The greatest advantage of telephone on hold music is that it lowers the call abandonment rate. This is important because, according to a recent CNN survey, about 35% of callers who drop their calls do not call back. A message on hold prevents boredom and the voice-overs such as 'your call is important to us' and 'someone will be with you shortly' keep callers on the calls. A survey by Cellular Marketing Magazine shows that 90% of callers prefer on hold messages to silence and a survey by Telemarketing Magazine shows that 25% to 40% of callers buy goods or services based on the information they heard while holding. This means including a promotion of your company and its products/services and including a call to action will lead to greater ROI (return on investment).

There are several sources of music for hold. These include off-the-shelf commercial CDs, custom-designed MOH (with or without voice-overs), stock MOH CDs (with or without voice-overs), online on hold, and radio. All the music can be played by a music on hold player. It is therefore, important that you buy a music on hold player that accommodates all the music sources. It is important that you know the laws and regulations governing these music sources so that you can pick the most appropriate source.

The only sources of music for hold that you could play with no fear of legal action are custom-designed MOH since you get to choose music that is not copyrighted and stock MOH CDs since these CDs are made for MOH and they therefore feature music that has already been licensed or that is not protected by copyright laws. You have to pay if the telephone on hold music is coming from the radio since even radio stations have to pay licenses themselves and they do not have re-broadcasting rights. With commercial CDs, only play the music if the users had gotten permission from the song's title copyright owner (if the song is not in the 'public domain') and from the song's mechanical copyright owner.  There are features that allow your music on hold player to select, download, and play music that does not infringe on copyright laws when playing online on hold music. It is therefore, important that you look at the features of your music on hold player before making a purchase.

You could get classical telephone on hold music since most classical music does not require licenses and you could use royalty free music which is available to license online, or through your on-hold production comapny.   If you want to get your music from radio, you could also get your music from subscription music sources like Muzak and the likes of Music Choice if you have cable TV service. Licenses are offered by BMI, AMS Music, and ASCAP, which are the U.S. representatives for music copyright owners. These are also the enforcement agencies. The current fine for playing radio music on hold is $1,500 if you get an out of court settlement. Generally, copyright infringement fines can range from $500 to $150,000.

Music on hold or MOH is the playing of recorded music while clients or customers who you cannot serve at the moment are on hold. A music on hold system is integrated into the telephone system via an audio jack and you should therefore, ensure that the telephone equipment that you buy is labelled 'MOH' for compatibility with your music on hold player. MOH is important in that you are able to pass your message across when callers are waiting such as reminding your customers/clients about the products/services you have on offer and it ensures that callers do not go away before they are served.

There are several sources of music for hold and you should therefore, ensure that your music on hold player is able to support most if not all of them. The music could come from radio. All you need to do is connect the local radio station via the MOH jack in your music on hold player. You should however, note that you will not have licence to play the music since radio stations themselves have to get usage licenses from the music title owners and there is therefore a risk of a fine (usually $1,500). Another disadvantage of getting your music for hold from radio is that you will have no control over the type of music played. There will be regular commercial breaks and there could even be a competitor's commercial.

The telephone on hold music could come from off-the-shelf commercial CDs. This option is advantageous over radio in that you get to select the type of music, but you will need to pay for a license if the music owner had not gotten permission from the song's title copyright owner and the song's mechanical copyright owner.  These are often expensive and difficult to obtain.  The telephone on hold music could come from stock MOH CDs, which could have periodic voice-overs like 'please stay on the line' and 'your call is important' if you so wish.   This option will come with the necessary license since the CD will be made specifically for a music on hold player, but will not help generate sales or provide information about the company while on-hold.

Your message on hold could be custom-designed MOH. This option is advantageous in that you get full control of the content and the music genre. This is similar to stock MOH CDs, the major difference being that you get to decide what to include in the content and you get to choose the genre. The program can be completely written and produced by an on-hold program company.  You could even have an MP3 instead of a CD. The telephone on hold music could be Online on hold music where a software is loaded onto your computer and connected to your phone system for automatic content updates that are interspersed with your company's information.

Music on hold, popularly abbreviated as MOH, is a business practice whereby music is played on a music on hold player while the caller waits to be served. Common sources of telephone on hold music are the stock MOH CDs (with or without periodic voice-overs such as 'please stay on the line'), custom-designed MOH (with or without periodic voice-overs), radio, off-the-shelf commercial CDs, and online on hold. Your business will benefit a great deal from music for hold.

According to recent AT&T research, as much as 70% of calls are placed on hold for over 30 seconds. Instances where the callers were on 'silent hold' led to call abandonment rates of about 75%. 80% of these callers hang up within 1 minute. The same study showed that callers with music for hold stayed on the line for up to 5 minutes longer. You should therefore, strive to keep customers/clients on the line for as long as possible and this is achievable through a message on hold player.

The same AT&T research showed that 30% of callers bought additional products/services based on what they heard while on hold and 25% of callers made purchases based on sales suggestions while on hold. A recent CNN survey showed that 90% of callers preferred on hold messages over silence. You should therefore, take advantage of this opportunity to turn the music on hold into an advertising tool. You will get greater ROI (return on investment) with MOH.

Your business benefits from telephone on hold music because most of these callers never called back. The CNN survey showed that 35% of those who drop the line never call back. MOH guarantees that you get customer loyalty. The people who hung up do so because of boredom or frustration and periodic voice-overs such as 'your call is important to us' and 'someone will be with you shortly' keeps them on the line.

MOH is advantageous in that it complements other advertising methods like branding. The voice-overs will be professionally written and recorded, and incorporate promotion of your company, the products/services it sells, and your website and its features in the telephone on hold music. You could also motivate your customers to take action since a call to action makes a great difference in a sale. You could talk about the strengths of the company and your speciality. A music on hold player handles different sources of music, meaning you will not have unwanted clutter. A music on hold player can be handled by just one person.

Music on hold (MOH) is a business advertising method that enables callers who you cannot serve to listen to music as they wait to be served. This is an effective advertising tool because callers will stay on the call a lot longer than if there was silence while waiting. You could have a jingle that promotes your company and your products/services and you could include a call to action in the music.

The music for hold could come from various MOH sources including stock MOH music and CD’s. The music could also be custom-designed MOH or online on hold. You need to buy a music on hold player for this.

It is important that you scrutinize the music on hold player before making a purchase to ensure that it will serve your purpose and that it is genuine. Only buy a player with a warranty to ensure you get quality. Ensure that the player is compatible with the rest of your systems before making a purchase, paying particular attention to the phone connection port. Go for a player that supports different types of MOH sources to save money. The music on hold player you go for should combine a MOH messaging system, a MOH output port,  MOH for VoIP phone systems, a IP message on hold system, a digital announcer, and a telephone digital message on hold player, among others. Today's units even allow you to download music and programs from the Internet and to import your program or music through USB flash drives. You should however, not let cost considerations blind you when making the choice.

Read independent reviews before buying a phone messages player. Reviews give you the pros and the cons of different music for hold players and they detail their features and their costs, making your choice easier. Go for reviews instead of ads because reviews are independently written by people who have used the telephone on hold music players. You could get independent reviews from tech magazines and other publications, from online discussion forums, from online review sites, and from recommendations by friends or relatives. You should also consider complaints with consumer protection agencies.

You could get your music on hold player from the manufacturer's outlet or their authorized dealership, from an electronics shop, or from the message on hold provider. This option is advantageous in that they will support the telephone on hold music players and you get to ensure your program is produced with the player in mind. The Internet is however, a good option since you get to compare a lot more options, you get lower prices, and you get to shop anonymously and conveniently, but will not always have the support of your on-hold production company.

Music on hold or MOH is an effective business advertising method. MOH involves the use of a music on hold player that plays music for callers who are on hold waiting to be served. This is important because it reduces call abandonment rates, you could incorporate a voice-over message promoting your products/services, and you could promote your company or your website, among other benefits. It is important that you know what the music on hold player is and what it is capable of doing if you are considering getting one.

Telephone on hold music players are integrated into telephone systems via audio jacks on the telephone equipment. The corresponding ports are labeled 'MOH' and you should therefore, not go for players that do not have this label. Most music on hold players come with built-in message on hold capabilities, but there are units that are designed for small businesses that do not have an extensive phone system. Today's music for hold players can handle different sources. These music sources include off-the-shelf commercial CDs, stock MOH CDs (with or without periodic voice-overs such as 'someone will be with you shortly' or 'your call is important to us'), custom-designed MOH (with or without voice-overs), and online on hold.

The heart of most of today's music for hold players is the digital flash memory. This memory holds the program and loops it repeatedly whenever the call is placed in a queue, placed on hold, sent to voicemail, or transferred to an extension. It is possible to 'flash' or record the digital flash memory of the music on hold player with a new program, but the methodology of this depends on design of the player. The most common methods are through theUSB port, through a built-in CD loading mechanism, or through an external source.

Telephone on hold music players are categorized into units compatible with PBX/KSU (or its equivalent) business phone systems only and those that are compatible with ordinary analogue (or non-KSU) telephone systems such as those in homes. PBX-only players, KSU players, and their equivalent hybrid systems have dedicated MOH input while analogue or non-KSU players do not. There are also universal telephone on hold music players that combine the best features from PBX-only players and non-KSU players.

A dedicated music on hold player is characterized by the ability to withstand the rigors of 24/7, all year round use since there is no tape to break or lasers to burn out, ease of use, proper  impedance for telephone use, and smart power handling features.