# music on a website



## punkapalooza (Oct 18, 2006)

what do u think? annoying or can it add to the site? like if a tee site sold gothic tees and they had a gothic band playing on the home page? should there be the option to turn off any music?

what are your thoughts?


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## HeathenPeddler (Nov 30, 2006)

I detest it! There's nowt worse than going to a site and suddenly having music blare out of the speakers. Most of it is bingley-bongley-beep midi files too, which are even worse.

Perhaps as an option, like 'click here to find out what we're listening to', but off by default.


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## punkapalooza (Oct 18, 2006)

i hate the midi files. i was thinking more real mp3 songs by real bands.


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## crsmith (Jan 1, 2006)

I'd say no music. I don't turn my speakers on very often because I don't want to hear any of the boot up sounds, beeps etc. Then again, I am of the older generation.


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## Jasonda (Aug 16, 2006)

Music = *no.*

There are so many reasons why, but here's the big ones:

1. It annoys your customers. 95% of the sites they visit don't have music, they won't expect it. If they happen to have the speakers turned up, it will blast them and they will freak out trying to figure out which browser window to close. And they will never, ever come back. 

2. They may already be listening to music on their computer while surfing. I'm sure you've heard what happens when two different music files are trying to play at the same time.

3. You can't make everyone happy - no matter what kind of awesome song you pick, people's tastes in music are so varied that it's pretty much a sure thing that more people are going to dislike it than like it. 

Lots more reasons, but I'll stop there.. you get the picture.

If you really _must_ have music, here's a good example of a site that uses it effectively: yourfriendorfoe.com. Why does it work for them? Their t-shirts are all musically themed, so it's appropriate and somewhat expected. Most importantly, the music is OFF by default, and has to be turned on by the customer. Also, since the shirts all have a blues/soul/jazz theme, they have a pretty good idea of what kind of music their customers are into - AND they still offer more than one song choice, so the customer can pick something they like.


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## Vtec44 (Apr 24, 2006)

It depends, but generally speaking it doesn't go well with ecommerce sites.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Brutal Tees said:


> what do u think?


*NO!

*I can't emphasise that enough.

(and if yes, never _ever_ on by default - not even on a band's website (the number of times I've gone to someone's website because I was already listening to them, only to have some other track of theirs start playing over the top...))


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## kentphoto (Jan 16, 2006)

Solmu said:


> *NO!
> 
> *I can't emphasise that enough.



sure you could. Just use a bigger font.

ie) NO !


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## alex63 (Mar 29, 2006)

I immediately leave a site that has music playing automatically. I guess it is one of my pet peeves. If you want to have music, leave it as an option that the visitor has to turn on.

Alex


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## John S (Sep 9, 2006)

I'm listening to my own music when I surf. One band at a time please.

(That is a vote for NO music)


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## Vtec44 (Apr 24, 2006)

kentphoto said:


> sure you could. Just use a bigger font.
> 
> ie) NO !


in RED?

NO !


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

kentphoto said:


> sure you could. Just use a bigger font.
> 
> ie) NO !


That doesn't emphasise it enough.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Vtec44 said:


> in RED?
> 
> NO !


Still not cutting it. _Maybe_ if we added <flash> tags.


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## Vtec44 (Apr 24, 2006)

Maybe with a bit of music in the back ground?


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Vtec44 said:


> Maybe with a bit of music in the back ground?


Not music... maybe just a looped .wav file going "No! No! No! No!". Should get the point across.


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## mylkhead (Dec 6, 2006)

Music can help brand your clothing company. But to do it, you should just use a music player that starts on "OFF" and the user has the option of turning it on.


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## monkeylantern (Oct 16, 2005)




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## Jasonda (Aug 16, 2006)

Yay!  That's perfect.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Yup, I think that *does* emphasise the point pretty well actually


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## Nathalie (Jan 7, 2007)

I would say that the music is always off, and that your customers can decide to listen. Even now, when I'm answering I listen to music on my computer. And I just hate it when there is a website that directly starts the music (out loud) and you must find the musicplayer on the page to set it off.


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## prometheus (Oct 19, 2006)

Wow! What a bunch of haters.  

I think it really depends on what you are going for. It might work in a community type vibe. Like music playing in the background of a store (except when it is loud annoying disco/dance/trance music.) I don't think I have ever been to a e-commerce site that had music. I don't think I have ever been to a community type page that had music (except for MySpace). Maybe Rodney could pipe some music through here.  I do understand how it can become annoying, and yes I listen to my own while I am surfing. Maybe what would be a better idea, is to have a place on the site where people could check out new music, or music that you or other people are listening to.


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## mylkhead (Dec 6, 2006)

general rule of thumb is no music, or a music player that can be started.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> general rule of thumb is no music, or a music player that can be started.


I don't mind it so much if it is OFF by default and I get to decide to turn it on. Sometimes they will have some nice music or a "radio" and if I'm not listening to music at the time, I might check it out.



> And I just hate it when there is a website that directly starts the music (out loud) and you must find the musicplayer on the page to set it off


That's what I really hate the most. I usually have my speakers turned on because I'm listening to _my_ music. So when I go to a website starts playing music (quiet or loud), it really bugs me that I have to find a way to turn it off (some places don't even provide a way to turn it off). I usually leave right away.


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## Byeline666 (Oct 21, 2006)

hahah im pretty sure its a general consensus but ill throw my "no" vote as well.


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## pbasqu (Jan 4, 2007)

What about if you had music playing on the 'Click to Enter' page only?? Once you entered the main site, the music would be gone.


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## Jasonda (Aug 16, 2006)

pbasqu said:


> What about if you had music playing on the 'Click to Enter' page only?? Once you entered the main site, the music would be gone.


"Click to enter" pages are pretty annoying on their own - There's really no reason for most websites to even have one.


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## Pablosan (Jan 9, 2007)

Most people want music on the pages because THEY like it.

Thats fine for your PERSONAL page or your myspace or whatever.

But a business page or ecommerce page is about what THEY want not what YOU like or think is good. They can make thier mind up on your product if they like it. Don't try and sell a song.

And musical tastes are all different. Plus even IF THEY COME BACK that same old tune is going to get annoying anyway.

Ya I close music pages right away.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

pbasqu said:


> What about if you had music playing on the 'Click to Enter' page only??


Then you'd have two things to remove to improve your website instead of one


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## DBT (Feb 20, 2007)

heres an example of music (well a whole site) done very well 

http://www.chopshopstore.com

a famous band who has classic songs (istanbul not constantinople is a classic right?) with a song about your shop. downloadable. starting at off.

this is proper.

if you're not going to do it properly, don't do it at all


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard (and I'm even a TMBG fan).


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## DBT (Feb 20, 2007)

ahaha. i agree. but it is a nerd-shirt site...


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## rejoice (Jun 7, 2007)

i'd have to agree that if the music fits the target market then why not
but it MUST be OFF to start with and let me decide if I want to listen
i listen to music and when i go to a site that is of interest --- i'll check it
that includes listening to the tunes as ya never know it could be good
so gothic music for gothic tees... **** yeah!
you won't find me there but hey that's the beauty of what we do


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## Shaliza (Jun 12, 2007)

Music on an ecommerce site? Hell no. And chances are, most people are just looking to buy something, not to hear Cyndi Lauper or someone else singing.

However, with CERTAIN other sites, I think it's okay just as long as it doesn't automatically play.


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## rejoice (Jun 7, 2007)

my designs are mainly orientated around the electronic music scene
we are not having music directly on the site
but links to dj sets, exclusive mixes, etc that consumers may access/download


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## geekfitters (Jun 30, 2007)

I vote against music on a website. It is just annoying.


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## TripleT (Apr 29, 2007)

Are there any good reasons to put music on an ecommerece website? I don't think so.


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## rejoice (Jun 7, 2007)

yes... if your designs are targeted at a certain market that has a particular taste of music

music that they can download from their favourite, or the latest artists can add to their experience


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## TripleT (Apr 29, 2007)

> music that they can download from their favourite, or the latest artists can add to their experience


 
Okay, that's not a bad thing - the person goes to a link and downloads music (or downloads anything else for that matter). To be a little more clear, I was thinking of ecommerce websites that play music as they open (no matter what the product they sell.) In that case, the negatives far outweigh the positives. If a person chooses to play music, that could be a nice feature to certain targeted markets


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## rejoice (Jun 7, 2007)

TripleT said:


> Okay, that's not a bad thing - the person goes to a link and downloads music (or downloads anything else for that matter). To be a little more clear, I was thinking of ecommerce websites that play music as they open (no matter what the product they sell.) In that case, the negatives far outweigh the positives. If a person chooses to play music, that could be a nice feature to certain targeted markets


yeah we're on the same page here


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## DemoGrfx (Dec 14, 2010)

I agree with most. No music... It drives me crazy when I am surfing the web and I open a site that has music playing. I will almost always close the site.


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