Bertelsmann's BDMI becomes latest investor in e-book NFT firm

Bertelsmann’s venture capital firm BDMI has closed an investment in Book.io, joining Ingram as one of the e-book non-fungible token (NFT) company’s backers.

Book.io is putting e-books and audiobooks on the blockchain, where they can be traded as NFTs — a one-of-a-kind digital certificate of ownership. This will allow readers to own digital books and sell them if they choose to do so, the firm says, creating a secondary market “where publishers and authors earn royalties on every resale in perpetuity”.

The company claims that, since launching its first book sale on 20th July the total volume of secondary market sales has already passed $500,000, including the sale of a single collectible e-book at more than $4,000. Earlier this month Ingram announced it was investing in the company. 

C.e.o. Joshua Stone said of BDMI: "This investment is more than just a capital injection. It’s a partnership with a venture capital group, BDMI, that understands the value of intellectual property and has been investing in media for over 15 years. We have a huge vision for Book.io with our product roadmap expanding well beyond e-books to include audiobooks and other types of digital media in the future. We look forward to building our relationship with BDMI and their network of media experts throughout Bertelsmann."

Keith Titan, partner at BDMI, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Penguin Random House owner Bertelsmann, added: "We are excited to be part of the Book.io team via our recent investment. We have been closely following the explosion of NFTs in various media including images, video and music, and now Book.io is forging a new market for NFT e-books. Their initial NFT e-book releases quickly sold out and generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales with an immediately active secondary market as well. Josh and Ben are delivering on their mission to launch innovative digital products that will attract both traditional book buyers and a whole new group of e-book collectors. We look forward to helping Book.io continue their success."

Book.io is building an e-book and audiobook marketplace, mobile reading apps, and a self-service portal for publishers and authors. The firm says it is in discussions with various international publishing houses and bestselling authors to release their titles on the platform this autumn.