Textbook Publisher Pearson Turns to NFTs to Profit From Secondhand Sales

Pearson Education, a British-owned education publishing company, is turning to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to profit from the frequent secondhand sales of its textbooks, according to CEO Andy Bird.

"In the analogue world, a Pearson textbook was resold up to seven times, and we would only participate in the first sale," Bird said. "Technology like blockchain and NFTs allows us to participate in every sale of that particular item as it goes through its life."

NFT purchases and sales are recorded on a digital ledger, or blockchain. In typical NFT collections, the artists or project founders are given a percentage of each secondary marketplace transaction via a royalty.

Pearson wants to utilize this technology to turn its book titles into NFTs and profit from each secondary sale of its textbooks.

This one specific example of how blockchain and NFT technologies can help Pearson's bottom line is only the tip of the iceberg.

Bird currently has a "whole team" working on "the implications of the metaverse and what that could mean for [Pearson]," according to The Guardian.