# Is FMOD not suitable for playing background music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Unity\ **Created:** [March 20, 2025, 7:40pm UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/is-fmod-not-suitable-for-playing-background-music/22714 "2025-03-20T19:40:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twocomet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@twocomet](https://qa.fmod.com/u/twocomet)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 7:40pm UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/is-fmod-not-suitable-for-playing-background-music/22714/1 "2025-03-20T19:40:19Z")
```auto if (!is3D) instance.setProperty(FMOD.Studio.EVENT_PROPERTY.CHANNELPRIORITY, this.loop ? 256 : 100); ``` I am using FMOD to play sound effects and background music. Currently, all sounds are being played from a single management system. However, when multiple sound effects repeatedly play and stop, the background music sometimes stops as well. I tried setting priorities, but the background music still gets interrupted. Is FMOD not suitable for playing background music? ---
**Author:** ![li\_fmod](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/li_fmod/32/6577_2.png) [@li\_fmod](https://qa.fmod.com/u/li_fmod)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2025, 12:06am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/is-fmod-not-suitable-for-playing-background-music/22714/2 "2025-03-24T00:06:51Z")
Hi, Thank you for sharing the information. > [@twocomet](#): > > I am using FMOD to play sound effects and background music. > Currently, all sounds are being played from a single management system. > However, when multiple sound effects repeatedly play and stop, the background music sometimes stops as well. > I tried setting priorities, but the background music still gets interrupted. > Is FMOD not suitable for playing background music? This does sound like an issue related to [voice stealing](https://fmod.com/docs/2.02/studio/advanced-topics.html#stealing-and-virtualization) and [channel count limits](https://fmod.com/docs/2.02/unity/settings.html#virtual-channel-count). I found a similar discussion that might be helpful : [Lower Priority Events Are Voice Stealing Highest Priority Events - #2 by cameron-fmod](https://qa.fmod.com/t/lower-priority-events-are-voice-stealing-highest-priority-events/13711/2) Additionally, could you please enable API Error logging and set the Logging Level to “Log” ([Unity Integration | 8. Settings | 8.2 Initialization | 8.2.1 Logging Level](https://fmod.com/docs/2.02/unity/settings.html#logging-level))? This will provide more detailed logs in the console. If possible, please share the full log output so we can investigate further. ![](https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXf3hzQKO-laUrl8Eskh_88bDYERuaJiUKcF2sOg55mVGIZsalD0U1tzLej4DDUgRpwvdwCNF9091GnL91o5vQlA1bOaZo4QMu8lpWcA-tAeEVXYbkW1f03TmaHtFZqoPpEmrlnR3WXh4g2TwECp52EFOb70?key=_2Q9-kUJZBt5PiJ8ILZQyg) ---
**Author:** ![twocomet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@twocomet](https://qa.fmod.com/u/twocomet)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2025, 3:28pm UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/is-fmod-not-suitable-for-playing-background-music/22714/3 "2025-03-25T15:28:14Z")
[Console Log 1225.txt](https://qa.fmod.com/uploads/short-url/fKinBQjL12tL914LnxqxRdMsjpA.txt) (1.2 MB) I have attached the full console log from the moment the scene starts, where the background music begins playing, followed by several sound effects, until the background music stops. ==================================== I thought you might need the `fmod_editor.log` as well, so I replayed the scene and attached the log, including the point where the background music unexpectedly stops. [fmod\_editor.log](https://qa.fmod.com/uploads/short-url/7KoVEGBKEAdeFluClj8KkaDHNGL.log) (105.2 KB) ---
**Author:** ![li\_fmod](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/li_fmod/32/6577_2.png) [@li\_fmod](https://qa.fmod.com/u/li_fmod)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2025, 11:54pm UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/is-fmod-not-suitable-for-playing-background-music/22714/4 "2025-03-25T23:54:03Z")
Hi, Thank you for sharing the Log, it’s been very helpful! > [@twocomet](#): > > ```auto > if (!is3D) > instance.setProperty(FMOD.Studio.EVENT_PROPERTY.CHANNELPRIORITY, this.loop ? 256 : 100); > > ``` I noticed that for looping 2D sounds, the priority is set to `256`. If your intention is to assign the highest priority to these sounds, please note that [priority system](https://www.fmod.com/docs/2.00/api/core-api-sound.html#sound_setdefaults) operates on a scale where `0` represents the highest priority and `256` the lowest. To minimize the chances of a channel being stolen, you should assign it a lower priority value (`0` for highest priority). Conversely, assigning a higher priority value (`256`) increases the likelihood of that channel being stolen when the system needs to free up resources. I will also raise a task internally to update our documentation to make this less confusing. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Hope this helps, let me know if the issue persists. ---
**Author:** ![twocomet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@twocomet](https://qa.fmod.com/u/twocomet)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2025, 4:53am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/is-fmod-not-suitable-for-playing-background-music/22714/5 "2025-03-26T04:53:19Z")
How can I reference and call `Sound::setDefaults` from `EventDescription` or `EventInstance`? Could you provide an example code? ---
**Author:** ![twocomet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@twocomet](https://qa.fmod.com/u/twocomet)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2025, 11:41am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/is-fmod-not-suitable-for-playing-background-music/22714/6 "2025-03-26T11:41:52Z")
Even if I set it to 0 with the code above, the music still turns off. ---
**Author:** ![li\_fmod](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/li_fmod/32/6577_2.png) [@li\_fmod](https://qa.fmod.com/u/li_fmod)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 2:22am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/is-fmod-not-suitable-for-playing-background-music/22714/7 "2025-03-27T02:22:38Z")
> [@twocomet](#): > > How can I reference and call `Sound::setDefaults` from `EventDescription` or `EventInstance`? Could you provide an example code? Apologies for the earlier confusion, I shared the incorrect link. I intended to reference [Channel::setPriority](https://www.fmod.com/docs/2.00/api/core-api-channel.html#channel_setpriority) to illustrate the priority scale: ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/uploads/fmod/original/2X/f/f709d754e81e8b1e9790464b085669d3a4fd1281.png) Your approach of setting the priority on the `EventInstance` is appropriate. > [@twocomet](#): > > Even if I set it to 0 with the code above, the music still turns off. If the code is not working as expected, have you considered adjusting the Event’s [Priority](https://fmod.com/docs/2.02/studio/event-macro-controls-reference.html#priority) directly within FMOD Studio? You can find this setting on the master track of the event: ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/uploads/fmod/original/2X/b/bbb11ab68107315d76c1446c5868dfbfb99bbc5f.png) Additionally, based on the log you provided, I have noticed some `ERR_CHANNEL_STOLEN` errors related to the `Spider_Level` sound, which could be causing the background music to stop. Have you considered increasing both the `Virtual Channel Count` and `Real Channel Count`, or setting the `Max Instances` property for the background music event? A similar discussion can be found here: [Err\_channel\_stolen - #2 by jeff\_fmod](https://qa.fmod.com/t/err-channel-stolen/18109/2)