There are 358 days between January 1st and December 25th and yet every year I find myself scrambling for last-minute gifts. If you're in the same boat this year, hopefully, this guide can help you find the perfect last-minute gift for the pop music lover in your life.
From merchandise of today's biggest artists and recently released memoirs and books about pop artists to beginner gear to start making and recording their own music, the following list has everything a pop music lover would love to open on Christmas day.
Concerts
- Ticketmaster gift card to help out with those gnarly fees
- Earplugs!!! Give the gift of ear drum health & prolonging hearing loss for live music lovers this holiday season: Loop and Eargasm are both great options
Vinyl & Cassettes
- Audio-Technica AT-LP120XBT-USB Turntable
- Check out these less expensive entry-level turntables if you're buying for someone new to vinyl
- They'll also need speakers! Check out these affordable Mackie Monitors as a start
- Floating vinyl shelf mounts to display records
- Record crates for storage
- Anti-static record brush to keep their vinyl clean & sounding good
- Replacement Stylus
- Pop stars like Taylor Swift, SZA, Sam Smith, Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran, Miley Cyrus, and Billie Eilish are all selling records on their websites but check out your local record stores to get your gifts right away! You can also buy them a gift card so they can go crate digging on their own! Check out www.recordstores.love to find nearby shops
- Bigger artists have started selling cassette tapes in recent years— independent acts often do it because it's the cheapest & quickest way to get your music out in the physical world— because they're cool! You can find them at record stores or Urban Outfitters. This Dua Lipa "Houdini" cassette is on my want list although it won't ship until the new year
- SEMIER Retro Boombox Cassette Player AM/FM Radio to play the tapes on
- Audio-Technica ATH-M20XBT wireless over-ear headphones (I have these & they're awesome) to listen to all the cool music you bought them
Music Books
- The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
- Rihanna: and the Clothes She Wears by Terry Newman
- Harry Styles: And the Clothes He Wears by Terry Newman
- Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS by BTS & Myeongseok Kang
- Snoop Dogg Presents Goon with the Spoon by Snoop Dogg and E-40
- Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones by Dolly Parton
- Amy Winehouse: In Her Words by Amy Winehouse
- Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush by Tom Doyle
- Everything I Need I Get from You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It by Kaitlyn Tiffany
- Music Is History by Questlove
[I put Amazon links for convenience but you really should check if you can find these titles at bookstores near you!]
Gear
- Fender Play Subscription: Learn to play acoustic or electric guitar, bass, or ukulele online!
- Fender Acoustic Guitar Starter Pack
- Includes a 3/4 size acoustic nylon string guitar, gig bag, strap, picks, clip-on guitar tuner, guitar stand, and an extra set of strings
- SQUIER SONIC® STRATOCASTER® PACK
- Includes Squier Sonic Stratocaster, Squier Frontman 10G amplifier, padded gigi bag, instrument cable, strap picks, and a 3-month Fender Play subscription
- Fullerton Series Ukulele
- Player Precision Bass
- PreSonus Eris Studio 5 for the "budding producer"
- Scarlet 2i2 Studio bundle: everything they need to start recording music