atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Music On Hold

I agree with gkar. On Hold Systems are for those who want to advertise on hold, if you just want people to know you haven't hung up on them, I use a radio. Valcom even makes an FM radio designed for on hold use.
Mark


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Reliable Telephone Service

FOR SALE.........CHEAP.......WHILE IT LASTS....


1. Never used Low Voltage License, thought I needed it.......OH WELL.....

2. Never used license to broadcast radio stations as Music On Hold.......I was told I needed it........

Make offer for both......LOL LOL

Groundstart, how about throwing in those sales contracts you never use also?

There have been plenty of people busted for the unauthorized use of music in their businesses. Not something that you will see on the nightly news though. Performance licensing organizations will ask you to cease and desist or comply with the law before taking any legal action. Most people will do one or the other once they understand the situation and the consequences.

This is not something to scoff at though I do understand that if you are from NYC you believe you can get away with anything...

-Hal

Again, I belive in faith but until someone steps up and says "It happend to me and I can prove it" You are just pushing a bunch of bull. So don't try to convince me with I know a guy who told me and I trust him or I read it so it must be real. 20 years of hookin up the radios to phone systems all over the US and nobody has stepped up yet or ever contacted me or the over 1000+ of my customers I have installed PBX's for including government offices, police stations and court houses.

That's probably because MOH is not something that is going to get a lot of attention so the chances of getting caught might be slim.

Still, you have the facts. It is illegal to use recorded or off air music for this purpose. You can continue to do what you want but as professionals I don't think any of us should be advising or enabling our customers to do anything illegal when we know that it is, as you should now.

Besides, it's more profitable to set them up with a message on hold system that will make them look a heck of a lot better than a local FM station that cuts in and out. Give them the alternatives and the reason they can't use music illegally. If they still insist on a tuner or CD player show them where to plug it in but don't get involved.

-Hal

If they still insist on a tuner or CD player show them where to plug it in but don't get involved.

Now that is what I do. As a Professional Phone man, I can not connect up a radio or cd player to my system, but I can tell my customer where the cable is for him to plug it in, and many do.

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Voice and Data Cabling in DFW, [email protected]
DnR Communications

Actually, and I know Groundstart will have a fit when I say this, you could be held liable also in any legal action brought against the customer for copyright infringement. That's why I say don't get involved.

Matter of fact our contract has a clause that places all responsibility for copyright compliance on the customer just in case some lawyer gets the idea to blame us somehow.

-Hal

Unless it's a professional recording we don't get involved. I simply leave the cable for them.

There is a difference between being legal and getting caught. I followed the “Beta Wars” back in 1976. Disney and Columbia both sued Sony for making and selling VCRs. The Supreme Court ruled that a VCR could be used for “Time Shifting“ broadcast programming only. When a friend of mine bought a beta machine the dealer sold him a Star Wars tape. I told him the tape was bootleg and he did not believe me. Later he went back to the dealer and the FBI had collected all of the dealer’s tapes.

Do any of you remember a pizza place called Shotgun Sams? They had a piano player and sometimes a banjo player who would lead the customers in singing songs. They had to stop singing Hello Dolly. Everyone should know what happened to Napster.

When/If You go to church look in the song book at the bottom of the pages. Some of the songs are copyrighted. For that reason, our church had to stop recording the song service and only record the sermon for a short while about 15 years back. Now there is a church license for music that churches can get.

Here is my last example. The sports stadiums of our nation are not big enough to hold all of the drivers who exceed the legal speed limit. The faster a drive goes the greater chance of getting a ticket. The bigger you are the greater chance of getting caught bootlegging music.

I hope no one finds out I tore the tag off of my mattress.