seomoz.org — As a professional web developer with a few too many years of implementing ridiculous requests, I've acquired quite a knack for convincing a client that background music is a bad idea. This article contains 9 arguments I use to achieve that goal.
Oct 3, 2006 View in Crawl 4
betaspOct 3, 2006
Perhaps the main reason not to use music is because the www is not a dumb medium like television. With TV, people expect to be spoon fed content chosen by others. The www is different. People expect interaction and choices. Forcing what you want to hear down someone's throat is not going to attract readers, it is merely showing them that you don't understand the medium (subliminally).
crawfishsoulOct 3, 2006
and don't call me Shirley
astrotrainOct 3, 2006
@ happyhappyhappy"Happy Happy Halloween Halloween....Happy Happy Halloween...Silver Shamrock"-Halloween 3: Season of the Witch
anogarOct 3, 2006
I know my clients like it when I say "You're a fossil, go sit in a museum and fart dust." Heh.
combatchuckOct 3, 2006
Whose money is it again? That's right, the customer. If you want to get that customer's money, you can't treat them like an idiot. I have the feeling that you would make a terrible sales person.
jtjennOct 3, 2006
Oh My God! U read my mind. Background music irritates me so much, it's not funny. I was trying to get my friend to get her background music off her xanga because it's so annoying and there was no off button, but she kept saying no.
avtoOct 3, 2006
If your brand experience can only be achieved by including sound then possibly the web is an inappropriate format. I expect sound in broadcast advertising but If you can't project a clients brand experience on the web with strong type, imagery, color and overall design then maybe you should reevaluate your career choice.
idonthackOct 3, 2006
<head asplode>
punkrampantOct 4, 2006
@short manMyspace has more than 100 million profiles now, but most of those are fakes, dupes, autocreated, etc. Only a few million people actually use the thing.But to defend Myspace just a little, I don't think anybody goes to a profile expecting to read enlightening content or get a job done. A profile shows what someone likes, such as their music - and if you don't like their music, well, quit bitching and leave their space. [/s**tty pun]Now I just dug my grave by defending Mys**thole. Let the burial begin.
postal21Oct 4, 2006
Didnt crash me... but its funny that everytime you go back to their home page you will have to perpetually listen to that guy say "welcome to seattle scuba this is what were about... blah blah blah.."
tangerineOct 4, 2006
Nailed it on the head. Hilarious!" It's tacky and unprofessional: Play to their vanity: having background music was cool in the mid-nineties when the web was first coming together. Now it's not, it's considered dated and the mark of an amateur. If you're gonna put background music in, you might as well put on a pair of hammer pants. You're a fossil, go sit in a museum and fart dust. "Thank you Oatmeal.<a class="user" href="http://www.seomoz.org/matt.php">http://www.seomoz.org/matt.php</a>.
geraldinedeOct 4, 2006
Heh - I was at work and doing legitimate research for a pop culture project. I decided to go to Billy Joel's site, since I wanted to write about him...man, nothing wakes the office up like a grainy, incredibly loud version of "Piano Man" blaring through the halls.