“Companies really don’t give that much thought to what we listen to as we wait. They should start paying more attention,” says the May 21, 2024, Wall Street Journal article ‘Hold Music’ Is Annoying. It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way,’ written by Kate Murphy. Put another way, readers want to know, “Why is Hold Music so bad?“
Easy On Hold Consulted for Wall Street Journal Article
The Wall Street Journal contacted Easy On Hold to help answer the question, “Why is Hold Music So Bad?” Ms. Murphy called our Kalamazoo offices for a conversation. We covered many more topics than can be included in a single WSJ article. Read on to get more facts behind the quest for better hold music.
Bad hold music? Not my problem.
When asked, “Why is hold music so bad?” We point out that the main challenge is that no one “owns” the hold music. Marketing often says it isn’t their problem, and contact center techs often don’t see it. Hold music is bad, in part, because no one is in charge of making it better.
Yet, it is a problem, as the WSJ article clearly exposes.
The WSJ article references a survey published by Shep Hyken that says most people said they’d rather go to the dentist than call customer support. Hyken describes a “horror story” about calling a customer support line that includes terrible hold music, unhelpful agents, and getting transferred to additional agents.
Hold music is part of customer support; customer experience
Bad hold music compounds the anxiety associated with a call to customer support. People say poor customer service is worse than disappointing—it’s annoying. Your music may be making things worse.
Prices, the weather, traffic—these are things that are out of our control. However, those of us in business can do something about customer service, which is one of the most annoying life experiences.
- 61% of callers will switch brands after just one bad experience.
- Conversely, 80% say if they experience good service, they’ll do more business with a company.
The call-waiting experience is part of customer service, customer experience, and contact center excellence. As you investigate each customer interaction with your brand, you must keep digging until you reach the hold music. [Learn more in our Customer Experience Report.]
Why your call center should improve the hold music
Customer needs are becoming more challenging while contact center call volumes continue to increase. Many callers have exhausted online and other self-help options and seek high-level support. Today’s customers expect a quick response and resolution of their complex problems in one call.
One of the more common complaints about contact center support is that long hold times combined with bad hold music result in frustration.
“I really needed to talk to someone because my problem was complicated, but when I called the customer service number, I had to go through all these prompts that got me nowhere. And after all that, I still had no answer to my question.”
Top 4 answers to “Why is hold music so bad?”
1. Brand managers are not choosing music but should be
Unfortunately, contact center managers and engineers choose most of the hold music we hear. They often see hold music as nothing more than a placeholder that lets callers know they’re still connected.
According to hold-music providers, the people in charge of customer experiences are rarely involved in choosing hold music. “Typically, it is somebody who is managing the technology of the communications platform,” says Tim Brown, founder and chief technology officer of Easy On Hold, a hold-music provider in Kalamazoo, Mich.” – Wall Street Journal, May 21, 2024
The Journal points out that a synthesized song from 1989, called Opus #1, is the default music on 100 million Cisco phone systems. When Cisco approached Easy On Hold to develop a better hold music solution, we created Streaming Queue Music for Cisco phone on hold.
Easy On Hold is a Cisco Select Developer.
2. Licensing is complicated, so we hear “default” music
Many contact centers use the system’s “default” music when looking for hold music. This is because getting proper licensing can be messy. Music and digital media (movies, games, software) are licensed, not sold. The default music is a safe alternative. You won’t find major artists making phone default music; it is commonly a low-quality keyboard composition made on a work-for-hire basis.
3. That “royalty-free” stuff isn’t that good (sometimes not that legal either)
Thanks to advancements in music software, just about anyone can make and record music. Sites like DIY Music help amateurs get started, and sites like SounDistro, CD Baby, and TuneCore can help distribute original music. More established musicians might contribute to a royalty-free music library, too, but they are likely holding on to their best work in the hopes of getting royalties. Still, you should ask if using the music for phone-on-hold is legal.
Recently, a large contact center contacted Easy On Hold with a problem. The corporate legal department objected to the song being played for callers on hold. The song was supposed to be “royalty-free,” but it got a thumbs-down from the lawyers. (Learn the answer to the question, “What is royalty-free hold music?” in our detailed blog article.) The best solution is to use a professional hold music service with all the proper licensing in place.
4. Phones are made for voices, not music
Some years ago, we found a brilliant video demonstrating why music quality is degraded over a phone connection.
Looking for better hold music: 4 helpful ideas
If our customers would rather see the dentist than get placed on hold, then we have to agree that something is dreadfully wrong with hold music. Rather than complain further, let’s look at how to improve the hold music being played. But where do you find good hold music?
1. Use music that will de-stress callers
The connection between music and well-being (in humans and animals) is well documented. Music is an effective stress reliever, but not all music works to decrease listener anxiety. “Music has been shown to activate some of the broadest and most diverse networks of the brain,” states Dr. Andrew E. Budson in a Harvard Medical Review article.
Another Harvard professor says humans and music belong together.
“We seem to be very much tuned for music. It resonates with us in some important way.” – David Silbersweig, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Common mistakes
But not just “any” music will do. Start by deciding to replace the default music that came with your phone platform. Remember, many other companies (brands) are using that same music. Why confuse callers when you can use music to create your own unique identity? Also, don’t assume that classical music is automatically a good choice. One official in the UK government reported that a loop of Vivaldi music was causing anxiety (The Guardian, Feb. 2020).
Working with a professional music curation company (Easy On Hold), your branding team can discover the genres, tempos, and musical styles that fit your company image.
2. Use must that is properly licensed
There’s no way around the fact that all hold music must be licensed. Playing music without a license can have severe consequences for your business. If your phone platform can play a live stream, music licensing laws allow Easy On Hold to play popular vocal music. You can have your own “radio station” and curated playlist. Learn about streaming hold music in Cisco, Avaya, and more.
3. Add voices to the music
Nothing is more helpful than the sound of a human voice offering answers that solve my problems. Anticipate the needs of those calling and develop messages on hold that educate, inform, and inspire. Avoid the worn-out “thank-you” phrases that remind callers they’re holding. Trust, they know they’re on hold!
4. Less repetition is a big improvement
As the Wall Street Journal article states, “It is probably not a good idea to force your callers to listen to the same music over and over, no matter what it is.”
After you have found better music, keep changing it up.
One last thought
We’re thankful that Ms. Murphy and the Wall Street Journal contacted us (Easy On Hold) to discuss the question, “Why is hold music so bad.” We have this final thought about combining voice and music for your hold queue.
The article correctly conveys our belief in voice-on-hold recordings but suggests that apps like “Hold For Me” would hinder a company’s communications efforts. The fact is, Hold For Me (available on Google Pixel phones) shows the text of what is being said while you’re on hold. The real-time captions on the screen transcribe the marketing messages aimed at helping you.
When people are being helped, they don’t hang up. Better music and targeted, valuable spoken content must replace bad hold music. We can go beyond making “wait on hold time” more enjoyable than the dentist.
