Pearson Textbooks Looking at NFTs

Textbook NFTs, New Business Model?

Could Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) be a solution for one of the world’s largest publishers expecting declining textbook sales?

That’s what U.K.-based Pearson Plc is proposing, in order to address the issue of capturing profits on resales of their textbooks. In the U.S., students prefer to buy secondhand textbooks.

According to Pearson’s sales growth forecast, the number of books publishers sell in the next five years will drop seriously for that reason.

“The life cycle of a Pearson textbook goes through about seven sales, and we only make a profit from the first sale,” CEO Andy Bird told Bloomberg. “Technology like blockchain and NFTs allows us to participate in every sale of that particular item as it goes through its life,” he continued.

Before the announcement, Pearson analysts had estimated nearly £100 million in savings in printing costs, as Pearson is also developing an online book rental service for $15/month for students who cannot afford to buy books.

While Bird appears to be bullish on NFTs, the technology is a double-edged sword for publishers.

Using NFT technology, authors can produce and monetize their books without going through a publisher.

As a result, some critics speculate Pearson may be promoting digital books and NFTs to appease investors in the company’s stock. Meanwhile, others argue that Pearson has limited options if students take screenshots of each e-textbook page before selling the book.

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