SoundSentiments combines physical greeting cards with digital music

SoundSentiments exhibition booth at NSS

Cards are cards, but a song is a song--so New York-based greeting cards company SoundSentiments has merged the two into a card that combines the physical and digital realms by gifting an original song download relating to the card’s theme.

“Nobody buys music anymore—and I’ve always loved stationery,” said Natasha Alexandra Biljetina, SoundSentiments’ founder, at her exhibition hall booth at the recent National Stationery Show (NSS) at New York’s Javits Center. Also a singer-songwriter who performs as NLX (her haunting song “Find Love“ memorably appeared in the “A Righteous Kiss“ episode of Brothers & Sisters), Biljetina wanted to find a means of engaging people who love lyrics as well as music when she conceived SoundSentiments in 2011, “because a song says it better,” as the company’s tagline says.

SoundSentiments’ promo card expands on the idea: “See me. Touch me. Hear me. Now send me...because a song says it better.”

Specifically, SoundSentiments employs a patented two-part media delivery system to let a potential card-giver preview the original song download that comes with the card—after reading the song’s lyrics that appear on the front of the card.

Then, by smartphone-scanning the QR code on the back of the card, the card-giver can listen to a 30-second sample, and if purchased and sent, the card’s recipient then enters the code at the SoundSentiments website, which instantly downloads the complete song to the recipient’s music library.

As for the songs, they break down into new recordings of traditional public domain holiday songs, and new songs penned and produced by Biljetina, who engages local vocal talent and provides backing piano tracks.

“It’s a physical greeting card, but with a digital download for someone you know who loves music, or that you want to send something more than just a card,” said Biljetina. “It’s a new way of sharing music.”

SoundSentiments cards are available at the company’s website and in retail locations in New York and Toronto. New cards are being added constantly, said Biljetina, who came to NSS to expand her retail base.

She added that SoundSentiments is also looking to hook up with a suitable organization to support a worthy endeavor such as music education.

SoundSentiments--how it works