College textbook maker Pearson eyes NFTs to claim a cut of second-hand sales

NFT advocates often tout the technology's ability to grant the creator a cut of second-hand sales as one of its major attributes. Artists can earn from one of their digital creations years after first selling it. Others are looking at NFTs to earn a buck from the secondary market too, including the publishers of college textbooks.Pearson, which said in 2019 it would focus on digital textbook sales, wants a piece of the action. “In the analogue world, a Pearson textbook was resold up to seven times, and we would only participate in the first sale,” CEO Andy Bird told Bloomberg this week. “The move to digital helps diminish the secondary market, and technology like blockchain and NFTs allows us to participate in every sale of that particular item as it goes through its life."There's an obvious reason why students resell textbooks. They're expensive! Students often have to spend hundreds of dollars on required materials each semester — or even hundreds of dollars on a single textbook. Selling on a textbook when it's no longer needed just makes sense.Turning textbooks into NFTs and banking on the blockchain to track ownership of them (from “owner A to owner B to owner C,” as Bird put it) seems unnecessary, though. Digital rights management already exists and doesn't need to go anywhere near cryptocurrency. Pearson has a $15 per month subscription service for its textbooks as well.Bird could simply be bloviating about a zeitgeisty technology to try and keep Pearson's investors... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2022-08-03 20:10:20 UTC ]
News tagged with: #second-hand sales #nft advocates #major attributes #secondary market #analogue world #makes sense #pearson

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Two-thirds of UK’s biggest advertisers to cut television spend

Traditional TV shunned in favour of digital media and last-minute promotional campaignsMore than two-thirds of the UK’s biggest advertisers intend to cut back spending on traditional TV next year, as the recession fuels a shift to digital media and last-minute bursts of promotion.A survey of 59... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-11-21 00:01:39 UTC ]
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Amazon's Black Friday sale brings Kindle e-readers back to all-time lows

Amazon's Black Friday deals have started going live, and its Echo Show displays, Fire tablets and Fire TV devices are already being sold at a discount. Also on sale? Its Kindle e-readers, some of which are now listed for the lowest prices we've seen for them on the website. The Kindle Paperwhite... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-11-18 13:13:24 UTC ]
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Amazon Makes Cuts to Its Book Group

As part of a companywide effort to reduce costs, Amazon has eliminated an unspecified number of jobs in its Books business. Word of the reductions came in a letter sent yesterday to employees from CEO Andy Jassy describing “role eliminations” in the company's Books and Devices units. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #books business #book group #reduce costs #unspecified number


Another Bad Week for Print Book Sales

Unit sales of print books fell 17.1% last week compared to the week ended November 13, 2021, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. It was the third consecutive week that sales fell by double digits compared to 2021. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookstore Sales Edge Closer to 2019 Levels

Bookstore sales were up 8.5% over last year, reaching $6.45 billion, in the first nine months of 2022. The steady improvement in the year leaves bookstore sales 0.8% below pre-pandemic nine-month sales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Sales Continued to Struggle in August

Book sales fell 9% in August compared to a year ago at the 1,367 publishers who report data to AAP’s StatShot program. All segments had declines in the month, with sales of adult books down 9.3% and sales of children’s/young adult book declining 10.9%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Print Book Sales Slide Continues

The soft fall sales season continued last week, with print unit sales falling 14.9% compared to the week ended November 6, 2021. Sales declined in all categories, including sales of adult fiction, which has been the best-performing segment this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Christian Children's Book Publishers Eye Wider Market

Publishers are adding books they say are faithful to Biblical values, but not explicitly religious, leaving it to parents to draw connections. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Profits, Sales Tumble at HarperCollins

Sales dropped 11% and profits plunged 54% in the quarter ended September 30 at HarperCollins. Much lower sales of print books through Amazon impacted the revenue decline, and higher costs across the board contributed to the profit drop. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Pirated e-book site Z-Library vanishes—sending college students into a panic

Here’s what’s been going on with the site—plus some alternatives for accessing free e-books. Many a desperate college student has turned to Z-Library, a site for pirated e-books, as an alternative to expensive textbooks. But on Friday, the site suddenly went dark, sending students who relied on... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2022-11-04 18:00:00 UTC ]
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Print Book Sales Dropped 14.2% Last Week

Despite three books posting sales of more than 100,000 copies last week, unit sales of print books fell 14.2% compared to the week ended October 30, 2021 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S Sales Up 10% in Q3, but Profits Are Flat

Though its third-quarter results slowed compared to the first half of 2022, Simon & Schuster remains on track to have a record year, which CEO Jonathan Karp attributed to employees' ability to stay focused on books despite the company being for sale for more than two years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Art of the Hand-Sell: 31 Spooky, Eerie, and Uncanny Books for Halloween

Is there anything scarier than not knowing what great book you’re going to read next? Big love to the booksellers at Exile in Bookville (Chicago, IL), Raven Book Store (Lawrence, KS), Copper Dog Books (Beverly, MA), and The Haunted Bookshop (Iowa City, IA) for their generous recommendations.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-31 08:59:42 UTC ]
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Print Sales Fell 9.1% in Mid-October

Blockbuster sales of Colleen Hoover’s It Starts with Us were not enough to prevent overall unit sales of print books from falling 9.1% in the week ended Oct. 23, 2022, compared to the similar week in 2021, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Hoover Can't Stop Weekly Sales Slide

Blockbuster first-week sales of Colleen Hoover’s 'It Starts with Us' was not enough to prevent unit sales of print books from falling 9.1% last week compared to the week ended October 23, 2021. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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After Massive July Layoff, Callisto Media Cuts Staff Further

After a large job cut in mid-July, Callisto Media made another significant staff reduction on Monday in a move to cut costs during an uncertain economic climate. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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'We'll Sue Him': Trump Claims Bob Woodward Audiobook Interview Tapes 'Belong To Me'

The former president warned: "We've already hired the lawyers" to sue the prominent journalist. Continue reading at HuffPost

[ HuffPost | 2022-10-22 01:40:50 UTC ]
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Print Sales Dropped 10.5% in Early October

Unit sales of print books fell 10.5% in the week ended Oct. 15, 2022, from the comparable week in 2021, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing Sales Fell in July

July was a bad month for publishing, with sales falling 14.9% from a year ago for the 1,368 publishers who report to AAP’s StatShot program. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Print Sales Dropped 8% in Early October

Unit sales of print books fell 8% in the week ended Oct. 8, 2022, from the comparable week in 2021, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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