Many contact centers work hard to reduce hold times. Yet they often overlook how call center hold music shapes customer experience. Listening to background music enhances cognitive performance, comprehension, and mood, while also relieving stress. When used in your contact center, the right music can make callers feel like the wait time is shorter while reinforcing a positive image of your brand.
Here are the essentials:
- Call center hold music reduces perceived wait time.
- The right music can regulate mood and reduce stress.
- Music on hold shapes how callers view your brand.
So why does something as simple as hold music carry so much weight in the customer journey?
Call Center Hold Music Turns Long Waits into Tolerable Pauses
Call center hold times can be short or long, depending on the time of day (or day of the year). For many businesses, calls increase the day after Thanksgiving. How can we make longer hold times seem shorter?
Use the human voice.
While callers wait, capture their attention with spoken content that satisfies the need for human touch and conversational interactions. Only discuss topics that are relevant and helpful to the caller. When people are being helped, they don’t hang up.
Never “loop” content.
A repetitive loop of on-hold music or content quickly creates fatigue. Instead, focus on variety. Use individually packaged voiced messages of no more than 50 words, each with its own music of varying lengths. Consider using both male and female voices to enhance the narrative.
Don’t remind callers that they’re holding.
Studies show the phrase “your call is important” will cause hang-ups. Avoid apologies and any reference to waiting. Typical, expected phrases remind callers of other unhappy wait-on-hold experiences they’ve endured.
Do something unexpected.
If you’re able to integrate live streaming voice on hold messages, use topics targeted for a specific time, day, or day of the week. Imagine hearing, “Good morning,” or “Tonight and every Wednesday our service department is open until six PM.”
Music Shapes Mood in Real Time
No one enjoys waiting on hold, but the right call center music on hold changes how callers feel in that moment. Music improves mood and reduces stress, according to experts at the California Learning Institute, as reported in July 2025.
Working with music curators is essential in finding music that reduces frustration and makes callers more receptive when the conversation resumes.
Data Clearly Shows: Hold Music is Essential to Call Centers
Begin by ditching the default music, which is nothing more than the same old elevator music used by many other companies with the same phone system. Callers will know you spent zero dollars on
their hold queue experience.
So what can you do to deliver an exceptional experience and reap the benefits in brand loyalty and bottom-line growth? Browse hold music tracks that are more modern and high-quality. You might be able to stream hit music by famous artists. Match the hold music to your caller profile and your brand, and it will be a significant and welcome improvement over the low-grade music you used to have.
- Quoted from the Easy On Hold Report Call Center Management: The Piece You May Be Overlooking
Your Brand and Business’ Perception Starts on Hold
Every second on hold is a part of the customer service journey. Poorly chosen music—or no music at all—can increase stress during wait times and damage trust. By contrast, professional and licensed-for-business-use hold music creates a sense of organization, professionalism, and even warmth.
In practice, hold music helps call centers:
- Reinforce brand personality.
- Reduce caller frustration.
- Improve service evaluations.
- Build customer loyalty.
Call Center Hold Music Matters More Than Ever
As cloud and unified-communications platforms replace legacy systems, static loops and generic files can also become a liability. Streaming, scalable music-on-hold solutions now allow you to update content dynamically and prevent caller fatigue.
Hold music is a fascinating aspect of customer service that plays a subtle yet significant role in shaping customer perceptions and experiences. – The Psychology of Hold Music
Call center hold time standards face constant pressure in today’s competitive market. Ignoring the power of music is a missed opportunity. Turn every minute on hold into a better experience. Explore our music on hold today and reflect the experience you want to deliver.
