The German digital book distributor has an autumn target for its NFT platform for the book publishing sector.
Image – iStockphoto: Igor Igorevich
Ruhrmann: ‘Currently Under Development’
With its announcement today (May 6), the Frankfurt-based digital distributor Bookwire steps into the blockchain discussion, creating what it’s calling a new NFT marketplace “for the publishing and creator industry.”
“NFT” stands for “non-fungible token.” It’s a quantity of data stored on a digital ledger that underlies a blockchain. An NFT then works like an identifier, separate from copyright, verifying ownership of a digital property especially significant for digital files like JPGs and MPGs which can be easily copied and shared online. While NFTs won’t prevent that kind of sharing, they do provide a framework for proving who owns what.
Germany-Based Bookwire in 2020: Titles Up 11 Percent Over 2019
The digital distributor reports a rise in audiobooks of 123 percent in 2020 over the previous year. Print-on-demand advanced 18 percent.
In Cologne’s marketplace amid Germany’s ongoing lockdown, January 31. Image – iStockphoto: Thomas Stockhausen
Klingelhöfer: ‘Learning and Support’
By the end of 2020, Bookwire’s new report says, the Frankfurt-based digital distributor had some 600,000 titles moving in commercial channels for publishing clients.
That represents an 11-percent increase over the same criterion in 2019.
The number of audiobooks increased by 46 percent to around 90,000 titles
Ebooks, already the core of Bookwire’s trade, increased by 6 percent to around 500,000