Music on hold (MOH) is the business practice of playing recorded music to fill the silence that would be heard by telephone callers who have been placed on hold. It is especially common in situations involving customer service.
Music on hold is sometimes referred to as phone on hold, message on hold, on hold messaging, etc.
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Most MOH systems are integrated into a telephone system designed for businesses via an audio jack on the telephone equipment labeled "MOH". There are also some units with built-in message on hold capabilities and units designed for small businesses without an extensive phone system.
Music and messages on hold are played using either physical or virtual media.
Today, equipment that supports physical media usually plays CDs. Some older systems may still use cassette tapes (sometimes employing endless-loops), or reel-to-reel tape players. In each case, the unit loads the media into a digital memory chip to prevent premature wearing of the mechanical parts.
Equipment that supports virtual media generally plays MP3 files. Several types of units play these files. USB Flash Drive units allow an MP3 file to be received electronically, downloaded to a flash drive and connected to the player. Ethernet based remote load units connect via the network to a remote IP address. Phone line based remote load systems allow for a connection via an analog telephone line and dialing the number belonging to the unit. For VoIP phone systems, MP3s are loaded without any equipment.
Newer technology allows MP3 files to be downloaded automatically from the internet so that messages (or interesting content in the form of news and weather, amongst many) can be changed daily. The new "Online On Hold" technology makes the older technology redundant since it requires no additional hardware. All these systems allow analog-to-digital audio storage and playback.
The newest units as of 2011 allow productions to be downloaded via the Internet or played through a USB flash drive. This allows for larger files and higher quality formats.
The musical source may be as simple as playing a local radio station through the MOH jack. This may be unlawful without the express permission of the music title and mechanical copyright holders.
Owners of radio stations usually play their radio as music on hold; the main program if there are several. Examples include RÚV from Iceland using Rás 1 as the on-hold music.
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.)
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.
In general, custom music on hold is advised to:
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.
A program loaded onto an existing computer and connected to the phone system can allow automatic content updates interspersed with company information.
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, Express for Men usually plays Alternative rock. 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.
GoDaddy.com's phone support gives the user the option of holding without music. "If you would prefer to hold without music, press the pound key now."
With the application of newer equipment, Music on Hold devices can now actually interact with the caller. No additional programs are required on the platform, as all the logic is done with the MoH device. This can include services such as 'Polling on Hold', rating your customer service officer anonymously, etc.
In the US, and other countries where copyright laws are practiced, authors are granted copyright protection on their musical compositions. Such copyright protection has existed since just after the turn of the 20th century and most music written prior to 1900-1910 - from impressionism back to baroque and antiquity are said to be "in the public domain." Use of any said music prior to the creation of these copyright laws may be presumed to be free for use by all - although individual titles may have been later copyrighted through a change in the composition or arrangement. The use of copyrighted music is not for free use in the public domain.
All music written after this period, which is copyrighted under multiple acts of congress, are owned by the author(s) or their assignees. The use of this music is protected and controlled in order that the owner may derive usage income. Specific to telephonic MOH (music-on-hold), the US laws currently protect the copyright owners from unlawful, unpermitted use of their music titles in over-the-phone broadcast. Any person or business wishing to use current, popular, post 1900-1910, copyrighted music for MOH purposes may only lawfully do so by obtaining permission from the owner. Currently, performance rights societies such as ASCAP, BMI and SESAC will sell blanket permission to use music titles in their catalog for MOH purposes—for an express annual fee - calculated by size and frequency of usage. Failure to obtain this paid permission is a violation of US copyright laws.
This same copyright protection is also true in the rebroadcast of any radio program. As mentioned earlier, the broadcaster has been assigned a narrow and specific usage license to air copyrighted song titles. This does not include permission to any person or business to re-broadcast that program on telephonic MOH. The broadcaster may not promote such unlawful use and is not an owner who has any lawful right to grant MOH usage permission. They do not hold the ownership of the title and have no right to license use in any way. Those who plug radio broadcast into their telephone MOH without first obtaining paid permission through the owner's agents (ASCAP, BMI or SESAC) are stealing unlawful use and may be prosecuted under existing federal laws.
Unbeknownst to most people, a second copyright exists when it comes to licensing use for telephonic MOH. A piece of music, as mentioned above, is copyrighted and may be licensed for use as a music title and is understood to be a combination of melody, harmony and, where applicable, lyrics. However, neither radio listeners nor MOH listeners could hear this music unless it was recorded - providing a delivery medium whereby the "music" becomes a "performance." As mentioned elsewhere, in countries such as the US, where said copyright laws are enforced, nearly every recording of a song title holds its own "mechanical copyright."
For most of the 20th century, music was recorded in studios, produced by record company executives, producers, arrangers and engineers who were hired to deliver the artist's finished recordings for mastering and duplication - for sale on the varied media: 78, 45 and 33 RPM vinyl, reel-to-reel, 8-track tape, cassette and compact disk. To protect their investment, the record companies (or their 21st century production equivalent) obtain a mechanical copyright in order to protect and control the recording with which they derive usage and sales income. (For those still uncertain of the difference between "song title" and "mechanical" copyrights, consider the Capitol Records lawsuit for copyright infringement against Nike some 20 years ago. Nike legally obtained permission to use the Beatles song title "Revolution" from the title's owner, Michael Jackson. They used the Capitol Records owned recording of the Beatles' performance, but failed to obtain and pay for permission and use. Capitol Records sued and prevailed because Nike ONLY had a license to use the title and did not have a license to use the mechanical recording.)
Therefore, persons or businesses wishing to play music that falls "in the public domain" are still legally required to obtain permission to use the mechanical recording of this music, from the mechanical copyright holder. And where the use is of copyrighted music, the same applies. In all cases, before a song title may be broadcast on a telephone MOH, said use must be approved and licensed from BOTH the "song title" copyright owner (if it is NOT in public domain) and the "mechanical" copyright owner.
It is generally known within the on-hold industry that some performance rights societies, with regional offices and staff, both monitor and prosecute persons and businesses that infringe on the copyright of title holders in their libraries. ASCAP and BMI are both aggressive about this, from time to time. It is not known whether any record companies are currently or actively monitoring and prosecuting violators of their mechanical license. Be advised that their current disinterest or inactivity regarding protection of their rights should not be misunderstood as permission to infringe on their mechanical copyrights.