Music-based social networking Web site Last.fm has teamed up with publisher Orion for a novel book promotion.
The music recommendation site, which has more than 20 million users, will form part of the marketing campaign for crime writer Ian Rankin’s final novel in the Rebus series, “Exit Music,” published on Sept. 6. The title was inspired by the album of the same name, recorded by fellow Scot Stephen Lindsay.
Orion’s promotion on Last.fm features a dedicated page for Rankin and his literary creation, Inspector Rebus. The site lists 30 favorite tracks of the Edinburgh detective character and the author.
Rankin’s choices include Joy Division’s “Atmosphere,” Lou Reed’s “Berlin” and Mogwai’s “Rage: Man.” Inspector Rebus would apparently listen to “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones, The Who’s “Substitute” and “Frank & Ava” by Suzanne Vega.
“I really wanted to focus on the music aspect of the books as this potentially will be Rebus’ swansong, and I think that there are so many opportunities now to exploit the specific cultural and musical crossovers that are important to Ian’s writing,” comments Orion’s senior marketing manager Claire Brett. “Working with Last.fm will enable us to invert this relationship – we’ll introduce new fans to the books via the music.”
There is also a video of the author discussing the novel, an audio extract from the book and tour dates for signing sessions. The page will also click to Amazon for pre-ordering of the book.
