How to Choose a Digital Likeness Licensing Platform

October 4, 2026

Evaluation criteria for likeness and voice licensing platforms: verification, consent, fees, exclusivity, data use, revocation and exit. With examples.

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Royall publishes this guide. Descriptions of other companies come from their own public pages, accessed October 4, 2026. Check each provider for current features, fees and terms.

Quick answer

Choose a digital likeness licensing platform on seven criteria: how it verifies identity, how it records consent, which uses it allows and refuses, what it charges, what it does with your data (including AI training), what happens if you revoke, and whether you can leave with your records. Marketplaces suit discovery; consent infrastructure suits repeated, checkable permissions. A platform is optional: a direct contract, an agent or a lawyer are all valid routes.

What types of likeness licensing platforms exist?

Type	Best for	Example
Curated marketplace for iconic voices and IP	Estates and famous rights holders	ElevenLabs Iconic Marketplace
Talent marketplace for AI advertising	Models and creators licensing to brands	ActorHub
Rights and licensing platform tied to monitoring	Rights holders who also want protection	Vermillio TraceID
Consent and permission infrastructure	People whose consent needs to be checked by many apps	Royall
No platform	Anyone with a contract and, ideally, a lawyer	Direct deal

What should I compare between licensing platforms?

Use this as a scorecard. Ask each platform to answer in writing.

Criterion	What good looks like	Questions to ask
Identity verification	A real check that you are you, or that your representative has authority	How do you stop someone listing my likeness without me?
Consent record	You see and keep the exact text you agreed to	Can I download what I signed?
Use controls	You choose use types; some uses are refused for everyone	Can I allow ads but refuse political or adult uses?
Training rights	Training is separate and opt-in, deal by deal	Is AI training ever switched on by default?
Fees and payouts	Published fee, clear payout timing	What percentage do you take, and when do I get paid?
Exclusivity	Non-exclusive unless you're paid for exclusivity	Does listing stop me licensing elsewhere?
Data use by the platform	Written answers on training, licensing and retention	Do you train your own models on my data?
Revocation	Stops new uses quickly; clear about what can't be undone	What happens to data already delivered to a licensee?
Exit	Export records; delete data	What happens to active licenses if I leave?

For data questions in more depth, use our 10-question vendor checklist.

What do current platforms offer?

ElevenLabs Iconic Marketplace. A curated catalog of iconic voices and IP. Companies choose an icon, request approval and connect directly with the rights holder about the project. ElevenLabs
ActorHub. Brands license verified, consenting real people for AI advertising. A live check ties each account to a real person; talent sets the uses, limits and price, and is paid per approved use, with commission if they share the campaign. Fee details weren't visible on its public pages when we checked. actorhub.ai
Vermillio TraceID. Describes its licensing platform as built "to license your content and ensure compensation, attribution and accountability," alongside its protection plans. TraceID licensing
Royall. See "Where Royall fits" below.

Which laws shape a fair likeness license?

Status as of October 4, 2026:

California Labor Code §927 (AB 2602) and New York General Obligations Law §5-302, both effective January 1, 2025, can make a vague digital replica clause in a services contract unenforceable when the person had no lawyer or union representation. Platforms that describe uses specifically are on safer ground. Tracker: AB 2602 · Tracker: New York
NO FAKES Act (proposed, not law). As reported in the Senate, licenses for living people would be capped at 10 years, written and signed, and reasonably specific; licenses for minors capped at five years with court approval. Tracker
SAG-AFTRA contracts require informed, specific consent and pay for digital replicas in covered work. Tracker

When should I skip the platform and license directly?

When you know the buyer, the deal is one-off, and you have a lawyer or union behind you. A signed contract with specific uses, a term and separate training terms is a complete solution. Our step-by-step licensing guide covers the contract terms.

Where Royall fits

Royall is consent and permission infrastructure that can support licensing. People record their own face and voice, sign one consent and choose which uses they allow; apps that integrate Royall Herald check those choices before each use. Some uses are refused for everyone, including fraud and political manipulation. Licensing opportunities are offered from time to time under separate terms, at Royall's discretion (Terms §1.5). Royall's published licensing fee is 5% of a license once it is completed and accepted by both sides, with no fee to list. Per Royall's developer docs, AI training is approved deal by deal and is never a blanket setting. Pricing · Developer docs

The scorecard's data questions, answered for Royall:

How Royall handles your data What Royall's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy say today (both effective September 15, 2026):

Royall's own models. Royall may use your likeness to train Royall-operated AI models to improve its services, for example its likeness detection (Terms §1.4).

Licensing to partners. Royall may offer you opportunities to license your recordings to Royall partners, including for AI training, under separate terms and with your consent (Terms §1.2 and §1.5; Privacy Policy). Those licenses must bar the partner from using your likeness to train models for deepfake generation, sexual content, harassment, infringement or any illegal purpose (Terms §1.5).

Revoking consent stops future licenses. It cannot pull your likeness out of data sets already shared with third parties under earlier licenses (Terms §1.3; Privacy Policy).

Retention. Biometric data is kept as long as needed to provide the services you request, or up to three years after your last interaction, unless you revoke consent (Privacy Policy).

Access and deletion. Ask at privacy@royall.ai (Privacy Policy).

Apps that check permission through Herald or Connect get a yes or no answer. Royall says partners using Connect do not receive your recordings (royall.ai).

Key takeaways

Compare platforms on verification, consent, use controls, training, fees, revocation and exit.
Ask for answers in writing, with links to the terms.
Marketplaces help with discovery; consent infrastructure helps with repeated checks.
Vague clauses can fail in California and New York; specific ones protect both sides.
A direct contract is still a valid route.

FAQ

Do I need a marketplace to license my voice? No. You can negotiate directly or through representation.

What's the difference between a marketplace and consent infrastructure? A marketplace helps buyers find you. Consent infrastructure records and checks whether a specific use is allowed.

Can I list on more than one platform? Often yes, unless you've granted exclusivity. Check each platform's terms.

What happens to my data if I revoke consent on a licensing platform? It depends on the platform. On many, revoking stops new licenses but can't recall data already delivered to licensees. Ask before you sign.

Sources

Related guides

This is general information, not legal advice.

onwards,
The Royall team