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Louder

Entertainment

Scott Munro

How to gift Spotify, Apple Music and other music streaming services this Christmas

United States Apple Music Apple Spotify Amazon Music Unlimited Amazon Deezer Tidal

If you’re on the hunt for a stocking filler, a last-minute gift or something a little bit different from the usual gift-wrapped present this Christmas, giving someone a music streaming service subscription is worth considering.

With millions of songs, albums and artists to discover, music streaming is an excellent way to explore all genres of music - even if music fans still go on to support the artist through buying a physical release.

There are plenty of options available if you're looking to gift someone a music subscription service, but figuring out some of them isn't immediately obvious. Below, you'll find advice about gifting, how a subscription can be delivered and a selection of music streaming services the Louder team recommend.

What to know before purchasing

You might assume that all online music streaming services would offer a gifting service, but not all do - and some platforms only offer the option through a third-party purchase.

Most follow a familiar pattern: you can either buy a subscription and have the details emailed directly to the recipient at a time of your choosing with a personal message, or buy a plastic gift card with your choice of monetary value attached and have it sent to them instead.

Below you'll find several music subscription services along with advice on how to go about purchasing your sub of choice.

Music subscription services

Here we've highlighted some of the Louder team's music streaming services of choice and their approach to gifting, so you can work out which is the right one for your or your giftee.

Spotify

You can’t gift a Spotify Premium subscription directly through the streaming giant's app or website, but you can purchase a Spotify Premium gift card from major online retailers such as Amazon which does the job nicely. You can either get a plastic one delivered by post - or you can send a Spotify Premium subscription direct to your friend of loved one’s email address on a date of your choosing. It’s worth noting that you can’t use a gift card on discounted Spotify plans.

Apple Music

Like Spotify, you can’t gift a subscription to Apple Music through the official site. The only option you have is to buy an Apple gift card which can be delivered to your email address of choice on any day that suits. You can also add a personal message and load it with up to $500/£500 worth of credit, which can be redeemed towards an Apple Music subscription, or used to fund all things Apple-shaped - from App Store purchases, games and movies to a new pair of AirPods or shiny new iPad.

Qobuz

Qobuz still tend to fly a bit under the radar, but their quality audio service is hard to ignore - and it's worth pointing out that Qobuz sits in the no.1 spot in our guide to the best music streaming services. You can gift a Qobuz Studio subscription for three months, six months or 12 months directly through their official website, choosing a personal message and a date for it to be delivered. With hi-res streaming (FLAC 24 bit up to 192 kHz) and more than 100 million tracks, this is a great gift option and a flexible way to pay.

Tidal

Tidal is one of the leading music streaming services out there and there are two tiers: HiFi and HiFi Plus. HiFi offers 16-bit and 44.1 kHz music streaming, while the Plus tier ups that to 24-bit and 192 kHz - and that means access to HiRes FLAC, Dolby Atmos and the awesome Sony 360 Reality Audio. You can’t buy a subscription directly from Tidal, but you can buy a Tidal gift card. In the US, you can buy one for $20 through PayPal’s Gift site which can be sent direct to them via email on a day of your choosing.

Deezer

Deezer is another excellent music streaming service which also offers subscriptions through their website. Again, both email and physical gift cards can be purchased, with the ability to gift a minimum of a one-month sub through to the maximum 12-month option. Deezer gift cards are only available for their Premium service and are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase. Deezer has loads of FLAC and lossless tracks to explore and can be used through Android, iOS and Xbox.

Amazon Music Unlimited

One of our favourite music streaming services is Amazon Music Unlimited, but sadly there’s no option to gift a sub to the platform. It’s also not possible to redeem an Amazon gift card to access the service either, which means that trying to give Amazon Music Unlimited to a friend or loved one this Christmas isn’t possible. This is a real shame as it’s a great service with loads to offer. However, if you fancy a sneaky wee treat for yourself, you can currently get three free months of the service - an offer which runs until January 11.