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We spoke to two of PH Media Group’s talented Audio Producers – Mark Griffiths and Josh Cassell, about what it takes to create the right sound for a business. With a client-base encompassing some of the UK’s biggest brands, just how do they decide what sounds best?

How do you choose the music for clients? What factors do you consider most important?

M: It’s important to match the style of music to the client’s corporate image as closely as possible.  On-hold audio should be an extension of their existing advertising strategy. Working from the brief, the script and the choice of voiceover artist, we can work out what music track will best enhance the message the client wants to get across.

J: For me the two main factors are:

Tempo – depending what business sector the company is in determines the tempo of the track. For example a fast-moving logistics company would want something upbeat and fast paced, while in contrast, a hotel would have something slow and relaxing in line with, creating a restful guest ambience.

Texture – again if it’s a multi-faceted company with lots of sectors and a dynamic approach, then I’d use a track which has lots going on – percussion with a wide range of high and low-pitched instrumentation, fun melody and a steady rhythm would be perfect. At the opposite end of the scale, if the company has a relaxed, less corporate image then I’d use a simple track with nice chord changes and a flowing melody.

Is it ever appropriate to choose a track that’s unexpected?

M: It may be if it sounds interesting and keeps callers listening, but generally the music shouldn’t distract from the main point of the on-hold production, which is the script.

J: On occasion when a company sells a product that seems fairly common, and lots of other companies sell the same, you may automatically expect a generic ambient track. Using a jolly upbeat jingle and fun voiceovers could grab the customer’s attention and make them think that this company isn’t the same as all the others, it has something different and quirky about it.

What’s the most popular track?

M: Rule The World, at the moment, we think.  It’s the second one we’ve produced in the style of Coldplay.  Their stuff seems to have the right combination of style and unobtrusiveness.

J: At the moment I would have to say Rule the World too!

Can you tailor a track to client’s brief? How would you go about this?

M: We can produce a bespoke music track to the client’s specifications if required, as an additional service. For example, our composer has produced exclusive tracks for TGI Friday’s and Audi. But we find that the very wide selection of music tracks in our current library means we can always find a great match for any client’s needs. We’re also on the cusp of a full music overhaul to ensure our library stays fresh and in tune with current trends, in terms of popular music and audio branding.

Can you think of examples of clients that have something a bit different that works well for them?

M: Many clients have their own jingles or corporate music tracks from radio and TV advertising and we can easily incorporate those into an on-hold production.

J: Coca-Cola’s on-hold production features their new song to tie-in with their TV and online audio branding. Essex Wildlife Trust use the birdsong of native species which works well with their script.

Hopefully this post has given a bit of an insight into the way our Audio Production team work, and the process behind matching great brands with great music. Keep checking the blog for more information about the ‘science of sound’ as we get technical in the coming weeks.

Mark Griffiths, one of PH Audio’s dedicated Sound Producers, offers his take on a small but critical element of voiceover editing.

My job is to take people’s breath away.

I edit voiceovers for a living. One of the main tasks is to remove all the breathing sounds.

Voiceover artists’ voices get compressed in the final mix. This has the effect of making all the quiet parts of speech louder. It’s one of the studio techniques that gives that extra oomph to the voices of radio announcers and pop singers.

But if you compress a voice track with the breaths left in, the breaths are amplified. These noises, which are normally so quiet we don’t notice them in normal speech, are boosted to the same volume as the words.

It makes the speaker sound like the Elephant Man.

So I get rid of them.

I’ve been doing it so long I don’t even need to hear it any more.

Using a digital sound editor like Adobe Audition, you can see the breaths on the screen in front of you. They look like little clouds, floating between the mountain peaks of the words.

Press a key and you can flatten the waveform into silence, evaporate the clouds.  Rob a person of their breath like a goblin in a fairytale.

But instead of choking them, removing their breath makes them stronger. A voiceover track without breaths sounds slick and confident. Somewhere at the back of your mind you’re thinking this announcer is so dynamic they don’t even need to breathe air like a normal person.

A lot of people think they have what it takes to be a professional voiceover artist just because someone once complimented them on their nice voice.  The truth is to make a living at it you also need the vocal precision of an opera singer, the versatility of a character actor and a lot of very expensive kit.

So in short: save your breath.

Looking back and looking forward to OHM

It doesn’t feel like 13 years ago that we produced and installed our first production –  time flies.

Quarter of a million productions later and every aspect of our service bears little resemblance to the processes I’d dug out of the ground back then. Voicing, music, installation, playback equipment and service levels are in a different stratosphere to those bygone days.

But that’s business for you – necessity is the mother – and these advances mean we’ve consistently evolved and improved. What was quite good then is quite brilliant today, which leads me nicely on to the aspect I think has changed the least noticeably but most significantly. That is: what the messages say or, as we say in the trade, the scripts.

The writers

At PH Media Group, we have a six-strong team of copywriters who create the words for the voiceovers to orate.

They write a lot of copy. A very lot. Our messages play to people around the world for over 15 million hours a year. Obviously their attention to detail has to be spot on; we need to say the right thing at the right time on every production.

Why? Because every day people are being put on-hold or transferred – and with the phone next to their lughole, are going to eagerly listen to what’s being said. And that’s what has changed the most.

The messages

Most messages are still made on a similar principal, with 6-8 prompts, interspersed with music. But where we used to say, ‘please hold and your call will be answered shortly’ or ‘your patience is appreciated and your call is being transferred’ at the end of every other prompt (and still do, occasionally) what’s changed most are the prompts themselves.

The term ‘Less is more’ springs to mind. Our prompts now sound less intrusive but more inviting. We don’t force messages down people’s throat anymore; we seem to have learnt how to get a message across the ear piece by saying things a lot more quietly but with significantly more impact.

On-hold time shouldn’t be used for the hard sell; it should transmit a message that reflects the brand and draw the caller’s attention to areas that will be of interest and benefit.

And that’s exactly what our lovelies do. Our scripting has evolved in a subtle, progressive and pleasant manner, and long may it continue.

Grant Reed | Managing Director