Choosing Hold Music That Won't Drive Your Clients Mad

🤔 Why Are Companies Getting It So Wrong?

Given the importance customers place on hold music, why are so many companies slow to get it right? Some obsessively push "cool" music — mobile phone and tech companies are particularly guilty — but there's one thing they all tend to miss.

Even if you implement a lovingly curated mix of old and new songs, the sound quality of most phones will likely result in a horrible experience for the end user.

📞 Telephones Are Not Radios

The main issue with hold music is that phones aren't designed to play back audio with the same quality as MP3s, CDs or radio. To ensure conversations can travel through the phone network, audio quality is inevitably reduced.

Compare this to a service like Skype, where audio quality is crystal clear and you could genuinely play a record hearing every part as the musician intended. For normal phone calls, this drop in quality isn't important — most conversations occur within a standard frequency range. But for music, everything outside that range gets cut — and that's where the problems start.

✅ Hold Music, Done the Right Way

Keep in mind the limitations of phone lines, and stick to simplicity. You'll soon make holding for an agent as pain‑free as possible.

• Keep it simple — Use simple electronic or acoustic music. Avoid overly loud pieces or singing, as this can cause audio clipping. Listen to an entire song all the way through before choosing it.
• Keep it licensed — The last thing you need is a large bill for copyright infringement. Always license any music you use and check the status of songs via the PRS website.
• Listen to the whole song — Some songs are particularly loud in certain sections, leading to clipping issues.
• Don't make assumptions — Classical pieces don't always sound sophisticated, and modern pop won't always make your brand appear cool.

⏱️ Lengthy Hold Times Aren't Great Anyway

At the end of the day, lengthy hold times won't make for happy customers regardless of the music. There are plenty of ways to ensure customers get through to the correct agent — such as IVR systems or inbound routing.

The Blue Telecoms dialler includes a messaging system that tells customers exactly where they are in the queue. A customer is far less likely to hang up if they know they're 2nd in line.