With soundtracks proving an obvious extra revenue stream, record companies and TV/film producers are understandably keen to jump on any opportunity to “extend their brand” via the music featured in shows. Not wishing to miss a trick, book publishers are also actively working with novelists to build soundtracks for their books. A quick search on Spotify reveals the number of punters willing to do the legwork in compiling their own literature-inspired playlists, from Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 to 50 Shades of Grey. More authors will no doubt be encouraged to follow Nicholls’ example and create their own compilations: an ingenious way to extend their character’s stories beyond the printed page and – as Nicholls himself says: “a distraction from real work.”
- Grauniad
descensus Averno facilis est