Melody Pods: In Store & Client Centred Background Music, Messaging and Media Network

Background and overhead music and messaging international service

  • Features
  • Solutions
    • Restaurants & Fast Food
    • Cafes & Coffee Shops
    • Gyms & Health Clubs
    • Spas & Wellbeing
    • Hotels & Hospitality
    • Retail & Malls
    • Receptions & Waiting Rooms
    • Medical Offices & Clinics
    • Beauty Salons
    • Supermarkets/Convenience
    • Managed Music Service
    • Franchisees
    • Music Branding
    • Overhead Messaging
    • Jukebox App For Bars
    • UK Royalty Free Music
    • Partnerships
  • Music
  • Background Music
  • Partners
  • Support

The Extra Challenges Of WiFi’ed Internet Radio In Your Business

April 30, 2013 by Guy Lewis

20130430-125651.jpgInternet radio is becoming more popular in the consumer market but it doesn’t translate completely, as yet, into commercial environments because of the challenges of providing a 100% reliable quality if service.

No streaming music service or Internet radio will offer 100% end to end availability because they don’t have control of the end to end solution.

These service providers can provide a level of service depending on their own centralised infrastructure however in most cases the real challenges begin once the stream enters the local telecoms network and the local area network.

Broadband providers offer services based on a contention ratio that means in busy times you will be competing for the same bandwidth as your neighbours. In most cases telecoms providers seem to have this well managed although the challenge is constantly increasing as more services become network connected.

Within the local area network things get even more busy. For example a coffee shop needs to offer wi fi for free to compete now. Added to this your own business traffic using that same broadband connection. And lastly, if you are using a wi fi connected device such as a phone or tablet to receive the Internet radio stream, you will probably be then sending the audio output back out onto the wi fi network to Air Play or DLNA wi fi connected devices thus doubling up the actual stream of the original radio.

The result of this is a music stream that suddenly cuts out and you have no idea when it will start playing again or indeed if it will be interrupted again.

Melody Pods’ music services are different in that we offer our services for downloading our music to devices. From these devices you can stream via wi fi.

But also you can consider a local connection to a Bluetooth sound system and avoid wi fi all together. Bluetooth, in our opinion is the best solution for small businesses and it’s our recommendation for businesses using simple sound system solutions.

Even simpler is to connect via a quarter inch earphone jack into the back of a sound system.

These options can make a huge difference to a busy commercial environment. Removing services from broad band and wi fi enables you to realise a highly available and uninterrupted music service to compliment you business ambience, leaving the rest of your business and your customers to maximise the usage of your broadband and wifi services.

Filed Under: Sound Systems Tagged With: Internet radio, Wifi

Android Alternatives To The IPod

April 17, 2013 by Guy Lewis

Android Mp3 Players; Alternatives To The Ipod

Android Mp3 Players; Alternatives To The Ipod. (source: http://liliputing.com/2011/10/8-android-alternatives-to-apples-ipod-touch.html)

My family have a long history with ipods now. In fact, the latest versions, enabling Facetime functionality via WiFi provides some exciting options for the younger generation who can delay their commitment to monthly networking bills for the rest of their lives just a little longer.

However, for those of us looking for the cheapest device to play music in our businesses these devices provide realistic alternatives to using a mobile phone to play music and to an ipod which otherwise would be the only option for an app based royalty free music playing system. In addition, they provide an even cheaper way get background music into your business.

An article here covers some of the current possible alternatives to the ipod, which is great for the customer in terms of competition. Considering the need for businesses to look at delivering a system for background mood music and the potential for the need for a large budget, it is great to see the combination of an Android music player linked with a bluetooth sound system playing Melody Pods music.

Why spend thousands on a dedicated music storage player with traditional performance and copyright licenses when you can get all you need from an Android mp3 player or an ipod either running the MelodyPods player app and a Melody Pods subscription ?

Soon we will be doing some design exercises into creating solutions for small businesses around budget mobile devices that highlight the reduction in costs that achieve the same objective of much more expensive and more complicated solutions.

Filed Under: Sound Systems

Mobile Replaces Satellite For Background Music Distribution

April 7, 2013 by Guy Lewis

satellite radio

Satellite radio is costly and still requires costly licensing for playing of music.

 

Mobile smartphone technology provides many opportunities to create disruption in existing markets that may have been doing the same thing the same way for many years and in fact, don’t provide customers with the best value possible anymore.

Secure Internet distribution to mobile music playing devices is one great example of this.

By replacing old satellite systems at a fraction of the cost and delivering the same quality of service businesses can gain better access to musicians who are producing music to meet more exacting needs because of improved feedback loops with customers.

mobile devices play music

mobile devices play music at the fraction of the cost if included in a royalty free subscription service like MelodyPods’ service.

 

 

Added to this the value of royalty free music, music that is licensed without being registered to any traditional performing rights society, therefore requires no additional performing or compositional / copyright licensing or royalty collection, and you have a great value service that businesses will gain great help in supporting their businesses.

Filed Under: Sound Systems Tagged With: elevator music, Musak, satellite music streaming.

Your Security Is Taken Seriously Here At Melody Pods

March 3, 2013 by Guy Lewis

Keep Your Data Safe

Business Critical Security

With news of security breaches becoming daily occurrences (see this news from Evernote who business professionals trust to hold their business planning and operational documents) it’s worth asking all your business services partners how well do they secure your personal data.

Here at Melody Pods we take a view that although we use industry strength security and security policies (around passwords and managing software and security updates promptly) we know that if the best corporates in the US can be hacked then anyone can be, given the motivation to do so.

Therefore we took a very early decision not to be involved in managing and holding your bank and card data. We partner only with merchants that will provide this service for both of us so our store is never a location for stored card details.

Secondly, our server does not hold any of your business critical data. You only trust is with your user id, password and a given email address, all of which you can set up to be completely independent of any other related service you have. So for example, you can create an email account on your own system for only communicating with us.

Secure Purchasing & Account Management

SSL Certificate
SSL Certificate

Both registration with subscription ordering plus account access is achieved with Secure Sockets Layer certificates over Https transmissions (SSL).

Additional policies.

We will never email you asking for you to re register your details. You should always look at any link given to ensure the domain name is the same as the recipient and always keep your own virus software up to date on your own computers.

Additionally we will be introducing a regular security forum for all customers who want to talk and share their concerns and requirements around the storage of their data.

Melody Pods complies with the UK Data Protection Act.

Filed Under: Sound Systems

The benefits of downloads over streaming

March 2, 2013 by Guy Lewis

With the new growth in streaming subscription services it seems to me the music listener’s consciousness is maturing to being served with music online. However for a reliable constant feed of music with no embarrassing gaps in the playing streams need lower quality music compression formats to be reliable.

Downloads can offer higher qualty music formats but ultimately won’t be able to offer such a massive music base as a stream service. However how much music do you really want?

We can compare these services to the radio which is a mature and well developed way of servicing up music to listeners.

Satelight services offer the quality that radio offers in that it is uninterrupted but it offers higher quality than the radio offers so you could be streaming CD quality via satelight instead of the fm quality radio can offer. Digital radio offers an increase quality here of course.

Safelight offers this but with the increased cost of the service and the increased cost of the equipment required. Start up costs are many hundreds even before you consider your sound system and any wiring and extra speakers you will want to add. If you are a small business it would be hard to justify this cost for your in store background music.

Many small businesses are now digitising their own personal music and bringing their phone or mp3 players in store and into spas for example to simply play the music they have chosen themselves. Simple.

So, since smart phones are becoming popular and within the cost reach of business professionals this could be seen as a sunk cost already, or even provide a dedicated device that is held into when you upgrade your phone. Our services do not require the lasted phones or the fasted processors to work.

Simple music playing solutions are now appearing with some online music libraries now offering a subscription based downloading service. These services download the music to your iPod or phone ready to play leaving your Internet connection (or you may not even have one at work!) clear for other network activities that may affect a streamed service during the busy working day.

The challenge of time to download your tracks as opposed to streaming is only encountered for the first download with any new subscription if the system is designed correctly. The first download will be large and if the system is designed well, it will provide updates to the download that partly replace the music you have each month. You will need to check you have enough space on your device before you download.

If the first download is left to do its work over night the music will not interrupt your dayly work, plus you can download from anywhere that has a good wifi connection so you don’t have to be in the office waiting around for this. Simply download the app, rigister and subscribe, then leave the music to download whilst you chill from your working day.

So whilst streaming is growing for the consumer market it seems to me a little too early for the business market.

Filed Under: Sound Systems

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Next Page »

In more detail for your business

Massage & Therapy Spas
Coffee Shops & Cafes
Convenience Stores & Supermarkets
Restaurants
Medical Offices & Clinics
Beauty & Cosmetic Clinics
Retail & Malls
Hotels & Hospitality
Receptions & Waiting Rooms
Gyms & Health Clubs
Franchise Businesses
Bargain Retailing
Jewelry Retailing
Furniture and Furnishings Retailing
Overhead Messaging / Advertising Network.
International wholesale service
UK Music Licensing Services

Articles & News Blog

  • Business Challenges
  • Coffee shops & cafes
  • Content Media Networks
  • Country Legals
  • Franchise Networks
  • Hotels and Hospitality
  • Marketing & Promotions
  • Massage Wellbeing Spa Retreats
  • Melody Pods News
  • Mobiles and Music
  • Music Branding
  • Music Production
  • Outsourcing Service Providers
  • Sound Systems
  • Technology
PayPal Acceptance Mark
SSL Certificate
SSL Certificate

Music For Businesses

What Is In-Store Music?
Music For Retail
Music For Cafes
Music For Spas
Music For Hotels
Music For Restaurants
Music For Gyms
Music For Receptions
PayPal Acceptance Mark
SSL Certificate
SSL Certificate

Site map
About Melody Pods

Support

Article Categories

  • Business Challenges
  • Coffee shops & cafes
  • Content Media Networks
  • Country Legals
  • Franchise Networks
  • Hotels and Hospitality
  • Marketing & Promotions
  • Massage Wellbeing Spa Retreats
  • Melody Pods News
  • Mobiles and Music
  • Music Branding
  • Music Production
  • Outsourcing Service Providers
  • Sound Systems
  • Technology

Copyright © 2023 · Melody Pods: In-Store Background Music