To be honest, when I look at the recent drama over royalty revenue in the secondary market, there’s always an uneasy feeling I can’t quite put into words. Project teams keep shouting “creator economy,” platforms keep throwing blame at each other, and what happens in the end? Creators who should leave still leave, and those who should lie down still lie down. Maybe royalty is just the façade—what truly keeps people are the underlying flywheels, whether they can keep turning.

Speaking of flywheels, it also reminds me of that inflation crash in the chain game cycle. Studios rushed in one after another; token prices spiraled steadily downward. They claimed it was “community-driven,” but in the end it was all sell orders. In plain terms, it’s essentially the same as the royalty dispute—everyone wants a slice of the cake, but nobody wants to be the first to make the cake.

I sound pessimistic, but I still couldn’t help adding to my position in a few projects that dare to cut royalties while their uac is still decent—at least retention looks okay in the data. Next time I run into a controversy like this, I’ll probably first check whether the protocol has real user stickiness before deciding whether to stay involved.

What about you? Do you trust royalty protection more, or do you trust the data more?