Generational Royalties
ownership • legacy • access control • sovereignty
Generational royalties refer to perpetual income streams embedded in smart contracts that pay creators or their heirs every time a digital asset is sold, streamed, or licensed. Commonly used with NFTs and tokenized intellectual property, these royalties ensure that value continues flowing to the originator long after their lifetime. This model bypasses legacy estate systems and introduces programmable, inheritable revenue into the Web3 economy.
Use Case: A visual artist mints a piece as an NFT with a 10% royalty. Upon their passing, the connected wallet is inherited by family members. As the artwork trades over time, 10% of every resale is automatically routed to that wallet—generating income across generations with no legal intermediaries or estate handlers involved.
Key Concepts:
- NFT Royalties — Built-in resale payouts embedded in the token
- Blockchain Inheritance — Passing control of revenue streams via wallet keys
- Smart Contracts — Code that ensures continuous and autonomous payouts
- Creator Legacy — Long-term value tied to cultural or creative contributions
- Decentralized Estate Planning — Replacing probate with programmable logic
- Perpetual Income — Royalties that never expire or need renewal
- On-Chain Generational Wealth — Financial resilience encoded at the protocol level
Summary: Generational royalties transform intellectual property into a living asset—earning income not just for the creator, but for their family or beneficiaries long into the future. Unlike traditional inheritance models that rely on legal systems, these royalties are executed automatically and transparently on-chain. Whether tied to music, art, writing, or digital collectibles, generational royalties allow creators to embed their legacy directly into their work, ensuring that wealth follows the creative contribution—forever.