Textbook publisher Pearson has recently revealed its plans to convert its textbooks to NFT. Students usually do not need their textbooks after graduation. Thus, dropping textbook NFTs which can be sold on the secondary market is a great chance for Pearson to get money from second-hand sales.
About Pearson’s NFT plans
Pearson CEO Andy Bird said that NFT textbook sales enables the publisher to track the ownership of the textbook, even when it is resold. As stated by Bird: “In the analog world, a Pearson textbook has sold up to seven times, and would just participate in the first sale.”
As reported by Bird, “the move to digital is helping to reduce the secondary market”. He added: “Technology such as blockchain and NFTs lets us participate in every sale of that special item throughout its lifetime”.
This new plan will solidify Pearson’s digital strategy following the announcement of its Pearson+ subscription program in 2021. While selling books as NFTs isn’t exactly an innovative concept, it’s safe to say that book NFTs haven’t worked out the same way as music or art NFTs. This is because many publishers are still wary of NFTs, particularly since their target audience value printed books.
Anyway, Pearson’s NFT strategy, could encourage other publishers to follow suit. Overall, multimedia offerings open up the industry to people who might not have access to printed edition.
Education & the metaverse
Pearson is part of a growing list of educational institutions that are entering the metaverse. Lately, the Hong Kong University of Science and Tech (HKUST) released its first Metaverse classroom. Germany’s Bookwire has created an NFT marketplace for the publishing industry. Additionally, Roblox now offers lesson plans for many subjects and age groups.
Moreover, not everyone is convinced. Tech consultant Dr. Ian Cutress tweeted: “Is this really an NFT, or is this Pearson just letting people package a book into a code and sell the code? This is not an NFT. NFT is only a keyword here. Consider that to make money, Pearson charges a $10 reactivation fee to the person who purchases the code.
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