Discussions

Is autoplay background music a good idea?

Posted by LoopHobbies • 2/08/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: autoplay, music

My friends and I are working on a blog together, and we just added in a new music widget. When I tried to set autoplay to off, my friend stopped me saying, "Everyone wants to hear the music when they visit. It'll impress people for sure!"

So far everyone I've talked to thinks having the music automatically play every time you visit or refresh a page is a good idea. I still think it'll just annoy people...

If you don't know what I'm talking about, here's our blog: loophobbies.blogspot.com

So BlogCatalog community, what do you guys/gals think about autoplay music on blogs?

User Comments

2/08/09

jan4insight

You think it'll just annoy people?
Well, no sh*t Sherlock ~ you gotta clue: It annoys the heck out of people!

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2/08/09

jjmezzio

No, avoid like plague. Music in background will drive most visitors away.

If you really, really, really super insist of having music in your blog, use a player and give the visitor the option to play your playlist without being forced. Use stop/play player.

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2/08/09

JayNeely

I hate auto-playing background music. It's the worst idea in web design.

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2/08/09

UnfortunateNames

agreed

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2/08/09

ClickHere

Extremely bad idea. Respect your visitors and give them the choice to listen or not.

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2/08/09

GabrielGadfly

I listen to music when I browse the internet. My music. Chosen from a list of songs that I like. I hate going to a website and having my ears blasted with the clashing sounds of my Mars Volta playing over someone else's Beyonce.

Put a music player on your site. But make it so the user has to click it to start playing.

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2/08/09

Friday13

You should only use it if you're looking to reduce traffic.

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2/08/09

timethief

No. Auto-play music on a blog can be a deterrent to some blog readers such as myself. I come to blogs to read posts. I select my own music. I believe that it's arrogant for any blogger to assume that I don't mind listening to their musical selections. If I'm not given the option to listen or not to music that the blogger has selected for me, then I click out and never return to that blog again.

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2/08/09

melindaville

Loophobbies. I think that autoplay is a fine idea if you are visiting a musician's site and they have their own music playing in the background. That is the only time I agree with having autoplay music. Other than this, I find it extremely annoying and usually will not visit blogs of people who have this. If someone is blogging about a song then it is appropriate to have a player that the reader has control over listening to.

Just my .02!

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1. 2/08/09
  
  legbamel
  
  Even on a musician's site, sometimes it irritates me, usually when I'm Stumbling and have no control over when such a site pops up in my browser.
2. 2/08/09
  
  melindaville
  
  legbamel--I do tend to agree with you--in all honesty, I would prefer to be in control of whatever music I listen to. BUT the only time I can see that it is at all forgivable is when musicians do it. My friends, the band, the Mutants, have autoplay on their MySpace site (at least they used to) but I forgive them becasue they are musicians--and also because I love my friends!
3. 2/08/09
  
  legbamel
  
  At least when I go to a MySpace profile on purpose, I know the music will autoplay. I don't mind that (you can't turn off the automatic start on those, can you?)
2/08/09

jake8955

Leave it off, and allow the visitor to turn it on if they wish.

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2/08/09

jan4insight

Okay, now that I've calmed down - and I'm sure you've gotten the picture from the above responses - let me take a more measured apporoach:

~First, thank you for asking! Lots of folks add every bell and whistle to their blog without even checking if it's a good idea. In this case, not. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

~Another point: lots of folks use their computers in public spaces like libraries. They really don't need to load someone's autoplay in these settings.

~In your friends' defense, I know how much fun it is to make a mix tape (I did it back in the day with a reel-to-reel) and get the "cool!" pats-on-tje-back from the two or three people who actually listen to it. If that's what they want to do, they so go another step and make a video with their mix, and post it to YouTube.

Just sayin'

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2/08/09

shambhukumar

you can use it but there must be option of stop/play otherwise visitor will be irritated.

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2/08/09

LoopHobbies

Wow, thanks for the quick replies!

Yeah, I turned it off. If my partners complain, I'll just link them to this topic.

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2/08/09

sisterofmercy

I don't like autoplay music, it's annoying and can slow down the loading of the page.

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2/09/09

Hawaiibadboy

i got really bad feedback when I had background music.

www.chris-ballard.blogspot.com

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2/09/09

intarso

I think music on websites is obnoxious. I have my own music that is usually already playing.

I vote no on the music.

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2/09/09

dratiffarid

I hate them.
I don't mind the option of playing if I want it though!

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2/09/09

Svelmoe

I leave sites which have auto-play music most of the time. Even if I can turn it off, then I do not want to visit such sites if I have any choice.

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2/09/09

burningwindmil

NOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo

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2/09/09

dude91

I hate when the music I play on my computer gets interrupted by background music of a site .

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2/09/09

siralmo

no it deters readers

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2/10/09

kurniadi

i want to open mind,to share about my self,what i love and not.so i agree if you put the music background.

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2/10/09

roentarre

It is a no no idea!

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2/10/09

theliterate

I would say no to that. It's quite annoying when I'm already listening to something, and something else pops up in the background. I tend to leave such sites right away.

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