NFT for books. Publica vs Rarible. What platform to choose?
This article compares popular platforms used by creators to mint tokens and sell books as NFT. Are you an author looking to create your NFT for a book or other literary content?
This article explains the difference of creating and selling book NFTs on Rarible and Publica.
Before we begin, let’s briefly recap what’s NFT?
An NFT or non-fungible token is a unit of data stored on a blockchain, that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable. NFTs can be used to represent items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files.
Selling book NFTs on Rarible
Rarible is a well-known service for creating NFTs, however, when it comes to minting NFTs for literary content one might question is this an appropriate service for tokenizing books?
Let’s break down the author’s journey to highlight some pros and cons.
What formats are available on Rarible?
Currently, Rarible offering to upload the following format files: PNG, GIF, WEBP, MP4 or MP3. Max 100mb.
Unlockable files
Since it is not possible to upload an EPUB or PDF file, some creators attempt to overcome this obstacle by uploading the cover image and make their content “unlockable”.
What’s unlockable content?
According to Rarible, “you can add unlockable content to your collectibles, that only becomes visible after a transfer of ownership (i.e. selling or gifting your NFT). Artists use this feature to include high res files, making ofs. videos, secret messages etc”.
This allows buyers to receive a digital key, download link, redeem code etc. after completing the transaction.
This approach can be a great use case for selling collectible physical items, such as t-shirts or even wine.
Some authors follow this approach as it allows to sell literary content, but there’s one downside — the content itself is not tied to token.
There’s one downside — the content itself is not tied to token
After purchasing tokens with unlockable content buyers receive access to the desired file that may be stored on Dropbox, Google Drive or any other service. If the link is changed or the service goes down, buyer can lose access to the purchased content making the NFT a literally worthless asset.
An what if buyer download a copy? Once the file is downloaded, there’s zero chance to know what happens with this content next. PDF and EPUB files can be replicated and distributed further by buyers.
Imagine an author selling 1/1 NFT token representing a unique, one of a kind copy of a book. Once buyer has the file downloaded, it is not possible to trace how many copies are out there.
This raises additional questions if creators and buyers can leverage the secondary market opportunities for book NFTs (and any other literary content) sold on Rarible.
If a token holder decides to resell an NFT, original token owner must also transfer the content associated with the token. With the case of downloadable EPUBs, PDFs or other formats it is not clear how can can make sure he/she is the only holder of an item
Selling book NFTs on Publica
Publica is a platform for publishing on the blockchain. Publica allows content creators to mint a unique token representing their content and sell it as NFTs.
Publica supports EPUB format, making it possible to tokenize not only visual content, but also books, essays, magazines, historical documents, software code, scripts and any other literary content.
Publica allows to tokenize books, essays, magazines, historical documents, software code, scripts and any other literary content
After uploading the content, a unique smart contract is created for every listing. Unlike other platforms where an asset is not actually tied to token, with Publica buyers can Publica’s proprietary e-reader/wallet app to access the content. After purchasing NFT on Publica you actually own the content.
Once it is on your mobile device, accessible with e-reader app, no one including Publica can revoke your ownership.
One NFT represents ownership of one copy.
Buyers can access their content any time they want as they are actually OWNING it, but it is not possible to replicate the file.
This benefits both authors and readers. Authors can be sure they are getting paid for every copy available out there (their content can not be replicated as users can’t download the EPUB or share a link with anyone on the internet). Buyers, on the other hand, can be sure they are only owners of the content (in case the token circulation is limited to 1) as well as they can leverage secondary market option by re-selling the token. This makes Publica-minted NFTs a trully valuable assets.
Once a token is transferred from one wallet to another, the previous owner will no longer see an NFT.
In case an original buyer decides to resell or give away an NFT to another person, the content will only be accessible to the new NFT owner and will not be accessible for the previous owner.
This makes Publica-minted NFTs a real asset. The amount of available copies is limited by the number of issued tokens. This makes Publica-minted tokens collectible items.
If there’s only 1 copy of a book minted, buyer can confidently state that he/she is the only owner of this content and no other person can access the book. Imagine a bestselling author selling a sole copy of previously unpublished masterpiece accessible to only one person — this can be the case with Publica!
Publica’s ecosystem
Publica’s ecosystem is offering everything that is needed to provide an ultimate experience for creating, collecting and selling book NFTs:
- Publica’s platform allows content creators to register and upload their content to generate a unique token representing ownership and access rights for the corresponding content. Each listing has a unique token with a smart contract.
- Publica’s catalog is serving as a marketplace where users can showcase their work and sell it to buyers.
- Buyers can access and manage their tokens with e-reader apps for iOS and Android.
- Finally, buyers can re-sell their collectible tokens on Publica’s secondary market.
Wrapping up — what’s best for authors?
When it comes to NFTs for books Publica and Rarible, have different approaches.
While we can technically say that Rarible allows to “sell books as NFTs”, in fact, one is selling a token that is not tied to the actual file. Buyers are paying to get a record that confirms the transaction, and when the purchase is made a link to regular PDF or ePUB file will be unlocked, or in some cases users get a code to go to a third-party site to download the purchased content. The content itself is not tied to the token.
Publica, on the other hand, ties NFT to actual ownership. After buying NFT on Publica buyers receive access to the literary content via Publica’s proprietary e-reader / wallet app. Only actual tokenholders will be able to access the purchased content.
Publica vs Rarible — final thoughts
When it comes to choosing a platform for NFTs, both platforms have their advantages. Two projects offer different user experience and functionality, so it is up to creators to decide which approach provides the best opportunity for their particular use case.
Publica.com is the first publishing platform using blockchain and cryptocurrency technology to innovate how books are funded, distributed, bought and read!
Publica allows content creators to mint a unique token representing their content and sell it as NFT!
Browse all book NFTs here: https://shop.publica.com/
Read more about digital collectibles on Publica in this post: https://medium.com/publicaio/introducing-book-collectibles-dc90efe1f5d8
