diff --git a/docs/release-notes/rl-2211.adoc b/docs/release-notes/rl-2211.adoc
index ed2fa55ce..dccace68c 100644
--- a/docs/release-notes/rl-2211.adoc
+++ b/docs/release-notes/rl-2211.adoc
@@ -93,4 +93,7 @@ release 20.03. Use `services.picom` instead.
 The state version in this release includes the changes below.
 These changes are only active if the `home.stateVersion` option is set to "22.11" or later.
 
-* No changes.
+* The <<opt-services.mpd.musicDirectory>> option now defaults to the
+value of <<opt-xdg.userDirs.music>> if <<opt-xdg.userDirs.enable>> is
+enabled. Otherwise it is undefined and must be specified in the user
+configuration.
diff --git a/modules/services/mpd.nix b/modules/services/mpd.nix
index f71d96a44..ea0d1a978 100644
--- a/modules/services/mpd.nix
+++ b/modules/services/mpd.nix
@@ -52,11 +52,18 @@ in {
 
       musicDirectory = mkOption {
         type = with types; either path str;
-        default = "${config.home.homeDirectory}/music";
-        defaultText = "$HOME/music";
+        defaultText = literalExpression ''
+          ''${home.homeDirectory}/music    if state version < 22.11
+          ''${xdg.userDirs.music}          if xdg.userDirs.enable == true
+          undefined                      otherwise
+        '';
         apply = toString; # Prevent copies to Nix store.
         description = ''
           The directory where mpd reads music from.
+          </para><para>
+          If <xref linkend="opt-xdg.userDirs.enable"/> is
+          <literal>true</literal> then the defined XDG music directory is used.
+          Otherwise, you must explicitly specify a value.
         '';
       };
 
@@ -146,6 +153,17 @@ in {
       (lib.hm.assertions.assertPlatform "services.mpd" pkgs lib.platforms.linux)
     ];
 
+    services.mpd = mkMerge [
+      (mkIf (versionAtLeast config.home.stateVersion "22.11"
+        && config.xdg.userDirs.enable) {
+          musicDirectory = mkOptionDefault config.xdg.userDirs.music;
+        })
+
+      (mkIf (versionOlder config.home.stateVersion "22.11") {
+        musicDirectory = mkOptionDefault "${config.home.homeDirectory}/music";
+      })
+    ];
+
     systemd.user.services.mpd = {
       Unit = {
         After = [ "network.target" "sound.target" ];
@@ -164,6 +182,7 @@ in {
           ${pkgs.bash}/bin/bash -c "${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/mkdir -p '${cfg.dataDir}' '${cfg.playlistDirectory}'"'';
       };
     };
+
     systemd.user.sockets.mpd = mkIf cfg.network.startWhenNeeded {
       Socket = {
         ListenStream = let
diff --git a/tests/modules/services/mpd/basic-configuration.conf b/tests/modules/services/mpd/basic-configuration.conf
index 54d6059fa..59b3568b3 100644
--- a/tests/modules/services/mpd/basic-configuration.conf
+++ b/tests/modules/services/mpd/basic-configuration.conf
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-music_directory     "/home/hm-user/music"
+music_directory     "/my/music/dir"
 playlist_directory  "/home/hm-user/.local/share/mpd/playlists"
 db_file             "/home/hm-user/.local/share/mpd/tag_cache"
 
diff --git a/tests/modules/services/mpd/basic-configuration.nix b/tests/modules/services/mpd/basic-configuration.nix
index c1f288980..6d6250d90 100644
--- a/tests/modules/services/mpd/basic-configuration.nix
+++ b/tests/modules/services/mpd/basic-configuration.nix
@@ -3,7 +3,12 @@
 with lib;
 
 {
-  services.mpd.enable = true;
+  services.mpd = {
+    enable = true;
+    musicDirectory = "/my/music/dir";
+  };
+
+  home.stateVersion = "22.11";
 
   test.stubs.mpd = { };
 
diff --git a/tests/modules/services/mpd/before-state-version-22_11.nix b/tests/modules/services/mpd/before-state-version-22_11.nix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6e044b366
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/modules/services/mpd/before-state-version-22_11.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
+
+with lib;
+
+{
+  services.mpd.enable = true;
+
+  home.stateVersion = "18.09";
+
+  test.stubs.mpd = { };
+
+  nmt.script = ''
+    serviceFile=$(normalizeStorePaths home-files/.config/systemd/user/mpd.service)
+    assertFileContent "$serviceFile" ${./basic-configuration.service}
+
+    confFile=$(grep -o \
+        '/nix/store/.*-mpd.conf' \
+        $TESTED/home-files/.config/systemd/user/mpd.service)
+
+    assertFileContains \
+      "$confFile" \
+      'music_directory     "/home/hm-user/music"'
+  '';
+}
diff --git a/tests/modules/services/mpd/default.nix b/tests/modules/services/mpd/default.nix
index 22d1638e5..d2fd2a292 100644
--- a/tests/modules/services/mpd/default.nix
+++ b/tests/modules/services/mpd/default.nix
@@ -1 +1,5 @@
-{ mpd-basic-configuration = ./basic-configuration.nix; }
+{
+  mpd-basic-configuration = ./basic-configuration.nix;
+  mpd-before-state-version-22_11 = ./before-state-version-22_11.nix;
+  mpd-xdg-music-dir = ./xdg-music-dir.nix;
+}
diff --git a/tests/modules/services/mpd/xdg-music-dir.conf b/tests/modules/services/mpd/xdg-music-dir.conf
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..56fe71b49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/modules/services/mpd/xdg-music-dir.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+music_directory     "/home/hm-user/Music"
+playlist_directory  "/home/hm-user/.local/share/mpd/playlists"
+db_file             "/home/hm-user/.local/share/mpd/tag_cache"
+
+state_file          "/home/hm-user/.local/share/mpd/state"
+sticker_file        "/home/hm-user/.local/share/mpd/sticker.sql"
+
+bind_to_address "127.0.0.1"
+
+
+
diff --git a/tests/modules/services/mpd/xdg-music-dir.nix b/tests/modules/services/mpd/xdg-music-dir.nix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..775043c15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/modules/services/mpd/xdg-music-dir.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
+
+with lib;
+
+{
+  services.mpd.enable = true;
+  xdg.userDirs.enable = true;
+
+  home.stateVersion = "22.11";
+
+  test.stubs.mpd = { };
+
+  nmt.script = ''
+    serviceFile=$(normalizeStorePaths home-files/.config/systemd/user/mpd.service)
+    assertFileContent "$serviceFile" ${./basic-configuration.service}
+
+    confFile=$(grep -o \
+        '/nix/store/.*-mpd.conf' \
+        $TESTED/home-files/.config/systemd/user/mpd.service)
+    assertFileContent "$confFile" ${./xdg-music-dir.conf}
+  '';
+}
diff --git a/tests/modules/services/mpdris2/basic-configuration.nix b/tests/modules/services/mpdris2/basic-configuration.nix
index 5e809df39..b8c595be2 100644
--- a/tests/modules/services/mpdris2/basic-configuration.nix
+++ b/tests/modules/services/mpdris2/basic-configuration.nix
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
     multimediaKeys = true;
   };
 
+  services.mpd.musicDirectory = "/home/hm-user/music";
+
   test.stubs.mpdris2 = { };
 
   nmt.script = ''
diff --git a/tests/modules/services/mpdris2/with-password.nix b/tests/modules/services/mpdris2/with-password.nix
index fcfe15315..af4ef33cc 100644
--- a/tests/modules/services/mpdris2/with-password.nix
+++ b/tests/modules/services/mpdris2/with-password.nix
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
     };
   };
 
+  services.mpd.musicDirectory = "/home/hm-user/music";
+
   test.stubs.mpdris2 = { };
 
   nmt.script = ''