I see things.  I see a lot.

One of the things I saw the other day was a post by the prolific and well-respected voice actor Pat Duke, on the VoiceOverUniverse FB Group:

That piqued my interest!  Mostly ’cause I’d never thought about it.

I just assumed Union Voice Actors were in the mix on V123 and Voices.com under psuedonyms, Fi-Core, or blatantly skirting union rules.   But really…why not a P2P (Pay to Play) for Union talent?  Well, despite some fervent cajoling from people I greatly respect, Dave Courvoisier is still a non-union talent (waiting to see what SAG/AFTRA does with their merger talks)…and a Union P2P would REALLY make me feel left out.

So I trotted on over to RealTimeCasting.com.au and began the registration process.  The site clearly states that they are a proud supporter of MEAA, Equity, ACTRA, AFTRA & SAG, but nowhere in their online FAQ’s did I see that you were unallowed if you weren’t union. My registration sailed through with only a request for my agent agent’s name, which I found in their provided list.  Maybe only Union jobs will be offered, which would certainly leave me out in the cold.

Not only did I find it an easy site to navigate, but right there on the front page was a great offer:  “RealtimeCasting registration for Voice Artists and Studios is FREE until June 30, 2012″.

Clipped from: realtimecasting.com.au (share this clip)

I’m not entirely sure how much hope I have that this non-domestic P2P will start piling up audition requests in my email box…but I have to admit that Germany-based Bodalgo has done well by me so far, so I’ll withold judgement.

Right now, all I can do is thank Pat Duke, and pass along this information.  I guarantee, you’ll find the names of people you recognize on this site who’ve already registered.

CourVO

She said they were all over Twitter.  I checked it out, and indeed, they are beginning to apparently market a new subscription site for voice actors.

TheVoiceRealm sparse website says:

• The Voice Realm is a brand new way for advertisers to source world class voice talent at competitive rates.
• Right now we’re on the hunt for voice talent that are in tune with the industry, can offer the best quality sound and assure clients that they will receive the best service.

On the site, they ask for your basic info:  website URL, email, etc…and there’s a way to upload your demo.  They say they’ll get back to you.  I tweeted and asked them if they’d agree to an interview for my blog, but they said :  “…we will be sending media release closer 2 launch, but UR welcome to ask any questions regarding submissions.”

For now, I see no harm in signing-up and seeing what they’re all about.

Let me know if you’ve discovered something about them beyond what you see here.

CourVO

P.S.  Somebody at VoiceRealm noticed this blog article, and requested my email to send the following message:

Thanks again for the post.

Just to clarify, we are not a ‘subscription based service’. We are currently sourcing the best voice talent, who have home studios and are committed to the industry.

We’re gearing up for a big launch and are dedicated to keeping the artists best interests at the forefront.

We’ll keep you in the loop!

Bodalgo?  They’re doing fine.  India, China, Japan…they all seem to be churning out opportunities for North American English these days.

What about Australia?

I first blogged about Talent Please in April.

I’ll be honest, I’m not a member — yet — but I did download their mighty fine iPhone app, and I’ve had a number of email conversations with spokeswoman Jana Wilkes.  Yes, you could say TP is a P2P.  But let’s face it, this is a VERY different market…and apparently there’s been some lively action for American talent on this roster.  I have a good feeling about Talent Please.

Here’s what Jana told me “…With talent please, we strive for quality of artists, rather than quantity. We want to be deliver the world’s best voices to the industry in the most effective way, saving time and creating more opportunities for voice artists. We therefore accept applications for registration, and review each demo before we list anyone on the app. You can have up to three demos (each at 2MB) and 5 headshots (cropped to square, 1MB), and as well as an app listing, while we are developing the desktop PC/mac version, we’ll list you on our soundcloud page with your own unique link. We will promote you on our Facebook and Twitter pages, and broadcast the app to ad agencies, producers and studios throughout Australia, the US, the UK and other voice over markets…”

THE PITCH

Talent Please has been running a ½-price sale on their membership that was supposed to run out today, June 30th.

However, this special offer is being extended through the July 4th Holiday exclusively through this blog.

Remember:
- creatives and producers worldwide get instant access to your voice, anywhere, anytime
- most extensive search criteria – users can search age, location, gender, up to 60 different styles, accents
- Direct contact and links to your agent’s page, profile and contact details for bookings and avails
- assisted marketing support with profile links and promotion throughout our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and SoundCloud accounts
- Ongoing assistance and access to voice over resources
- PLUS FREE download from Abbe Holmes, Voiceover Coach (cc’d) link: http://voiceovercoach.com.au/shop/ – any of the items from the Shop

I WANT TO STRESS THAT I AM NOT GETTING ONE RED CENT FOR THIS PROMOTION!

Click on this SPECIAL TALENT PLEASE  ½-PRCE SALE LINK, to sign-up.

This means their usual annual subscription of $150 is now only $75, or you get a half-year free, whichever way you want to look at it.

When you click on the link just above, you’ll see the sign-up says it expires June 30…but — trust me — it’s good through tthe 4th.  I’ve asked Jana to change the date, so as not to foster any confusion.

I’m also attaching the talent application in a .doc if you want to use that.  Talent Application Word DOCUMENT.

Good Luck!

CourVO

My thanks to Jana Wilkes who mentioned the service on my FaceBook Group: Voice-Over Friends.  Jana is on the staff at Talent Please and an actor at Epic Talent.  The fact that she’s the sales and marketing manager doesn’t phase me. She’s just…marketing!..and we all benefit from the referral.

Apparently so far, the bulk of the talent signed-on are from Australia, as the service is based there, but Jana says “downloads in the US are growing fast”.  The app doesn’t make it very clear how to get yourself listed, though, AS a talent…so I wrote Jana to ask about that, and here’s what she said:

“…With talent please, we strive for quality of artists, rather than quantity. We want to be deliver the world’s best voices to the industry in the most effective way, saving time and creating more opportunities for voice artists. We therefore accept applications for registration, and review each demo before we list anyone on the app. You can have up to three demos (each at 2MB) and 5 headshots (cropped to square, 1MB), and as well as an app listing, while we are developing the desktop PC/mac version, we’ll list you on our soundcloud page with your own unique link. We will promote you on our Facebook and Twitter pages, and broadcast the app to ad agencies, producers and studios throughout Australia, the US, the UK and other voice over markets…”

Ok, then.  You can write Jana Wilkes by messaging her on her FaceBook Page

Let me know what your experience is with this service.

CourVO

Dave, his mic, AND his iPad

C’mon…admit it…somewhere along the line you took…or you had someone else take, a picture of you at the mic.

Maybe now it’s worth it to try that again…only REALLY give it a good “shot”.

Why?  ‘Cause your winning shot may get you an iPad…and you don’t have to read far in this blog to know that I believe this to be a revolutionary evolutionary tool at the voice-actor’s disposal.

Voices.com is making this possible with their Photo Contest.  It’s a pretty nice promotion for Voices.com, ’cause the picture has to include a screen shot of their website…but if you want an iPad bad enough, and have a nice smile…this may be worth the time.  See all the directions for the Voices.com Photo Contest.

CourVO

What to call ‘em?…P2P?  Voice Clearinghouse?  Subscription Site?  Voice-Seeker Sites?  Most charge a fee, some don’t…VoicePerMinute does not charge that I can tell (yet — it’s still “Beta”)..until you book a job.  This is the VoicePerMinute FAQ page.

‘Safe to say that Voices.com, Voice123.com, and maybe VOPlanet are the top-3 in the USA…Bodalgo, maybe in the European Market.  VoicePerMinute seems to be of the international flavor, too.

Here’s what I know:  They’re on LinkedIn with about 50 connections, Twitter with about 55 followers (this is where I found ‘em), and are registered on the VO-BB.  Peter O’Connell, and Connie Terwilliger are listed talent (me too, now).  Peter and Connie are no slouches…so I take some comfort in that.

Their site is easy to navigate and register as a talent.  Give ‘em a few details, upload your demos, post your picture, decide your per-minute rate, and you’re there.

Check ‘em out:  VoicePerMinute.com.  Maybe it’s a Voice-seeker…er…P2P…uh…subscription site that’s for you.

CourVO

He’s also a practicing attorney as well as a seasoned voice-actor.

His compelling argument against a (ahem) certain P2P site is the kind of stuff that belongs in a voice-over primer (if there was one).

You can find his article almost everywhere today, but I’ll recommend you go to John Florian’s VoiceOverXtra to read it.

BTW, he doesn’t name the service he dissects, but I will:  VOICEJOCKEYS.com

CourVO

It’s called Voice Over Pavilion.

Taji wrote me to say:

“The Directory is a no frills straight forward place where casting agencies and advertising firms can come and search for voiceover artist for any upcoming project.  Submitting a listing is not for free… the packages range from $5 per year to $52.49 per year but they don’t go beyond that.”

Cruise on over to the VoiceOver Pavilion and give it a look-see…like Michael Minetree’s site mentioned below, the exposure may well be worth it, even more so with Taji’s site if you’d like a bit more international exposure.

Nice job, Taj!

CourVO

Again, PieHole is a service matching voice actors with mostly European clients and studios, based on the relationships they’ve engendered through their script writers.  I don’t think that’s being done here in the US in any organized way.  PieHole is expanding into the UK and Canada, with hopes to put an office here in the US eventually.  As far as I know they’re always considering new talent for their service.

Click HERE to see me waxing eloquent on all sorts of topics related to voice-over.

CourVO

The woman was an early adopter of Social Media, and continues to lead the pack among her VO peers.

Now, she’s got a boffo idea that she’s parlayed into something of substance….well,virtual substance anyway.

Visit VOICETWEET.COM now and sign-up.  The site is intuitive, simple, accessible, and …well….purple!

Check it out, and be sure to let Trish know if you find something wonky with the site.  She claims it’s just a little side business, but I think it’s got legs!

Thanks, Trish!

CourVO