Music on Hold

Why Music On Hold?

From the time the telephone hold button was created, callers have wondered whether they were still on hold or if they had somehow dropped off the proverbial cliff into nothingness. To solve this problem, Music On Hold (MOH) was created. When a caller is on hold the telephone system can play music or a pre-recorded message to assure your callers they are still connected and make the wait seem shorter. Music or message is your choice, and is dependent on the source you choose for this feature.

MOH Inputs

Almost every modern telephone system provides an input jack for a MOH source. It is usually a 3.5mm jack and can be designed for either monaural or stereo programming. The input to the telephone system must be matched to the output of the MOH source to make sure all the programming gets to the phone system. If your music source provides a high quality stereo output (such as most headphone jacks) and the telephone system uses a monaural input, you will likely lose either the right or left channel of your music. This can sound really strange to your callers, so our technicians make sure the settings are matched when we install the MOH source on the telephone system so that doesn’t happen.

Volume

In order to prevent loud noise on a telephone line from interfering with other telephone lines, the Federal Communications Commission limits the volume permissible on telephone lines. All telephone lines have special limiting circuits to make sure any audio on your phone system will not cause problems on adjacent phone lines. If the volume on your MOH source is too high, this limiting circuit will lower the volume to an acceptable level. Unfortunately, the circuit used to lower the volume can distort the your music and make it sound terrible. The best level to set your MOH source is the volume setting just before the point that the limiting circuit is activated.

Radio

Any portable radio can be used to provide MOH for your callers. The headset jack usually provides a convenient means to get the music from the radio to the telephone system. The headset jack on a radio is almost always in stereo, so a special cord may be required to convert the stereo output of the radio to a monaural input of the phone system. If you choose to use a radio station, make certain the station you select does not contain advertising messages from your competitors! Reception quality is also a significant variable when using radio as an MOH source. A concrete telephone room in the center of a large building generally does not yield radio reception suitable for Music on Hold.

CD and Cassette Players

Standard CD and cassette tape players may also be used as MOH sources. Cassette tapes were not designed to be played continuously as the audio quality degrades quickly during MOH use. The higher frequencies degrade the most and a normal cassette tape lasts only about thirty days in MOH applications. Compact Disks, on the other hand, don’t really wear during normal play cycles and can provide endless service as a MOH source. But these players were not designed to play 24 hours per day and usually have to be replaced at least annually.

Digital MOH Players

The best sources for MOH are specially designed digital MOH players. Typically the music is downloaded to the player (from a tape, a CD, a download, or a USB stick), placed in RAM in the player, and is played continuously from the RAM. Since the music is just played, there is no wear in the machine and the quality remains high indefinitely. The major drawback of the players is the initial cost - in the $325.00 to $750.00 range. One of the major advantages of this type of player is the availability of music mixed with commercial announcements so you will be able to play commercial announcements to the callers you have on hold. It’s a great way to let your new and existing customers know about other products and services you provide.

Copyright

All commercial music is protected by copyright. When you purchase an album with your favorite music, you purchase the right to play the music for your own enjoyment. Copyright law specifically excludes any right to use the music for commercial purposes unless you purchase an additional license. Music on Hold is included in the definition of commercial use of music and you are required to purchase a license to play commercial music for this purpose. There are a number of companies which will sell performance licenses to cover use of commercially recorded albums when used as a MOH source.

Programming Sources

We have access to several local companies which will produce custom MOH programs for you. They will professionally record your advertising message, mix the messages with the music of your choice, provide the program on media which can download to your player, and provide the copyright license. Your choice of available programs will depend on the length of the program, how many ads you wish to be inserted, choice of talent for recording, and how many programs will be produced. You can purchase a single program or you could purchase a new program on a regular schedule, for example, mixed with special seasonal music - the choice is yours.