Using music on a website Page 2

Ever heard of Napster? It would be hard not to know about the file swapping program and others similar to it and the troubles they have had with the music industry about the use of copyrighted material.

That is why that while you may like to listen to the Barenaked Ladies, Delbert McClinton, Pink, or India Arie, the fact is that their music is off limits to use on your web site unless you either (A.) are one of those groups/people; or (B.) want to pay them for having their music on your site.

There are a lot of free .MIDI files to be had on the internet, but, well, they sound like .MIDI files.

In fact, you don't really need an entire song to use on a web site because you can take a shorter music clip and loop it, playing it over and over.

Thus, the best option is original music, and that isn't always easy to come up with for everyone. However, there are usually people around with musical talent who would be more than happy to produce something at a reasonable price. Further, copyrighting that music gives you a hammer to swing if someone steals it and you catch them.

We are fortunate in that we can turn it over to our staff music man, Anthony, and he produces the sounds we need.

For example, the copyrighted music file on our current Flash site was made using Anthony's lead guitar, base guitar, and electric drums. He recorded each track separately and then used a mixer to put the tracks together. The recorded file was then moved to Cool Edit 2000 where we fine-tuned the ending to enable the file to be looped. A 46-second file becomes a file that lasts as long as the viewer is on the page or uses the available button to turn it off.

Equipment needed to perform such the recording and musical tasks are available at music stores or online at such places as Musicians Friend or Mars Music. Frequently there are special sales or sales of refurbished equipment that can help you keep costs down.

Still, if your pockets are deep enough and you wish to have recordings from popular musicians on your site, you can probably set up an arrangement through ASCAP or a similar type of organization to pay royalties on songs heard on your web site, even if you just use part of it for background.

There is also royalty free music available both on the internet and on CDs that can usually be found at your local computer store. Those can be used to serve the same purpose, but most are in the .MIDI format.

Other considerations

Other options that can be included are the ability to shut off the music if the viewer so desires (as we did on our site), start it on command and play it through once without looping it (as in the example used above), or loading it into the background so it plays automatically.

It seems like the decent thing to do is to give the viewer a choice of listening to the music or not. That way, if their equipment is not up to snuff (and much of it in the world may not be), they are not strangled with a long download.

I would also recommend avoiding file formats that require large player downloads. Windows comes with its own player, and most computers these days (96 percent last I read) can handle Flash files, so that is a viable alternative for music delivery.

Designers may also wish to offer two versions of their sites, one with music and one without. That works fine if the user also wants to offer a Flash site and non-Flash site. That gives the user the option of waiting for the longer downloads, and for those visitors who are severely hearing impaired it can eliminate needless waiting.

How to put the music on your site

Using music requires a different approach depending on whether you use Internet Explorer, Opera, or Netscape. Thus, if your target audience is likely to use all three (that should include about everyone), you have to prepare for all three.

Internet Explorer and Opera put the files to use in the same way, so that is no problem. Netscape, however, requires a different setup.

Things that must be considered are as follows:

• Do you want the visitor to decide if the music plays? If so, this can be done by simply providing a link that they can click on if they want to listen, as is done on this page. The music will load after the viewer clicks on the link. An example of using a link would look like this:

  <a href="music.wav">Click</a>

• Do you want the music to start automatically? This is where you must prepare for different browsers. If you expect your visitors to use all of the main browsers, then it is necessary to add both commands to your files.

  In IE and Opera, you can use the following command after the "body" tag:

  <bgsound src="music.wav" autostart="true">

  In Netscape, the tag would look like this:

  <embed src="music.wav" autostart="true">

• Do you want the music to loop? This is done on all browsers by simply adding a loop command, as follows. In IE and Opera:

  <bgsound src="music.wav" autostart="true" loop="true">

  In Netscape: <embed src="music.wav" autostart="true" loop="true">

• Do you want to hide the player? In theory, this is done the same way in all three of the browsers, but in fact, it doesn't always work, so users must employ a workaround. The safest way: In IE and Opera:

  <bgsound src="music.wav" autostart="true" loop="true" hidden="true"> In Netscape:

  <embed src="music.wav" autostart="true" loop="true" hidden="true" height="0" width="0">

By doing that, even if the hidden feature doesn't work, the height and weight parameters will keep it from showing.

However, keep in mind that if the player does show, it enables the viewer to have some control over the use of the music, and makes it easier for them to shut it off or listen to it again.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that music can be a very powerful resource for a web site, or it can be a nuisance. Users must decide if it is appropriate for their site, or if there are enough benefits to make it worthwhile.

Choosing the right format is crucial to making the music work on any site. You need something that works as quickly as possible and lets viewers then go on with their life.

Make sure you give them the option to skip it or shut it off if they so desire. There's nothing worse than having to listen to music you don't want to hear, don't like, or stalls your computer. Anyone who has ever telephoned a business and been put on hold to listen to loud music, or even music they do not particularly care for, know this frustration.

Where the music comes from may depend on the money at hand, but even if the money is not there in large quantities, music is still a possibility and could net a decent gain on the investment.

Additional Resources

Multimedia for the Web
Embedding Sound in Web Pages
Digital Distribution of Music

Using music on a website