA3 members believe that the lack of enforcement of creator royalties risks destabilizing the NFT market and undermining the fundamental principles of metaverse development. NFTs are crucial in creating a unified online ecosystem where digital assets can move freely between platforms.
OMA3, also known as the Open Metaverse Alliance, is a collective that includes top Metaverse-centric companies such as The Sandbox, Animoca Brands, Alien Worlds, Dapper Labs, Decentraland, MetaMetaverse, Space, SuperWorld, and Upland, among others. The alliance aims to promote interoperability between virtual land platforms, digital assets, concepts and services while ensuring transparency for all communities involved.
Last July, OMA3, based in Zug, Switzerland, announced the Inter-World Portaling System (IWPS) project. The project aims to address the challenges of navigating the metaverse. The group is committed to developing standards and infrastructure to create virtual worlds that are owned and controlled by the user, aligned with its broader mission to shape the metaverse in a way that respects digital ownership.