# Royal.io > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Royal.io > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Royal.io.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal.io > Source revision: 1325375610 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Royal** (**Royal.io**) is a US-based platform that sells music rights as limited digital assets.[1] It was founded by [Opendoor](/source/Opendoor) co-founder JD Ross[2][3] and DJ and electronic music producer Justin "[3lau](/source/3lau)" Blau[4][5][6] It is headquartered in Austin, Texas.[7] ## History Royal was founded in May 2021 by [Justin Blau](/source/Justin_Blau), who is popularly known as [3lau](/source/3lau).[8] The company is backed by musicians such as [The Chainsmokers](/source/The_Chainsmokers), [Logic](/source/Logic_(rapper)), and [Kygo](/source/Kygo).[9][10] Royal founder [3lau](/source/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](/source/Nas_(rapper)) to sell streaming royalty rights for the songs "[Ultra Black](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/The_Chainsmokers) dropped via Royal 4000 [NFTs](/source/Non-fungible_token) to fans, granting them the license to receive a share of streaming royalties of the album "[So Far So Good](/source/So_Far_So_Good_(The_Chainsmokers_album))".[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](/source/V%C3%A9rit%C3%A9)[24] and Ollie.[24] ## Services Royal sells Limited [Digital Assets](/source/Digital_asset) (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] ## References 1. ["Nas Partners With Royal to Offer Streaming Royalty Rights for Two of His Songs"](https://www.complex.com/music/nas-royal-streaming-royalty-rights-music). *Complex* 1. ["The Chainsmokers, Nas, and a16z back NFT music market Royal in new $55 million Series A"](https://fortune.com/2021/11/22/royal-andreessen-horowitz-a16z-the-chainsmokers-nas-series-a-investment/). *Fortune* 1. M, Vikas (August 28, 2021). ["Royal raises $16M in seed funding round led by Founder Funds & Paradigm"](https://www.playthemusic.biz/royal-raises-16m-in-seed-funding-round-led-by-founder-funds-paradigm/) 1. ["Founders Fund backs Royal, a music marketplace planning to sell song rights as NFTs"](https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/26/founders-fund-backs-royal-a-music-marketplace-planning-to-sell-song-rights-as-nfts/) 1. Cirisano, Tatiana (August 26, 2021). ["Earn Money for Your Music Taste: 3LAU Raises $16M for Music Rights Marketplace Royal"](https://www.billboard.com/pro/3lau-raises-16m-music-rights-marketplace-royal/). *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))* 1. ["Musicians turn to NFTs and other digital goods to disrupt the music industry and reward loyal fans"](https://fortune.com/2021/12/01/musicians-nfts-digital-goods-disrupt-the-music-industry-reward-loyal-fans-justin-blau-brainstorm-tech/). *Fortune* 1. ["Prior to Launch, NFT Music Platform Royal Raises $16M With 3LAU at the Helm | Built In Austin"](https://www.builtinaustin.com/2021/08/27/royal-raises-16m-3lau-nft-marketplace). *www.builtinaustin.com* 1. ["DJ Justin Blau made millions with NFTs. His next move could disrupt the music business."](https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/music/dj-justin-blau-made-millions-with-nfts-his-next-move-could-disrupt-the-music-business-2490166/). December 3, 2021. 1. Cihak, Lennon. ["The Chainsmokers Are One of The Most Popular Groups of the Last Decade, According to Study"](https://edm.com/news/the-chainsmokers-most-popular-groups-decade). *EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists* 1. ["Spotify's Premium Content Strategy Director Darya Pourshasb exits, joins Justin Blau's NFT platform Royal"](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/spotifys-premium-content-strategy-director-darya-pourshasb-exits-joins-justin-blaus-nft-platform-royal/). *Music Business Worldwide*. April 20, 2022. 1. Sunkel, Cameron. ["3LAU's Next Song Will Be 50% Fan-Owned"](https://edm.com/gear-tech/3lau-next-song-will-be-50-percent-fan-owned). *EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists* 1. ["3LAU releases world's first fan-owned song, 'Worst Case' with CXLOE"](https://dancingastronaut.com/2021/10/3lau-releases-worlds-first-fan-owned-song-worst-case-with-cxloe/). *Dancing Astronaut*. October 12, 2021. 1. ["3LAU's Worst Case to be the first "fan owned" song on blockchain music platform Royal"](https://musictech.com/news/industry/3laus-worst-case-first-fan-owned-song-on-blockchain-music-platform-royal/). *MusicTech* 1. ["Nas to let fans buy shares in streaming royalties via NFTs on music investment platform Royal"](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/nas-to-let-fans-buy-shares-in-streaming-royalties-via-nfts-on-music-investment-platform-royal13456/). *Music Business Worldwide*. January 6, 2022. 1. ["NFTs Explained: How the Music Industry and Black Creatives Are Reshaping the Game"](https://www.bet.com/article/i3h0fg/nft-explainer-how-black-creatives-are-reshaping-music). *BET* 1. ["Nas Is Selling Royalty Rights to 2 of His Songs As NFTs"](https://hypebeast.com/2022/1/nas-royal-streaming-royalty-rights-nft). *HYPEBEAST*. January 6, 2022. 1. ["Nas to sell royalty rights to two of his songs as NFTs"](https://www.nme.com/news/music/nas-to-sell-royalty-rights-to-two-of-his-songs-as-nfts-3133351). *[NME](/source/NME)*. January 9, 2022. 1. ["Diplo is the latest artist to let fans buy shares in his streaming royalties on $55m-backed NFT platform Royal"](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/diplo-is-the-latest-artist-to-let-fans-buy-shares-in-his-streaming-royalties-on-55m-backed-nft-platform-royal123/). *Music Business Worldwide*. March 25, 2022. 1. ["Diplo fans can soon earn passive income for streaming one of his latest singles"](https://weraveyou.com/2022/03/diplo-fans-can-soon-earn-passive-income-for-streaming-his-new-single-dont-forget-my-love/). March 25, 2022. 1. Eggertsen, Chris (March 31, 2022). ["The Deals: Diplo Strikes Royal Partnership, WMG Plays Games With STYNGR"](https://www.billboard.com/pro/diplo-song-royalties-warner-music-styngr-games-deals/). *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))* 1. ["Tritonal give away ownership of their latest single as an NFT on Royal"](https://weraveyou.com/2022/04/tritonal-are-giving-away-ownership-for-their-latest-single-as-nft-on-royal/). April 5, 2022. 1. Bain, Katie (2022-05-12). ["The Chainsmokers Giving Fans a Share of New Album’s Royalties as Free NFTs"](https://www.billboard.com/business/tech/chainsmokers-free-nfts-royalties-new-album-royal-1235069874/). *Billboard*. Retrieved 2025-08-26. 1. ["Justin Blau and "Royal" Create First Artist-Fan Monetization Pipeline With Initial Round of Payouts"](https://hypebeast.com/2022/7/justin-blau-and-royal-create-first-artist-fan-monetization-pipeline-with-initial-round-of-payouts). *HYPEBEAST*. 2022-07-28. Retrieved 2022-10-16. 1. ["Ollie partners with DJ 3LAU's Royal for first Web3 project 'Phases', to drop 'Underrated' EP as NFT"](https://www.bandwagon.asia/articles/ollie-drops-underrated-ep-on-royal-nft-web3-project-phases-3lau-cryptocurrency-blockchain-march-2022). *Ollie partners with DJ 3LAU's Royal for first Web3 project 'Phases', to drop 'Underrated' EP as NFT | Bandwagon | Music media championing and spotlighting music in Asia.*. March 3, 2022. 1. ["Pitbull on investing in music NFTs and 3LAU on surging fan interest: CNBC Crypto World"](https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/04/19/pitbull-investing-music-nfts-and-3lau-surging-fan-interest-crypto-world.html). *CNBC*. April 19, 2022. ## External links - [Website](https://www.royal.io/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Royal.io](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal.io) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal.io?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.