Royal
Royal (Royal Markets Inc.) operated a peer-to-peer NFT marketplace for fractional music royalty tokens on Polygon, Ethereum, and Solana, serving musicians minting Song Tokens and fans/collectors trading them via an Order Book. The platform shut down in late 2024 amid a collapse in the music-NFT cycle and securities-law concerns.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
Royal firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Royal
- Legal name
- Royal Markets Inc.
- Website
- https://royal.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Royal (Royal Markets Inc.) operated a peer-to-peer NFT marketplace for fractional music royalty tokens on Polygon, Ethereum, and Solana, serving musicians minting Song Tokens and fans/collectors trading them via an Order Book. The platform shut down in late 2024 amid a collapse in the music-NFT cycle and securities-law concerns.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Royal industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Music NFT Marketplace
- NAICS
- Music Publishers (51223)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Music Rights Administration & Royalty Processing (Admin, Accounting, Statements) (MPAIAKAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Royalties, Rights & Revenue Management (on-chain royalties, splits, licensing, enforcement) (FSAPAFAC)
Keywords
Where Royal is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Royal business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Song Token transaction fees: Royal automatically deducts transaction fees, payment processing fees, and credit card transaction fees directly from Song Token purchases and sales on the Royal Platform; users also bear blockchain Gas Fees.
- Platform/marketplace take on Song Token sales: Royal operates as an administrative platform facilitating Initial Sales and Resales of Song Tokens between Artists and Purchasers, taking fees on transactions routed through the Order Book; royalties associated with Song Tokens may also be subject to administrative fees.
- Payment processing and credit card fees: Credit card purchases of Song Tokens incur payment processor fees routed through third-party processors; Royal withholds Payment Holdbacks in cases of excessive chargebacks, suspicious activity, or compliance flags.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Artist-set Song Token pricing with Royal fees and blockchain gas costs |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Royal product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Royal operates a peer-to-peer web platform (royal.io) that enables musicians to mint and sell Song Tokens — non-fungible tokens (NFTs) representing fractional ownership in a song's royalties — to fans and collectors. The platform includes an on-platform Order Book for trading Song Tokens via Limit and Market orders, with transactions executed through smart contracts on Polygon, Ethereum, and Solana blockchains, and identity verification/payment processing handled by third-party providers (Wyre, Sardine, Plaid, Stripe). Royal positions itself as an administrative marketplace connecting Artists and Purchasers rather than as a custodian, broker, or financial intermediary.
Product overview
Royal (operated by Royal Markets Inc., a Delaware corporation) offers a single integrated platform called the Royal Platform, which combines a core marketplace website (royal.io) with mobile apps, smart contract infrastructure on public blockchains (Polygon, Ethereum, Solana), and an Order Book trading module. The flagship digital asset on the platform is the Song Token — an NFT that represents a purchaser's share in an artist's song royalties, which can be minted, listed, bought, sold, and resold through the platform. Supporting components include the Royal App for mobile access and a legacy Royalty Claims portal (lda.royal.io). Royal positions itself as an administrative platform connecting Artists and Purchasers rather than as a broker or custodian, with payment and identity verification handled by integrated third-party providers (Wyre, Sardine, Plaid, Stripe) and social login via Facebook, Twitter, and Google.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Royal Platform Royal's core web and mobile marketplace platform at royal.io that allows music professionals (Artists) to sell non-fungible Song Tokens to Purchasers, facilitating peer-to-peer discovery, trading, and royalty distribution. Royal acts as an administrative platform only and is not a party to Artist/Purchaser transactions.
- Royal App Royal's mobile application that lets users access the Royal Platform to browse, post, or fulfill Song Token purchases, subject to platform-specific terms.
- Legacy Royalty Claims (lda.royal.io) Legacy Royal platform service hosted at lda.royal.io that supports royalty claims for users, listed under the 'Legacy' section of the Royal homepage following the platform's product pause.
Companies that use Royal
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Royal technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration7 records
Feature5 records
Royal partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Royal competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat4 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Royal social profiles
Digital presenceRoyal compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
Royal financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Royal leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Royal subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Royal funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors9 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Royal M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Royal
What does Royal do?
Royal operates a peer-to-peer web platform (royal.io) that enables musicians to mint and sell Song Tokens — non-fungible tokens (NFTs) representing fractional ownership in a song's royalties — to fans and collectors. The platform includes an on-platform Order Book for trading Song Tokens via Limit and Market orders, with transactions executed through smart contracts on Polygon, Ethereum, and Solana blockchains, and identity verification/payment processing handled by third-party providers (Wyre, Sardine, Plaid, Stripe). Royal positions itself as an administrative marketplace connecting Artists and Purchasers rather than as a custodian, broker, or financial intermediary.
Is Royal a public or private company?
Royal is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently closed.
When was Royal founded?
Royal was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Royal based?
Royal is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does Royal make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Song Token transaction fees are the primary driver. The others are platform/marketplace take on Song Token sales and payment processing and credit card fees.
Does Royal have an API?
No public API is recorded for Royal.
What industry is Royal in?
Royal's product category is Music NFT Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIAKAD, Music Rights Administration & Royalty Processing (Admin, Accounting, Statements), with a secondary code of FSAPAFAC, Royalties, Rights & Revenue Management (on-chain royalties, splits, licensing, enforcement). Its NAICS code is 51223.