Category Archives: Music Licensing

On Hold Music, Woosh, Wow, Paul Young And Other Auditory Phenomena

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Dubai business news site, kippreport relays a detailed description of a bad on hold experience at the HSBC Finance call center in Dubai:
“The music on hold is inaudible in the whoosh and swish of the IP line. Occasionally IP artefacts cause strange auditory phenomena like eddies in the astral plane. In the sea of wow and flutter you can occasionally hear snatches of music, a slightly manic-sounding, repetitive jangle not unlike a Goan Jamaican steel band overlaid with a recording of Paul Young’s bassist. It fades in and out maddeningly.”

A little help here: Goa is a state in west India. Paul Young is a British pop star (U.S. hit “Everytime You Go Away” written by Hall and Oates.) Not sure if we’re talking about Young’s part-time bass player Pino Palladino, but that would be an excellent choice. Palladino has worked with a long list of high-profile pop stars. So Goan Jamaican Steel Band overlaid with pop bassist riffs–probably a bad choice for on-hold music.

Now doing business in Dubai (at one of the world’s largest hotels), Easy On Hold understands what’s gone wrong at HSBC. Many phone systems, including those carried over internet lines, have an automatic noise cancellation program running. If the music on hold input is not steady or strong, the phone system will be easily convinced that the audio is not intentional, and treat it as noise. The system will fight the incoming sound, attempting to close the noise gate. The resulting sound is that of a woosh and hiss.

Of course, we can’t speak for the music selection at any call center except those we license. You may browse our music on hold library here, but I don’t think you’ll find a Goan Jamaican Steel Band sound.

The truth is, phone systems are best suited for voice, not music. If you’ve ever called via cell phone and heard the rippled distortion of music on hold, then you’re aware of this fact. The best choice for a business on hold system is voice. Voiced announcements and on hold messages containing information are most effective and appreciated.

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Radio On Hold: Forget Illegal, It’s Downright Dumb!

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Using radio to keep your callers entertained while they wait on hold? Run, don’t walk, and rip the cord out of the wall. Your next sale could depend on it.

Way back in the 90′s, I decided to start Easy On Hold after a chance experience with a local restaurant. One evening, I called up a popular eating establishment to make a reservation, but was promptly placed on hold. While waiting, I heard a radio station playing a commercial for another restaurant across town.

You can probably guess what happened next. I promptly hung up, phoned in a reservation at that other restaurant and enjoyed a fabulous meal. Meanwhile, I couldn’t stop thinking about how downright dumb a business owner would have to be to run content on their hold button over which they had no control whatsoever.

With that, welcome to Easy On Hold, officially launched in 1997, to help businesses understand the importance of giving their callers a great on-hold experience.

So what happens? Typically, the telephone system installer offers to do a favor by plugging a 24/7 audio source (radio) into the music on hold port before signing off on the job. This demonstrates that the on hold port is active and working, but it is also dangerous. In addition to ads for their competitors being heard, rebroadcasting a radio signal on your phone system is not legal. In an article by attorney Mike Wilson, the downside of sidestepping proper music licensing for on-hold use is steep.

Actual damages as well as statutory damages of up to $20,000 can be awarded for each copyrighted song performed without a license. The damages can be up to $100,000 if the infringement is willful. And those who willfully infringe on a copyright for commercial advantage or private gain can be fined up to $25,000, be sentenced to jail time of up to a year,
or both.

Wait, don’t radio stations pay the royalties?

Most people using radio on hold probably are not aware that they’re in violation of any laws, in that they assume the radio station has already covered all licensing costs on their end.  It’s true that radio broadcast stations are licensed to perform the music they carry on their airwaves, but your phone system is technically creating a RE-broadcast. Radio phone on hold music is considered an unlicensed, separate performance under the copyright law. The spirit of the law is that responsibility falls to the end-user, so your re-use of a radio station is therefore subject to fees. Read more: Easy On Hold Whitepaper: Is It Legal To Use Radio On Hold?

Control what your callers hear.

A well-written on-hold program will communicate helpful information about your products, services and other aspects of your company that make you unique–and that affirm in your caller’s mind that, yes, I made the right decision contacting this company.

That misguided restaurant could have maintained the loyalty of a customer that night had it approached its on hold messaging seriously. Then again, maybe we wouldn’t be here today.

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BMI Knocks On Doors For Music On Hold Fees

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In previous postings, I’ve reported collection activities undertaken by ASCAP in order to get cash for playing music on hold. Now I can report on BMI, one of the other licensing organizations in the U.S.

This week an Easy On Hold client contacted us for help with inquiries made by BMI. Here’s a look at the email from the accounting department:

We continue to get pestered by BMI, they are a music licensing organization.  Easy on Hold actually references them in their literature.  The latest call from BMI basically is saying that just because you buy hold music, it doesn’t mean that you don’t owe licensing fees.  I have no idea how this works, but I would suggest you reach out to your contact at Easy on Hold, and see what the law is on this.   – Chief Financial Officer

The Myth Behind Royalty Free Music
Actually, BMI is right: just because you buy hold music does not mean that you don’t owe licensing fees. This is a big myth behind “royalty free music”. You may be purchasing music that is free of mechanical royalties (meaning you can copy it, download it, manipulate it), but it may not include performance rights. These performance rights are the fees BMI is attempting to collect here.

Rest assured, Easy On Hold is on top of this, and is paying performance fees on behalf of all of our clients. Note also that BMI and ASCAP are both very active in seeking fees and fines. Apparently, licensing organizations do no research prior to contacting a business to request money. This means they are randomly calling any business that looks as though they could come up with some form of payment.

If you are contacted by a licensing organization, talk to your music on hold provider directly. If your provider cannot come up with a written contract showing satisfaction of performance fees, fire them and hire Easy On Hold.

Epilogue
This issue was quickly resolved by the Easy On Hold Music On Hold Expert providing written proof of performance rights. The response from the client:

Talked with Julie from Easy On Hold. She provided the document which verifies legitimacy of the license, etc.  Thank you for your prompt and courteous support.  EOH is one of my favorite vendors.  -Theresa

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Music On Hold Advice: Should I Purchase ASCAP/BMI License?

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I recently answered a question at Yahoo! about using ASCAP and BMI music on hold. The question is about whether a music on hold provider can get the licensing arranged more cheaply, or if it would cost less to buy licenses directly from ACAP and/or BMI.

The question every business should ask is, “What do I want my callers to hear while they wait on hold?”  Only then can you get a fair idea of what the costs really are. In the mean time, what are your options? If you have ever considered obtaining licensing from ASCAP and/or BMI and playing popular music on hold, the Yahoo! answer should help.

Question 1: How much does an ASCAP or BMI music on hold license cost?

Answer: Will you be playing songs that are licensed by ASCAP only? BMI only? SESAC? All of the above? You can find artists listed on the licensing organization’s websites.

Typically, charges will be around $200 per year per licensing organization. For example, BMI fees are based on the number of trunk lines you have coming into your business. A trunk line is the main telephone connection to the phone company and can contain many phone numbers. (See Yahoo! answers ).

Under 10 trunk lines = $229 per year. This price increases with more trunk lines.

If you want to play music that is licensed by ASCAP, you will pay a similar fee to them. Then, of course, there’s SESAC (www.sesac.com) another licensing organization that requires a “Music In Business” license if you recordings by any artist(s) they represent. In Canada, you will need to work with SOCAN. You will be required to send in periodic reports. There is a good deal of fine print here.

Question 2: Are there “Music on Hold” service providers that can license it cheaper?

Answer: Maybe. Most “Music on Hold” service providers subscribe to a music library of instrumental music recorded for use in advertising, video production, etc. These providers should be paying “performance” licenses on behalf of their customers, but not all do! So-called “royalty-free” music often sounds cheap and cheesy because it is being provided by artists who agree to sell out all rights to the end-user.

Do you wish to play popular songs on-hold? If so, you may be able to find a music service that will cover all licensing fess in one monthly charge (typically $55 to $75 per month). If you want callers to hear information about your company along with music, then a music on hold messaging provider will be able to provide this either on a monthly or annual fee, or as a “buyout” with nothing more to pay.

Source(s):

http://www.ascap.com
http://www.bmi.com
http://www.sesac.com
http://www.socan.com

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Payment Of Fees Requested. Do You Need To Pay?

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Licensing organizations aren’t letting up. The push is on to collect fees (and in some case penalties) for playing music on hold. It is your responsibility to know how music on hold licensing fees work. Here is a letter just received by one of our clients in Chicago, requesting “payment of fees”.

Note: This company will not need to pay, of course, because they use Easy On Hold for professional music on hold service.

“I have recently written and contacted you concerning our offer of the ASCAP license to authorize the performance of copyrighted music in your business.  As of today’s mail, we have not received your signed license agreement and payment of fees.

It is important for you to remember that the performance of any copyrighted music in a public establishment must have the permission of the copyright owner, that is, the songwriter or publisher.  ASCAP represents the majority of the world’s most popular music, so our license is the easiest way for you to secure that permission.

The enclosed brochure explains your rights and responsibilities under the copyright law.  If you or your attorney have questions that remain unanswered by our literature, please do not hesitate to contact me at the number below.

Otherwise, please sign the enclosed license agreement and send it to us with fees as specified on the invoice.  An executed copy of the agreement will be returned to you.

For your convenience, you may pay your ASCAP license fees by fax.  Simply complete the credit/debit card information on the invoice and fax it, along with both pages of your signed license agreement, to (615) 691-7724.  You may also pay fees by phone by calling me at the number below and providing me with the appropriate checking account information.
Sincerely,

ASCAP, PO Box 331608-7515, Nashville, TN 37203-9998

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Battling Trademark and Copyright Infringement in the Music On Hold Industry

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In the Internet age, you can’t be certain who is using your name–a valuable asset. While we work hard to build a quality brand, name recognition and reputation, there are some businesspeople who would like to “borrow” what we’ve built to help themselves.

An example is the use of a brand name in keywording. When a website owner creates his site, he puts specific keywords in the title and other meta tags to get higher search engine rankings. Using established brand names, they believe, will give them legitimacy. Perhaps, too, they think that their site will pop up when in fact online shoppers are looking for the more established brand.

The Easy On Hold (r) Trademark has shown up in text on Craigs List ads, Ebay Ads, Website title tags and even in a url. Currently, a music on hold company in Oklahoma is using a site they call “easy on hold updates”. Clearly, they’re attempting to pull some attention from those searching for Easy On Hold.

Borrowing Content
Believe it or not, several websites have been built using large chunks of copy directly from the Easy On Hold website. This type of plagiarism is common, as many sites are built by “off-shore” companies that crank out sites using content from the quickest, easiest source.

If your website was built by someone who does not work within your firm, or by someone who does not share your high standards and values, look into checking for duplicate content at other sites (then determine who borrowed from whom). Easy On Hold uses Copyscape.

When we enter our URL in the Copyscape engine, the search for plagiarized content begins.  As for today’s results, we see that a chunk of our home page copy is in use by a company called Dynamic Media. The illustration here shows actual screen shots from Dynamic Media (top) and Easy On Hold (bottom).

Content from the Easy On Hold site is also being used by a company called Premier Communications. In fact, it turns out that much of their FAQ came from Easy On Hold’s content. Much of it word for word. Funny, isn’t it, to see that on their site they have put the phrase “copyright 2010 Premier Communications”. Do you think this is stealing? Is it legal? Is there anything that can be done?

Corp Magazine Article
Authors Anna K. and Kevin J. Heinl have posted an interesting article about infringement.

Companies have an affirmative duty to police the Internet for infringement of their intellectual property Companies may want to establish or bolster existing monitoring methods in order to prevent their copyright-protected content or counterfeit trademarked goods from appearing on YouTube, eBay and other websites.

One angle they talk about is going after the ISP (Internet Service Provider) that hosts the infringing site.

Stopping Infringement of Valuable Copyrights and Trademarks on the Internet Intellectual property owners are required to provide more than “generalized notice” that their works are being infringed. The rights holder must provide the ISP with a specific website address that was valued to be “information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material.” An ISP is only responsible for taking down postings if an intellectual property owner notifies the ISP that a specific posting infringes its copyright or trademark.

Another site, operated by Watts Group, Inc.,  is using the exact same wording as Premier Communications and Easy On Hold in their FAQ.

It’s frustrating to go through the pain and expense of testing copy and tweaking and then find that someone else is benefiting illegally. Obviously, we have acquired the services of a legal firm specializing in intellectual property rights to pursue the problem.

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