Related Articles
Related stories
- Top 6 sites for buying FLAC
- Drip.fm: Record club for the 21st century
- What is FLAC? The high-def MP3 explained
- Tidal carves streaming-music niche
OK, so it’s 5 minutes to midnight on Christmas Eve and you still haven’t got the music lover in your life a gift yet. It’s too late to buy something on Amazon, so what do you do?
Sure, you could shove 20 bucks in his or her shirt pocket, tap it, and say, “Get something nice”…or, the classy move is to give one of these virtual stocking stuffers from $10 and up.
Best news of all, people can start using these gifts straight away, and don’t need to wait by the letter box.
1. Murfie
Price: $25 a year
While the CD-trading website Murfie has Sonos’ and other bundling promotions on occasion, the cheapest way to buy music for your friend is to get a yearly Gold subscription. It includes a $10 credit and users can then have their physical library (held at Murfie’s warehouse) sent to them as MP3 or FLAC files.
2. Tidal
Price: $20 per month
When it comes to streaming services everyone knows about Spotify, but buying someone a subscription (given that most people get it for free) seems like an odd move. What you could do instead is invest in subscription-only service Tidal. Not only does its catalog rival Spotify’s at 25 million songs but it’s lossless, meaning better audio quality.
3. Drip
Price: From $9.99
We featured Drip a while back and it’s still going strong, having added Seattle heavyweights Sub Pop and They Might Be Giants (below) in recent months. For your subscription you get a minimum of two new or catalog releases in whichever format you choose from one of over 30 different labels.
3. They Might Be Giants Dial-A-Song
Price: $30
They Might Be Giants’ output didn’t start and end with “Birdhouse in Your Soul,” and this year they intend to prove it by writing and releasing 52 new songs! While most Drip subscriptions only last a month the Dial-A-Song promotion lasts a whole year for only $30, and features a new song each week.
5. iTunes Code
Price: $15
The original and still one of the best last-minute gifts. Sure, you could pop down to your 24-hour chemist and buy one, but why waste leg power and risk getting snow on you?
