systemd socket activation

Using systemd, you can launch mpd on demand when the first client attempts to connect. Create two files in /etc/systemd/system/; first mpd.socket:

[Socket]
ListenStream=/run/mpd.socket
ListenStream=6600
[Install]
WantedBy=sockets.target

Now create mpd.service:

[Unit]
Description=Music Player Daemon
After=sound.target
[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/mpd --stdout --no-daemon

Start the socket:

systemctl enable mpd.socket
systemctl start mpd.socket

In this configuration, mpd will ignore the bind_to_address and port settings.