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Including Music In Your Blog

Many blog owners are experimenting with multimedia, as part of their blogs.

People who have 5 channel audio / 3D video systems, and various sources of content for each, look at their blogs and decide that the next frontier, for decorating their blog, has to be music. Any blog with a visual theme surely deserves an audible theme, also.

Unfortunately, many blog readers like to surf the net, while listening to their favourite tunes. People who are listening to new age music won't appreciate surfing to a blog that makes their computer suddenly start to play grunge rock. Nor will classical music fans appreciate the latest rhythm and blues, or urban beat, hit tune.

Unexpected music can create both a bandwidth annoyance, and an audible distraction. People surfing blogs in a shared environment - for instance a public library - won't appreciate any audio content, in any blog.

If you want to decorate your blog with your favourite playlist, to complement the mood of the blog, that's OK - as long as you make the music optional.

Put a player, with a "Start" button, at top center of the blog page. Services like MixPod and PlayList provide free embeddable players, and have a nice library of tunes.

Adding either a MixPod or PlayList player to your blog isn't difficult.
  1. Build your own playlist - or find an existing one that you like.
  2. Get the Embed code for your player. Remember to select "Do not play immediately", when setting up your player, where that is an option.
  3. Now, add the code to the blog. Here, you have 2 choices.
    1. Add the player as a new HTML gadget.
      • Add a new HTML / JavaScript gadget, to your blog.
      • Paste the player code, into the new gadget.
      • Save the gadget.
      • Position the new player, where it's convenient and visible to your readers.
    2. Alternately, paste the player code, into any post, along with any accompanying text - maybe lyrics.
  4. You're done - test your blog, now. And wait for your readers to check out your musical taste. You can check out my tests, if you wish.
What ever music accessory you install, please - make sure that AutoPlay (or any similar setting) is disabled.

Comments

none provided said…
I completely agree with you.
I am both an avid blog reader and have a few of my own blogs.

It's a real tick off when blogs have playlists embedded which start playing immediately. Sometimes the music is too loud, so it makes you jump, or it's something you simply don't like.

Worst thing is that, most blog owners tend to put these playlists at the very bottom of their blog, so it's so hard to find them and turn them off.

There are some blogs which I simply don't visit because of the annoying music.
Lori E said…
Right before I came here I hastily clicked out of a blog I follow because the music came on. Ugh. If you want to shut it off you have to hunt around to find the gadget and in some of the more crowded side bars that can take some doing.
This should be required reading.
Jim McKee said…
Thank you for this. I was just telling my wife last night that music that "autoplays" on a web site is considered bad web design.
DaisyCrazy said…
I agree as well. I have written many posts about the music that starts on its own as soon as you visit a blog and some people were angry or just plain rude because they thought I was trying to tell them what to do and what kind of ambiance their blog should have.

What I was trying to tell them though was how not to loose readers. I for one stop reading a blog that forces me to listen to something I haven't chosen.

I do hope over time some of these blog owners realize their mistake and give the option to their readers to listen to the blog music or not.
KimberFNP said…
This is a test to see if I can post on blogs now after following your advice on google. Thanks

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