|
Music on hold (MOH) refers to the business practice of playing pre-recorded music to fill the silence that would be heard by telephone callers that have been placed on hold. It is especially common in situations involving customer service. For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ...
The telephone is a telecommunications device which is used to transmit and receive sound (most commonly speech) across distance. ...
This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
Equipment and formats
Most MOH systems are integrated into a businesses telephone system via an audio jack on the telephone equipment labeled "MOH". In electronics, a jack is a socket. ...
The source of the music is usually from CDs or digital files such as MP3, but some older systems may still use cassette tapes (sometimes employing endless-loops), or reel-to-reel tape players. CD redirects here; see Cd for other meanings of CD. Image of a compact disc (pencil included for scale) A compact disc (or CD) is an optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio. ...
MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a popular digital audio encoding format. ...
Typical 60-minute Compact Cassette. ...
A reel-to-reel tape recorder (Sony TC-630), typical of those which were once common audiophile objects. ...
Source of music
Radio The musical source may be as simple as playing a local radio station through the MOH jack. This is unlawful without the express permission of the music title and mechanical copyright holders. A radio station is an audio (sound) broadcasting service, traditionally broadcast through the air as radio waves (a form of electromagnetic radiation) from a transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device. ...
- Although radio stations may provide the desired musical format, there is no control over the specific songs that are played, some of which may be offensive to the callers.
- Radio stations typically do not license their music for MOH systems. In the United States, the radio broadcaster has no legal right to provide such a license as they, themselves, obtain a usage license from the music title owner for the right to broadcast said music for limited and personal use. As mentioned below, re-broadcasting of a radio program over a phone system may likely cause licensing and copyright problems for the owner of the MOH system.
- Radio stations will play commercials, which may be offensive or at least annoying to the caller. Furthermore, it is possible that a competitor's commercial may be played, which would be counter-productive.
- See Music on hold (copyright).
Music radio formats constantly evolve and each format can often be sub-divided into many speciality formats. ...
It has been suggested that Licensing (strategic alliance) be merged into this article or section. ...
Articles with similar titles include copywrite. ...
Commercialism redirects here. ...
Competition is the act of striving against another force for the purpose of achieving dominance or attaining a reward or goal, or out of a biological imperative such as survival. ...
This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ...
Off-the-shelf commercial CDs Commercial CDs eliminate the problems encountered with radio commercials, and they offer control over the selection of music; they do not, however, grant proper license for MOH use unless users first obtain permission from the song title copyright owner (when the song is not in the "public domain") and the mechanical copyright owner. (See RADIO, above, for more details.)
Stock MOH CDs (with or without voice-overs) CDs are available that have been specifically recorded and licensed for MOH systems. These may contain only music, or may include periodic voice-overs with messages such as "Your call is important" or "Please stay on the line". Such off-the-shelf recordings may be generic or may be specific to individual industries, but will not be customized for individual companies. A voice-over is a narration that is played on top of a video segment, usually with the audio for that segment muted or lowered. ...
Custom-designed MOH In general, custom music on hold is advised for all businesses because:
a) the business can control what content their callers are listening to, b) they can control the music genre that their callers are listening to, c) they can use the on hold time to sell to the captive audience who is on hold, d) custom on hold music (through a reputable on hold company) is fully licensed and legal for on hold playback, e) reduces hang-ups and makes the business look more professional
CDs (or other MOH formats, such as MP3 files) can be custom-created to suit the particular needs of a business. The announcements can be scripted to emphasize particular attributes of the business such as location, store hours, or special promotions or services. These are typically used for up-selling and cross-selling callers.
Styles of music The style of music played by MOH systems depends largely on the type of business offering the service. It is generally best to present music that will not be offensive to the audience, but that would also be of particular interest to the typical caller. For example, an urban clothing store may play urban music. A western apparel store may choose to play country music. A Christian book store may choose to play popular Christian music. A university may choose to play classical music. Light classics, smooth jazz, and beautiful music are common choices, as is fully synthesized melodic music. Urban is in or having to do with cities, as distinct from rural areas. ...
This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...
This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...
Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ...
Smooth jazz is generally described as a genre of music that utilizes instruments (and, at times, improvisation) traditionally associated with jazz and stylistic influences drawn from, among other sources, funk, pop and R&B. Since the late 1980s, it has become highly successful as a radio format; one can tune...
Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM / EZ) is a mostly-instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s. ...
A synthesizer (or synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument designed to produce electronically generated sound, using techniques such as additive, subtractive, FM, physical modelling synthesis, phase distortion, or Scanned synthesis. ...
Benefits Benefits of music on hold may include the following, if properly configured: - Assures the caller that their call is still connected
- Assures the caller that their call is important and will be answered as soon as possible
- Entertains the caller, which gives the impression that the time spent on hold is shorter than what it really is
- Informs the caller of his place in queue and the approximate length of time until his call will be taken
- Informs the caller of information about the company, such as store hours, locations, or services
- Informs the caller about promotions or new products
- Informs the caller about products and services offered by the company
- Informs the caller about options to leave the on-hold system, such as pressing a key to leave a voicemail or to be transferred to a different department
Voicemail (or voice mail; abbreviated v-mail or vmail), invented by Scott A. Jones, is a centralized system of managing telephone messages for a large group of people. ...
See also
Genres Elevator music, also known as piped music or Muzak, refers to the gentle, bland arrangements of popular music designed for play in shopping malls, grocery stores, telephone systems (while the caller is on hold), and, of course, elevators. ...
Elevator music, also known as piped music or Muzak, refers to the gentle, bland instrumental arrangements of popular music designed for play in shopping malls, grocery stores, telephone systems (while the caller is on hold), cruise ships and elevators. ...
Companies |
Feeds |
Contact