On Hold Music for Business: Licensing, Scripts and Setup (2026)

The best on hold music for business is music you have the right to play: royalty-free tracks licensed for telephone use, music you commissioned, or the default music that comes with your phone system. Pair it with short, useful messages that tell callers what to expect, and change them for holidays and promotions.

Getting that right matters more than most owners think. Playing a popular song, a radio station or a personal streaming account on your phone line can expose the business to copyright claims, and silent hold makes callers think they were cut off. This guide covers the licensing rules, how to choose music, copy-ready hold message scripts, holiday versions and how to set it all up on a cloud phone system.

What Is Music on Hold?

Music on hold (MOH) is the audio a caller hears while they wait: when someone puts them on hold, while a call is being transferred, or while they wait in a call queue for the next available person. It is usually a loop of music, with recorded messages played between tracks.

On a modern cloud business phone system, hold audio is a setting rather than a box in the closet. You upload audio files, choose where they play and schedule changes, all from a web portal. Older systems needed a separate on-hold player wired to the PBX, which is why many businesses still have messages from years ago.

Do You Need a License for On Hold Music for Business?

In most cases, yes, unless the music is royalty-free for phone use, in the public domain or included with your phone service. Under US copyright law, the owner of a musical work holds the exclusive right to perform it publicly, and the owner of a sound recording holds the right to perform it publicly by digital audio transmission. Both rights are listed in 17 U.S.C. § 106.

Performing rights organizations (PROs) license the public performance of songs on behalf of songwriters and publishers. The NFIB's guide to music licensing for small businesses lists music on hold among the common public performances in a small business, alongside live bands and DJs, and names ASCAP, BMI and SESAC as the main licensing organizations.

The stakes are real. If a rights holder sues and wins, the court can award statutory damages of $750 to $30,000 per work infringed, and up to $150,000 per work for willful infringement, under 17 U.S.C. § 504. That is per song, so a playlist of chart hits adds up fast. This is general information, not legal advice; if you want to use commercial music, talk to the PROs or an attorney before you upload it.

Why a PRO License Is Often Not Enough

Music licensing has two layers: the composition (the song as written) and the sound recording (a specific performance of it). A PRO license covers performances of the composition only for that PRO's members, so one license rarely covers a whole playlist. A song written in the 1800s is free to use, but a 2020 orchestral recording of it is still protected. The Library of Congress explains this split in its overview of the Music Modernization Act, including the dates when older recordings enter the public domain.

What Are Your Options for Legal Hold Music?

Most small businesses end up with one of five sources. The table compares them on cost, licensing risk and effort.

Music source	Typical cost	Licensing risk	Best for
Default music in your phone system	Included	Low, licensed by the provider	Getting started today
Royalty-free tracks licensed for on-hold use	One-time purchase or free	Low, if the license names telephone or commercial use	Most small businesses
Custom on-hold production (music plus voice talent)	Per project or subscription	Low, if the contract transfers rights for phone use	Brands that want a polished, scripted sound
Popular songs with PRO licenses	Annual fees to each PRO you need	Medium, recording rights may still be missing	Rarely worth it for a hold line
Radio, Spotify or other personal streaming	Nothing up front	High, not licensed for this use	Never

Before you buy royalty-free hold music, read the license itself, not the product page. You want three things in writing: commercial use on telephone or on-hold systems is allowed, the license covers the recording as well as the composition, and the track is not registered with a PRO. Keep a copy of the license with the file so anyone who takes over the phone system later can see it.

If you already pay a background-music service for your shop or waiting room, ask whether its fees include your phone line. The NFIB recommends asking providers directly whether their fees include ASCAP, BMI and SESAC authorization.

What Kind of Hold Music Works Best?

Phone calls carry a much narrower slice of sound than speakers or headphones, and voice codecs are tuned for speech. Music that sounds rich in a car can turn thin or muddy on hold. These choices hold up best:

• Instrumental tracks with a clear melody, such as acoustic guitar, piano or light jazz
• Steady, mid-tempo music without long fades or sudden loud sections
• No lyrics, so music never competes with your recorded messages
• A loop of at least a few minutes, so callers do not hear the same 30 seconds on repeat
• One consistent style that matches your brand: calm for a medical office, upbeat for a gym

Test it the way callers hear it. Call your main number from a cell phone, get yourself put on hold and listen for two minutes. If the music hisses, warbles or drowns out the messages, swap the track or lower its volume relative to the voice recordings.

On Hold Message Examples You Can Copy

Messages turn waiting time into useful time. Keep each one to about 15 to 30 seconds, use plain language, and rotate three to five of them between music segments. Replace the bracketed parts with your details.

Intro Greeting for a Call Queue

"Thanks for calling [Business Name]. All of our team members are helping other customers right now. Please stay on the line and the next available person will be with you shortly."

Self-Service Message

"Did you know you can [book an appointment / check your order status / pay your bill] any time at [website]? If that is why you are calling, you can hang up and do it online in about a minute."

Hours and Contact Options

"Our office is open [days] from [time] to [time]. If you would rather not wait, press [key] to leave a message and we will call you back today, or text us at this same number."

Service or Promotion Message

"While you wait: [Business Name] now offers [new service]. Ask the team member who takes your call, or visit [website] to learn more."

Trust and Reassurance

"Your call is important to us, and we answer calls in the order they arrive. Thanks for your patience. We will be with you as soon as possible."

Use that last one sparingly. Callers have heard "your call is important to us" many times, so lead with useful information and save reassurance for the end of the rotation. For the menu callers hear before they reach the hold line, see our auto attendant script examples.

Holiday On Hold Messages for Thanksgiving to New Year

Late November through early January brings closures, short days and shipping cutoffs, and callers on hold are exactly the people who need to know. Record holiday on hold messages a week ahead and schedule them by date, so they start and stop without anyone remembering.

Holiday Hours

"Happy holidays from [Business Name]. Our office will be closed [Thursday, November 26, and Friday, November 27] and on [December 25 and January 1]. On [December 24 and 31] we close at [time]. Thank you for being part of our year."

Order and Shipping Cutoff

"Planning a holiday order? Place it by [date] for delivery before [holiday]. You can order any time at [website], or stay on the line and we will help you."

Urgent Issues During Closures

"If you are calling about an urgent [service issue / repair / emergency], press [key] to reach our on-call team. For anything else, leave a message and we will return your call on [reopening date]."

Year-End Thank You

"As the year wraps up, thank you for choosing [Business Name]. We look forward to working with you in the new year. Your call will be answered shortly."

How Long Should Callers Hear Music Before Something Changes?

Hold audio works best when it changes as the wait gets longer. A practical pattern for a small team looks like this.

Time on hold	What the caller should hear	Why
0 to 20 seconds	Intro greeting, then music	Confirms the call connected and sets expectations
Every 30 to 60 seconds	A rotating message between music	Breaks up the wait with useful information
About 2 minutes	An option to leave a voicemail or request a callback	Gives impatient callers an exit before they hang up
Set maximum wait	Overflow to another group, voicemail or an answering service	Stops calls from waiting indefinitely

Those timings are starting points, not rules. Track how long people actually wait and how many hang up; our guide to call center metrics explains average speed of answer and abandonment rate, the two numbers that tell you whether hold time is a problem. If waits keep running long, the fix is usually routing, not music. Adding agents at peak times, an overflow rule or a callback option usually shortens the wait more than any playlist.

How to Set Up Music on Hold on a Cloud Phone System

The steps are similar on most cloud systems. Here is how to set up music on hold from start to finish.

• Choose or buy your tracks and save the license for each one
• Write and record your messages, or hire voice talent, keeping each one under 30 seconds
• Export audio as WAV or MP3 and keep volume levels consistent between music and voice
• Upload the files in your phone system's admin portal and give each a clear name
• Assign audio at the right level: company-wide, per call queue or per user
• Add a queue intro greeting that plays once before the music starts
• Schedule holiday versions by date and set a reminder to remove promotions when they end
• Call in from a cell phone and listen to the full rotation before you go live

On Dial Raven, hold music can be set for the whole company, for a call queue or for an individual user, and the most specific setting wins, so a support queue can sound different from the front desk. Every account starts with default music, so callers never hear silence. Call queues and intro greetings are part of our call center solutions, included in the Pro plan along with the auto attendant and call recording.

Common Hold Music Mistakes to Avoid

• Silence on hold, which makes callers think the call dropped
• Popular songs, radio or a personal streaming account with no license for phone use
• Messages that mention last season's promotion or an old address
• Music so loud it drowns out the voice messages
• A 30-second loop that repeats the same message over and over
• One long message that callers miss if they join halfway through

A quick audit catches most of these. Once a quarter, call your own number, wait on hold for three minutes and write down everything you hear. If any of it is out of date or annoying, fix it that day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Good on hold music for business is simple: licensed audio, a few short messages that actually help, holiday updates scheduled ahead and routing that keeps waits short. If your current system makes changing any of that a chore, compare Dial Raven plans or get started with Dial Raven. We keep your existing number and set up your queues, greetings and hold music with you.