<p>I wanted to give my music-loving neice, age 13, a nice gift ($75 ish) for her Bat Mitzvah. I had been looking at boxed sets of classical music and so on, because she told me specifically she likes every kind of music, sings in a choir, plays a few instruments somewhat.</p>
<p>When I asked her whether she has an Ipod or listens to CD’s, she wrote back she has an ipod.</p>
<p>Now I’m really stuck. Doesn’t “ipod” mean they download everything they want? Can I assume the CD’s are outdated technology now that she has an iPod? </p>
<p>Suggestions? (I bet I asked the question wrong, too.) </p>
<p>PS, By family custom, and as her only aunt, I actually need to pick out a thoughtful gift, rather than hand over cash!</p>
<p>You could give her an itunes card so she can buy the music she wants from the itunes store. Cards come in various denominations. Or, you can still give her CD’s – she would have to load the CD’s onto her computer, and transfer them onto the ipod. (This way is a little redundant, though)</p>
<p>aah, now we’re communicating! I am so out-of-it re: technology with my 3 kids out of the nest.</p>
<p>But is there any way for me to assemble the collection for her? That was part of the idea. She’s in a small town and part of this is to kind of guide her to some new sounds…</p>
<p>I would suggest that the ITunes Gift Card would be the way to go. This way, she can buy whatever kind of music she wants, and once they are activated, the balance stays in her ITunes account until she uses it up. They come in denominations ranging from $15 - $100 and can be bought at places like Best Buy, Walgreens, CVS, and of course, Apple Stores. It is a very popular gift of choice with all of the kids!</p>
<p>Definitely go with buying iTunes gift card. Kids love them and it’s very easy for them to use. You can get them pretty much anywhere–like at Taget, or even in the big chain grocery stores (usually hanging on a rack with other types of gift cards that you can buy). They come in various amounts.</p>
<p>OP, if you want to assemble the collection, feel free to buy the CDs. Your niece can easily copy the CD music to her computer and then use iTunes to put the music on her ipod. Furthermore, unlike music bought online at the iTunes store, she can freely share this new music with anyone. I think it’s a lot more personal for you to buy the music you think she would enjoy, than to just give her a generic iTunes card.</p>
<p>I agree with debryc. Putting together the CD collection will add a nice personal touch to it. Could you go a step further–maybe take her to a concert, get her a lesson or two with a composer, arrange a meeting with her favorite musician? Just brainstorming ways to make a musical present that much more personal. I’m notoriously non-musical, so I really have no idea.</p>
<p>What debryc said is true, although with the CDs, you run the risk of giving her something she doesn’t like. With an iTunes gift card, you’re guaranteed she’ll get something she loves (and if she doesn’t she can’t possibly blame you for it). iTunes gift cards are fail-proof. :)</p>
<p>Wow, kristin (that’s how I spell my name too!!! :)), that would be AMAZING…but very difficult to arrange. Musicians are hard to track down (and tend to be kinda on the flaky side, me having several musician friends myself).</p>
<p>Also, some record labels have started making their CDs copy proof, and I doubt a 13 y/o girl would have the tech savvy to get around that. I’d suggest the iTunes gift card.</p>
<p>Vyse brings up a good point. My friend bought me a CD awhile back for my birthday. It was an anti-piracy CD so although I was able to load it on my computer and play it there, it would not work on my mp3 player. That was disappointing.</p>
<p>The last round of copy-proof CDs could be defeated with a Sharpie, amusingly. ;)</p>
<p>The classic route to go with giving kids who have iPods music is the iTunes gift card. Given that you want this to be more personal, and more of an assembled collection, I’d just go buy the CDs.</p>
<p>How about combining the two…give her an ITunes gift card (so she can get some music of her own choosing) and give her a couple of CDs of music that might “broaden her horizons”. I think the OP mentioned that she/he wanted to get some different music to expose this young person to. This would be a good combination.</p>
<p>I will tell you from experience, however, most kids don’t listen to music they don’t like, regardless of where it comes from. So…you might want to consider that when getting this gift. That’s why I’m suggesting combining both ideas…that way the kid gets something new and some choice.</p>
<p>It’s not that hard to pick out an artist based on your niece’s musical tastes. Do a search of her favorite artist on iTunes and there’s a section on the right margin that says “Listeners also bought…” and lists a bunch of other artists. Pick one, buy a CD and include it if you want to do that.</p>
<p>If you go to the band’s bio section, it also tells you what bands/artists influenced their music and who their contemporaries are.</p>
<p>I had the same idea for my son (give him some music he hasn’t heard).</p>
<p>One thing you can do–install itunes into your computer. Then download some songs (for $1 a piece) onto your computer. Then, burn those songs on a CD (so your niece will have a variety of songs–not just a CD by one artist) & give that to her.</p>
<p>I’m 99% sure this would work. If it were me, I’d ask one of my kids to help figure it out (how to download itunes, etc.). :-)</p>
<p>An iTunes gift card is no more “personal” than handing over the cash, and that’s specifically what the OP said she didn’t want to do. So I think that’s out.</p>
<p>I say go with the CDs; stores like Borders, Barnes & Noble, & Best Buy can tell you if the CDs are blocked from being played on an iPod. (My guess is that if you’re not looking at very “in” music, they probably won’t be. Classical generally isn’t.) Since it’s a bat mitzvah, maybe introduce her to some contemporary Jewish music like Safam or Debbie Friedman? Or klezmer? Or classical “Jewish” music like Handel’s “Israel in Egypt” or “Judas Maccabeus”?</p>
<p>I also vote for the concert idea. Maybe give her a “gift certificate” (created by you) for a concert with your favorite orchestra, chorus, whatever, to be used for tickets for you and her, mutually agreeing upon the concert & date. Not only could that broaden her horizons, but it’ll give you some special “aunt time” with her. The only reason I suggest a certificate rather than buying the tickets is her availability; you don’t want to schedule something on the same date as her best friend’s bat mitzvah!</p>
Cache, how do you know if a cd is an anti-piracy version? On some type of sticker? This does stink, because it has always been legal to copy music for your own personal use, and ipods should fit that category.</p>
<p>I understand the need to get a personal, but I can tell you ‘personal’ is highly overrated in the eyes of a teenager. They love the ‘cold hard cash’.</p>
<p>But, you could get an itunes card and an accessory for her ipod. (Forgive if this was suggested already…) My son found the neatest leather case for his itouch (soft leather, flap with magnetic closure, not nerdy at all…)</p>
Musicians are hard to track down (and tend to be kinda on the flaky side, me having several musician friends myself).</p>