Messages On Hold and the music playing in the background involves important choices. Your studio contact will likely handle this for you, but it’s good to know what’s involved.

Have you ever called a business and get put on hold only to have your ears nearly explode from the noise you had to experience? Or nearly fall asleep from the “elevator music” typical on many phone systems. Choosing the right messages on hold music for your clientele is critical to the image and brand you wish to convey for your business or practice. A bank or financial institution would probably not want their investors listening to heavy metal while waiting for financial advice. On the other hand, a custom motorcycle shop would probably not choose a light and lilting classical piece. We also have to be careful not to select music that features a soaring or dramatic instrumental solo while the voice talent is presenting your message. This creates conflict to the human ear and brain, and can detract from your brand building message.

Choose A Studio That Can Provide A Variety of Properly Licensed Messages On Hold Music

Here are a few examples of music genres that may be right for your On Hold audience:

• • Jazz Fusion
  • Light Contemporary
  • Warm & Caring
  • International
  • Big Band
  • Modern Jazz
  • Smooth Jazz
  • Modern Pop
  • Island
  • Techno Dance
  • Traditional Jazz
  • Piano Jazz
  • New Age
  • Acoustic Guitar
  • Corporate
  • Patriotic
  • Country
  • Classical
  • Rock
  • Sports

Don’t scare your callers away before you get a chance to answer their questions. On Hold Marketing is preparing to celebrate its 31st year of choosing the right music for its customers. Our music library has literally thousands of musical choices. Don’t worry! We’re not going to make you listen to thousands of musical selections and then ask you to decide what you want. Our staff includes trained musicians (Berklee College of Music & East Carolina University) and production managers (Clear Channel) to take care of that for you. If you have a musical preference we can, of course, accommodate your style. We know music and which music best suits your listeners.

There are several variables to consider that are ‘technical’ in nature. For example, some newer phone systems support our service in the form of an audio file. In nearly all cases, this file requires some degree of “studio treatment” to make the files smaller for easier handling by today’s phone systems, but also better sounding. Without the right studio treatment of the audio files, pianos, flutes and some human voices to sound unnatural or even a bit ‘warbly’.  We’ll prevent that!

Call us at 804-273-6900 to get started with the right branding for you and the right music for your listening clientele.

Rich Moncure

Rich is the President of On Hold Marketing, a marketing focused audio studio helping businesses and practices take advantage of their telephone system’s On Hold capabilities. Prior to On Hold Marketing, Rich spent 20 years in telecommunications working for such giants as Williams Communications, NextiraOne, Bell Atlantic and Nortel Networks.