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When NFTs Give More Rights to Artists (Than the Traditional Art Market)

Thursday, 15 July 2021 11:50 AM

Sign art, a global advocate for Artist's resale right.

HONG KONG / ACCESSWIRE / July 15, 2021 /

An obvious unbalance

In the traditional art market, an extreme minority of the deals are subject to a resale right benefiting to the artist. Most of the time, even though the paintings or sculptures are sold at an increasing price, the artist, and their heirs, do not benefit from the rise in value. Which is pretty unfair compared, for example, to book and music authors.

The right on visual art resales (« Droit de suite ») was initiated in 1920 in France. It appeared as a consequence to the blatant gap between the misery in which an artist's family can be and the skyrocketing price related to some art pieces. The Angelus by Jean Francois Millet (today at Orsay Museum) was at the center of such a phenomenon. M. Millet's family was living a miserable life while bids related to their ancestor artwork could not stop going up. Millet family is at the very origin of the artist's resale right.

Digital Chain Limited, Thursday, July 15, 2021, Press release picture

Where are we at, now?

A century later, only 85 Countries have a legislation in place. Among them, no United States of America or China. This leaves many artists and their family on the sidewalk. Sometime, literally. But even if the first resale happens in a country where the regulation is in place… it may change for the subsequent transaction. Indeed, as this is usually the country where the sale is performed that allows an artist… to enforce his/her rights, benefiting from the subsequent transaction is about getting lucky…

Is the artist's resale right, as it is, a solution? In the EU, from EUR 1.000 to EUR 50.000, 4% of the paid amount is given to the artists or her/his heirs as a royalty. But the legal framework is pretty restrictive. The rate related to royalties decreases from 4% down to 0.25% over EUR 50.000, the amount is capped to EUR 12500, no royalty is paid on transactions below EUR 1.000 and the right for the artist's family stops 70 years after the artist death. No system is perfect, but there is definitely here, some space for improvements.

Why Sign-art and a few other NFT platforms are doing better?

We decided to put the artist at the center. Royalties are being paid automatically from the first EUR/USD. Indeed, smart contracts perform the royalty payment every time there is a transaction, wherever the buyer or seller is. The standard percentage is a flat 10% and is not limited to 70 years as every other artist's resale right scheme.

If you are an artist, you and your heirs can get royalties over your artwork transactions indefinitely. The artist will only have to give to their heirs the secret key in order to access the wallet used to publish the first drop. Whenever, wherever you are, the wallet will continue to receive royalties when transactions occur. This is simple, fair and economically efficient. Who said NFTs is only hype and speculation?

Press Contact:
Michael, [email protected]
+852 8191 2499

Source:

Sign Art:

SOURCE: Digital Chain Limited

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