Why Authors Are Paid Royalties
Royalty means kings and queens, and also a payment to a creator. The link is the Crown's ancient right to charge for mining and printing.
Royalty means the royal family, and also a payment made for the use of property. The connection is historical: the Crown owned the rights to minerals and to certain printing, and licensed them out for a share of the proceeds. That share was a *royalty*, and the name survived long after the monarch stopped collecting it.
- Royal people. *A crowd hoping to see royalty.*
- A payment for use of a work. *He earns royalties on the book.*
- Royal status. *Born to royalty.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | royalty | Minor royalty. |
| Plural | royalties | Quarterly royalties. |
| Adjective | royal | A royal visit. |
| Adverb | royally | Royally entertained. |
| Related | regal | A regal manner. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Royalty attended the opening.Uncountable, meaning royal people.
- She receives royalties twice a year.Payments, always plural here.
- He was treated like royalty.Meaning very well indeed.
Royalties in practice
- Book royalties — a percentage of sales or of the publisher's receipts
- Mechanical royalties — for reproducing a recorded work
- Performance royalties — for public playing or broadcast
- Mineral royalties — for extracting resources from land
- Advance — money paid up front and set against future royalties
From Old French *roialte*, from *roial*, royal, from Latin *regalis*, from *rex*, king. The payment sense grew from royal rights granted to others in return for a share.
Why is a payment called a royalty?
Because it began as the Crown's share of profits from rights it granted, such as mining or printing. The word outlived the arrangement.
What is an advance against royalties?
Money paid before publication that is deducted from future royalties. Nothing more is paid until the advance has earned out.