System information
For more information about using Asterisk in different countries, see Chapter 9.
musiconhold.conf
If you plan on selling Asterisk-based telephone systems and you do not change the
default music on hold that ships with Asterisk, you are sending the message, loud and
clear, that you don’t really know what you are doing.
*
Part of the problem with music on hold is that while in the past it was common to just
plug a radio or CD player into the phone system, the legal reality is that most music
licenses do not actually allow you to do this. That’s right: if you want to play music on
hold, somebody, somewhere, typically wants you to pay them for the privilege.
So how to deal with this? There are two legal ways: 1) pay for a music on hold license
from the copyright holder, or 2) find a source of music that is released under a license
suitable for Asterisk.
We’re not here to give you legal advice; you are responsible for understanding what is
required of you in order to use a particular piece of music as your music on hold source.
What we will do, however, is show you how to take the music you have and make it
work with Asterisk.
Getting Free Music
There are several websites that offer music that has been released under Creative Com-
mons or other licenses. Lately, we’ve been enjoying music from Jamendo. Each song
may have its own licensing requirements, and just because you can download a song
for free does not mean you have permission to use it as music on hold. Be aware of the
licensing terms for the music you are planning to use for your music on hold.
Converting Music to a Format That Works Best with Asterisk
It’s quite common to have music in MP3 format these days. While Asterisk can use
MP3s as a music source, this method is not at all ideal. MP3s are heavily compressed,
and in order to play them the CPU has to do some serious work to decompress them
in real time. This is fine when you are only playing one song and want to save space on
your iPod, but for music on hold, the proper thing to do is convert the MP3 to a format
that is easier on the CPU.
* Note that Leif uses the default music, but his excuse is that he’s lazy and wants to go and play Forza on his
Xbox. The cobbler’s kids have no shoes.
musiconhold.conf | 79