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Yikes -- Client wants a song to play on his site!
- Thread starter h0kie99
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a JScript will also allow to play, pause, stop volume control the music on the site. Have you tried doing that, you can also have a small selection of tracks to play from.
You can also have the music phase in and out of various pages.
You can also have the music phase in and out of various pages.
stylum said:
Yes, show him this thread! and tell him twice that music into a website sucks... ohhh "el cheapo" website... grrr... come on..
jayscheuerle
macrumors 68020
snkTab said:
In the end perhaps, but simply implementing a client's vision is a job any Web-hack can do. As a designer, you should use your reputation to sway your clients toward something that you can be proud of having in your portfolio. Your work is a reflection of yourself and you are defined by the work you do. If he absolutely MUST have music, find a way to make it inobtrusive and possibly tasteful. I think QUIET and BACKGROUND are the key words here. Think of it like Muzak- it's best when you don't notice it. - j
Yvan256 said:
Wish it were that simple- unfortunately there's more than one kind of client- there's the kind that understands how to use you for more than your production abilities, and then there's the 'shut up and do it' kind. It is seldom that you are lucky enough to have all of the good kind of client, because both kinds pay the bills.
decksnap said:
True but if a client asks you to do something that is wrong such as use copy-protected media then you have the right to refuse, this is part of any designers/educated individuals training. If you do not properly educated the client on the subject they could turn on you if they are ever pursued by the rightful owners of the copyright... I have seen it happen too many times... this is why studios sometimes have legal representatives.
I think the situation here is that if the music is owned by someone and the client is creating a promotional site for profit then you should not put the music on, unless they have obtained the proper rights to do so.
If the music is not protected and or your client has the rights, then by all means go ahead but take time to address the issues that have been commented here in this forum.
CanadaRAM said:
This is spot on. There is copyright in the song and the performance (and even the arrangement). So he either has to have a version out of copyright (a 60 year old record..) or some lame-o cobbled together job.
Having said that I bet there are non-copyright protected versions of the wedding march knocking around....
Flowbee said:
I can't get the link to work (access verboten) but do I really want to?
Is it bad or is it just bad?
jayscheuerle said:
that's why I included this line in my post on how to sway the client.
and also in the end, the client doesn't care about your portfolio, he cares about his webpage.
Blue Velvet said:
Just bad. Imagine Mendelssohn's Wedding March as played on the cheapest Casio keyboard.
Just let him use the stupid song.
It's his choice and will be his problem in the future.
But instead of linking to his page with his song on your design site (if one exists), just host his site on your own server and take out the song.
scem0
It's his choice and will be his problem in the future.
But instead of linking to his page with his song on your design site (if one exists), just host his site on your own server and take out the song.
scem0
You guys are all wrong
Tastefully done music on a website is soon going to be nessasary. Ever increasing bandwith with allow for more multimedia like experiences on the web. We are an audio and visual culture. Would you expect no music on CNN or ESPN. Those clients clients who want music on their sites, me being one of them, recognize wanting to stimulate as many senses as possible for marketing to our customers. The question is, why NOT have music or even better, a narrative voiceover? Common guys, every one and there mother can put together a website. What sets you professionals apart is the ability to DESIGN. These clients are bussiness owners who are future thinkers, you better listen to their wants, and insatead of hating sites with music, DESIGN one that knocks peoples socks off. Would you ever listen to Star Wars without the music track. Expand your abilities.
Tastefully done music on a website is soon going to be nessasary. Ever increasing bandwith with allow for more multimedia like experiences on the web. We are an audio and visual culture. Would you expect no music on CNN or ESPN. Those clients clients who want music on their sites, me being one of them, recognize wanting to stimulate as many senses as possible for marketing to our customers. The question is, why NOT have music or even better, a narrative voiceover? Common guys, every one and there mother can put together a website. What sets you professionals apart is the ability to DESIGN. These clients are bussiness owners who are future thinkers, you better listen to their wants, and insatead of hating sites with music, DESIGN one that knocks peoples socks off. Would you ever listen to Star Wars without the music track. Expand your abilities.
AdamZ said:
The more likely question is would you come to Macrumors, or slashdot, or ebay, or yahoo, or amazon, if they all had music playing in the background. The key to effective design is to compliment what people are doing, whether its listening to music or watching tv or sitting in a cubical on lunch break. Music competes, not compliments. Watching TV or a movie and surfing the web are very different things. I also would suggest that the purpose of the site is to inform prospective clients, not entertain them.
AdamZ said:
That's different. The question should be: Would you expect music on CNN.com or ESPN.com? My answer: No. P.S. Both these sites don't have background music. What is necessary for one medium may not be necessary for another medium.
AdamZ said:
The day that most websites feature background music is the day I go back to reading books.
Flowbee said:
Link doesn't work as it sees the referrer is macrumors.com
Anybody **wishing** to hear this song go here: http://midisource.freeservers.com/ and then click the 'Wedding March (Here Comes The Bride) ' link.
Thanks for clearing that up. I've removed the link form the original post.
[Note: The links to the songs on Midisource may not show up if you have PithHelmet enabled.]
[Note: The links to the songs on Midisource may not show up if you have PithHelmet enabled.]
AdamZ said:
I can garauntee that that will never be the case. Why? It's annoying. Period. I've never seen a site that included background music that worked well. Yes, you want any video or animation sequences to have accompanying audio, but for a standard page, it's got to be the most obnoxious thing on the web.
This is a generally widespread sentiment. Look at this thread. Probably 1% of people would actually like this. The rest of us go to the competitors, music free, site and the offending business goes under, along with their aweful musicical webpage. If I ever end up at a site with background music, and I don't see a button to turn it off within .5 seconds I hit the back button and leave. And never visit again.
This simply won't become the norm becuase people don't like it. Nothing to do with the fact that you CAN do it easily now, it's a matter of usability.
Rob
AdamZ said:
I completely 100% disagree. Having music, or sounds of any kind, start up as soon as a user loads a page is terrible design. Having multimedia at the controls of the user is another thing.
You know what I am doing right now while typing this? Listening to a tune from my iTunes library, while surfing.
You know what I was doing an hour ago? Photoshopping a logo for a client, with the laptop on my...well, lap... sitting next to my wife who was watching t.v. I was also surfing the web in the background when I needed a sanity break from the PS document.
Yesterday I met a friend for lunch, and while he was finishing up his work I jumped on their wireless network and surfed a bit.
In ALL of those cases, I would have been PISSED if I loaded a webpage and audio started playing out of nowhere, stamping on my iTunes song. My wife would have been pissed if it screwed up her watching her movie. It would have been embarrassing to my buddy to have audio start blaring out of his cubicle area.
Nope.... audio and video need to be at the control of the user.
Edit: Your Star Wars analogy is a bit off. When I sit down to watch a movie I expect sound. When I surf it is usually while multi tasking on other things, such as watching that movie, listening to tunes, iChatting, etc. If you took a poll the vast majority of people do NOT expect sound when surfing the web, can't remember where their speakers are set, etc. People want control of their computer, and sounds shooting off unexpectedly is not control.
Stampyhead said:
ChicoWeb said:
snkTab said:
I do agree with snkTab professionalism. You do not talk your client out of something becase you can't do it. It shows your shortcoming as a problem solver and as well as a communicator.
As for the sound on web site, it all depends on contents and style of the site. There are sites that have sound that enriches the contents tremendously. This applies to site contents that is more entertainment and fashion oriented.
Having a beautiful classical track such as the Bach Aria with wedding picture can bring tears to your eyes and make the contents more meaningful.
As a designer, your expertise is to communicate and to solved problems. A good designer challenges and pushes the envelope and make it successful with given assets and guidlines.
I had a client once who DEMANDED that his website play the sound from THX certified movies when it booted up. You know that annoying horn blast while the letters explode or whatever it is.
We tried telling him many times that 1)It was cheesy as hell and 2)It's illegal to use that clip because we don't own it and we'll get sued.
I think eventually my brain dead boss just made him sign a wavier that said he was responsible if Lucas films found out and sued.
fyi> I don't work for this company anymore.
We tried telling him many times that 1)It was cheesy as hell and 2)It's illegal to use that clip because we don't own it and we'll get sued.
I think eventually my brain dead boss just made him sign a wavier that said he was responsible if Lucas films found out and sued.
fyi> I don't work for this company anymore.