4 Awesome Gifts for Musicians

There are loads of gifts you can get a musician for Christmas or Chanukah, but there are just as many personal tastes and quirks that it's impossible for me to list them without also alienating an equal number of other musicians at the same time. So I've put together a list of things any musician will appreciate, regardless of age, instrument or musical genre. Have a look!

I fell in love with these vintage LP record coasters the moment I saw them. Aren't they gorgeous?? Doesn't matter if you're buying them for someone who's too young to have even ever seen an album in person (God, I just made myself feel really old!), everyone loves the idea of old school LPs and these coasters are very cool and artistic way to bring them into someone's home décor. Whether your musician is a broke street busker or a well-paid popstar, they will dig these.

Give a musician a giftcard for MP3 downloads and watch how quickly their iPod fills up with fabulous new tracks they've been wanting to get for ages. You may think that most musicians get their song downloads via other, erm, less expensive means, but the truth is that most serious musicians actually *want* to pay for their music downloads and these sorts of giftcards come in handy. And don't worry, it's not like getting someone a random gift certificate without putting thought into it -- you're getting them a gift certificate to buy music, and that's thoughtful.

Even if your musician has only self-released a CD, this is a very, VERY cool gift! Get one of their CDs, stick it in the frame and slip the cover in as well. It will look fantastic wherever they stick it and will attract all sorts of attention, which they're sure to love. Very cool gift and would like one for myself!

If your musician goes on the road to tour at all, they will thank you for this. Unless you're a famous pop star, traveling from gig to gig pretty much blows and you wind up feeling very uncomfortable long before you reach the next gig -- this goes for whether or not you're flying, driving or taking a train. This travel pillow will at least make them more comfortable on the way!