How to gift an album or single on iTunesTired of malls and holiday traffic? Afraid that if you order something online it won’t get shipped in time for Christmas? Ready to just pick up some iTunes gift cards at your local supermarket? STOP!

Instead of buying a general gift card to iTunes, you can actually go onto the iTunes store yourself and “gift” individual songs and albums to your loved ones. Now doesn’t that sound more personal and thoughtful? Heck, you can even put together your ideal end-of-year playlist and gift all those songs to the diehard music fans in your life.

[And if you’re an artist, it won’t hurt to nudge your fans one last time via email and social media, telling them about this iTunes gift optionWith less than a week until Christmas, it might be the perfect solution for them — procrastinators!]

How to use send gifts through iTunes

It’s simple:

1. Go to the iTunes Store and find the music you’d like to purchase as a gift.

2. If you want to gift a single song, click on the arrow next to the price, scroll down, and then click “Gift This Song.”

3. If you want to gift an album, click on the arrow next to the price/buy button; then scroll down and click “Gift This Album.”

iTunes: Gift This Album

4. You’ll then be led to the ‘Send an iTunes Gift’ screen where you can provide the email address of the gift recipient.

5. Write a personal message, if you wish, in the Message box.

6. Select the date on which you’d like the gift to be “delivered” and choose a gift theme.

7. Confirm the information and send that gift!

—–

Well, I hope that gives all you last-minute gift-buyers a less stressful option for purchasing music this holiday season. Oh, and what music ARE you buying for the music fans in your life? Let me know in the comments section below.