Statistics show that approximately 34% of callers who hang up will never call you back. In addition, callers wait an estimated 70% longer on the line when they are listening to interesting information about the company they are calling. These statistics suggest that providing a customized message that is tailored to your company can be more effective than playing music or leaving the customer in silence while they’re on hold.
When you work with a professional audio production company, that uses legally licensed music and professional voice over talent and has experience editing audio for telephony applications, the sound quality is going to be much better than something put together by an amateur or something you've recorded and thrown together yourself. Professional audio production is very cost-effective, and you'll get a big bang for your buck by going professional.

The most engaging messages are slightly unique in nature. They combine a mix of clever scripting and music. Slight humour is often used to promote a product or service and is usually quite effective. It's also very important to choose both the written and spoken tone that appeals to the characteristics of your audience. If your target market is the younger generation, a script that includes slang words and is quite laid back would be an excellent choice. If your target market is primarily business professionals, then a more articulate choice of words would be more suitable.
You might be thinking, “Great, thanks for the info, I’ll go pick something neutral, like classical, or upbeat, like pop.” Slow your roll—there’s a lot more to hold music than just genre.