Music or Standard

For ONHOLD clients who prefer just a music background we have a wide variety of titles to choose from - in styles ranging from soft jazz, easy listening and contemporary pop to light classical and winter holiday music.  Our music-only recordings are available on tape, CD, floppy disk, SmartMedia card or audio file on CD ROM or available for download on an on-hold digital or MP3 player. 

A music-only selection sets an aural tone to your corporate image for customers calling your offices.

For clients who aren't interested in customized messaging, but still want to have a simple "thank you for calling....please hold" message, ONHOLD offers standard recording services. Choosing from a half dozen optional, standard messages (including a "happy holiday" greeting), in your choice of male or female voice-talent or alternating between the two, ONHOLD can offers a standard recording on  tape, CD, floppy disk, SmartMedia card or audio file on CD ROM or available for download on an on-hold digital or MP3 player, complete with music. 

Custom or Sweetened

At ONHOLD, the vast majority of clients order Custom recordings - a mix of music and messages that are specific to their company, their products, services and operations.  They use the Custom recording program to cross-sell products or services, share important new or operating information with customers and share news regarding the company and it's employees which shape a caller's perception of their corporate image -
their commitment to employees, customers and the community.

Set at a fixed price and discount priced by volume of Custom orders received over a 12 month period, ONHOLD works directly with each client to write, record and archive up to 9 feature-benefit messages or 12 feature-only messages and mix any portion of these messages, with music,  into an audio file and delivered on floppy disk, audio CD (ONHOLD on CD™) SmartMedia card or audio file on CD ROM or available for download on an on-hold digital or MP3 player.  The average, set length of the finished mix recording is 6 to 8 minutes (not exceeding 9 minutes total).  For complete details of our Custom services, please see our Services page.)

Not all businesses are alike, and we know it. So at ONHOLD we don't just offer custom recordings, but a mix of Custom and Sweetened recordings for businesses that require some variety, but haven't the new topic demand to warrant all new custom recordings. Best of all, this combination of services can significantly reduce the cost of ONHOLD while providing a good program mix.

 A "sweetening" is simply a fresh recording, engineered with new music and a changed variety of messages copied directly from your archived, existing custom recording(s.)

Since the Sweetened recording is being assembled from past Custom, archived recordings you have already paid for, and we have none of the associated ad-copy writing or talent costs, this savings is passed on to you.  As a result, a Sweetened recording costs a fraction of the cost of a Custom recording.

Best of all, a combination of Custom and Sweetened recordings can give you a variety of different recordings to use throughout the year or season without costing a lot of money.

To illustrate, many clients with seasonal changes in their business have us write and record several messages specific to each season (say 2 regarding spring promotions, 2 regarding fall promotions - maybe 1 specific to the winter holidays) and the remainder (4 messages) specific to never-changing operations and services. For the cost of this single custom recording, the client has us mix the spring messages and remainder messages to a spring audio recording that they use for half the year. In the fall, they order a "sweetened" recording containing the fall and remainder messages for just $60.  And mid-November, they may order a second "sweetened" recording, same as the fall recording, but adding the happy holiday message and mixed with winter holiday music. 

In this way, one Custom recording begets two additional and varied Sweetened recordings -- giving you seasonally appropriate ONHOLD music and messaging, without the cost of ordering three new Custom recordings.  (At 2009 rates, that's the difference between an annual cost of $570 and $345.) And, unlike our competitors, you are only billed for what you order, when and if you order it.  You are never paying a monthly contract fee for product you may or may not order.


REMEMBER: Sweetened recordings are made from existing custom recordings in our archive and cannot contain NEW ad-copy from NEW recordings.
When new material must be added, it is under a Custom Recording order.

Radio or Foreign   

On occasion our clients want something that is a little more out-of-the-ordinary for their on-hold music and message program - they want the production to be an entertainment featuring characters, sound effects and specialized music.  At ONHOLD, our staff is experienced at writing radio and theatrical scripts and producing radio commercials (through our sister business - MUSICWoRKS.)

We carry a large library of sound effects and custom underscore music and can create new music or design new sounds to meet any need.  When required, we cast the script with actors and produce each segment like a 30 to 60 second radio commercial.  These specialty productions are custom priced, by the project and scope.  The next time you want a message with flying saucers landing on the front lawn, Mrs. Claus wishing everyone a "Happy Holidays" or a stage coach riding in to town, write or give us a call and we'll happily explore this Radio-style recorded project with you.

Over the years, we've had clients require special foreign language translation and voice recordings of messages for their auto-attendant, voice mail and after-hours telephone needs.  At ONHOLD, we're pleased to subcontract with one of the nation's largest interpreter and translation companies, hiring the language talent needed to record a wide variety of languages and dialects - from French Creole to Russian to Chinese Mandarin - and more. If you have a project that requires recorded voice in a foreign language, whether for your telephone operations or for a multimedia or Internet project, be sure to talk with us about our competitive rates for translation, voice talent and audio recording.

Voice Mail or TAD

Your Auto-Attendant feature can be significantly enhanced by custom, professional recordings. Whether you use your Auto-Attendant to answer incoming calls or route callers through your calling tree - to various departments and staff -- a customized message, offering your company's specific call-routing, voice-mail and fax-back options, is the perfect place for music underscore and professional voice talent. 

ONHOLD Auto-Attendant recordings are customized sound files, meeting the sound file sample and bit requirements of your system, complete with music background (should you choose this option) and professional voice talent.  

This feature may be a stand-alone product or part of your larger telephony system, but it offers tremendous advantages to your business when customized to provide product or service information. Directed from an option offered by the auto-attendant, your call-in customers can choose to hear specially-prepared Voice Mail boxes created to play back sales and marketing, customer service, public relations and corporate information.

ONHOLD Voice Mail recordings includes all our usual recording services, from ad-copy creation and professional voice talent to engineering and music options, providing customized sound files to meet the bit and sample requirements of your system.


While this may be a feature of your auto-attendant or voice mail system, for businesses using stand alone digital or micro-cassette tape answering machines to pick-up after-hour calls, we offer custom TAD recorded services.  A custom after-hours message from us provides your business with a unique and professional aural image. 

ONHOLD TAD Recordings include all our usual recording services, from ad-copy creation and professional voice talent to engineering and music options, providing a custom recording for your telephone answering device. For more information on this or any of our telephony audio services write or call us here.