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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February Bookstore Sales Dropped 22.3%

February bookstore sales fell to $446 million in February compared to sales of $573 million in 2020, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Granta and Dialogue claim multiple titles on Orwell Prize longlists

Titles from Dialogue Books and Granta have made the longlists for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing and Prize for Political Fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-10 00:25:15 UTC ]
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The Print Books Sales Surge Continues

Print unit sales jumped 29% in 2021’s first quarter. Most of the increase was due to the surge in book-buying that began last spring and carried over into 2021. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The 'Hilda' Series Catapulted Luke Pearson's Comics Creation to Stardom

PW spoke with Luke Pearson, creator of the Hilda comics series and animated Netflix adaptation, and Sam Arthur, managing director at Nobrow, about the creative and business sides of adapting comics to the screen and how it can change a publisher's list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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New Pilkey Title Leads a Good Week for Book Sales

An early 2021 Easter, combined with declining sales last spring as the pandemic heated up, resulted in a huge gain in unit sales of print books for the week ended March 28, 2021, over the comparable week last year at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Sarah Pinborough, author of ‘Behind Her Eyes,’ talks about that controversial twist

“You’re allowed to hate it,” Pinborough says of the ending of her book — and the show. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-03-26 06:00:00 UTC ]
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Full STEAM Ahead: Activity Books Encourage Hands-On Learning Surge

In a most unusual year shaped by the pandemic, as educators and their students faced a variety of school-day scenarios that included virtual learning, one thing was constant—the need for engaging lessons tackling STEM and STEAM concepts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Finland’s 2020 Audiobook Sales Doubled, Ebooks Up 84 Percent

A new book market report on Finland's book market shows the impact of the pandemic and looks at the bestselling Finnish books of 2020. The post Finland’s 2020 Audiobook Sales Doubled, Ebooks Up 84 Percent appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-03-25 16:14:36 UTC ]
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Quarto Profits Rose in 2020 Despite Sales Decline

The decision to focus its 2020 list on books that could perform well online, in nontraditional outlets, and in digital formats led to a 6% increase in operating profits at Quarto last year, while revenue declined 7%, to $126.9 million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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NFL hands Amazon exclusive games, and Teen Vogue editor undone by teen rogue tweets: Friday Wake-Up Call

Welcome to Ad Age’s Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news. If you're reading this online or in a forwarded email, here's the link to sign up for our Wake-Up Call newsletters.  Touchdown for Amazon Good morning! Amazon executives are sure having a... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2021-03-19 10:00:00 UTC ]
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Unit Sales of Print Books Soared 36.5% Last Week

Though unit sales began softening a bit at this time last year because of the early impact of the pandemic, the spike in sales last week was mainly due to the continued demand for print books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookstore Sales Fell 16.6% in January

Bookstore sales were $797 million in January, down from $956 million a year ago. The 16.6% decline was only a slight increase over the December drop, and was another indication bookstore sales declines may be levelling off. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Pearson to retain office locations in Strand, Oxford and Harlow

Pearson has confirmed it will be keeping office locations at Oxford and Harlow, and at its headquarters at 80 Strand WC2, despite this week announcing a strategy of "significantly" reducing office space. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-12 23:30:26 UTC ]
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March Starts with 34% Pop in Print Unit Sales

Fueled by huge gains for a host of Dr. Seuss titles, as well as solid results for several new books, unit sales of print books soared 34.2% in the week ended Mar. 6, 2021, over the comparable week in 2020, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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W H Smith extends financing arrangements after 'better than expected' sales

W H Smith has extended its bank financing arrangements, including extending two existing £200m term loans to October 2023, and reported a “better than expected” performance in the first part of 2021. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-09 15:38:01 UTC ]
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Print Unit Sales Finish February with 26% Gain

With the help of strong backlist sales, unit sales of print books rose 26% in the week ended Feb. 27, 2021, over the similar week last year, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-05 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Flying Eye Books to publish third from Grill

Flying Eye Books will publish Bandoola: The Great Elephant Rescue, the publisher's third collaboration with author and illustrator William Grill.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-03 04:44:33 UTC ]
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Pearson releases editorial guidelines to combat systemic racism

Pearson has released a series of editorial guidelines on ethnicity and race, aiming to help fight systemic racism in education. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-02 08:37:35 UTC ]
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Netflix wins big at Golden Globes as ‘Queen’s Gambit’ keeps fueling chess sales: Monday Wake-Up Call

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[ Advertising Age | 2021-03-01 11:07:04 UTC ]
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S&S global sales hit 'record year' in 2020 at $901m

Sales at Simon & Schuster came in at an all time high in 2020 at $901m, ViacomCBS has reported. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-26 10:10:34 UTC ]
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