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A New Hat

October 17, 2012 By 2 Comments

A highly regarded local Speech-Language Pathologist contacted me the other day.  I’m encouraged that my online VO profile brings people to my door, but even this advanced professional was in the dark about the current skills needed to make it in Voice Acting today.

Her approach was intriguing:  “I work with headliners and singers who have a voice problem.  We have access to many folks who would help your industry and have interests and talents you may be able to use….Do you have any connections getting someone into doing voice overs?”

(collective sigh, right?)

My response to her included this introductory statement:  “Voice Acting work in the present day has developed into a highly entrepreneurial independent freelance business model that requires many hats.”

OUR CHALLENGE

I’m not making fun of her or anyone who is not close to this business, and is unaware of the challenges of  succeeding in voice work. (BTW, I sent her to my blog article with oodles of links and references for newbies, including Peter O’Connell’s excellent VOICE OVER ENTRANCE EXAM).  Nor am I saying it’s our responsibility to educate everyone who comes to our door.

Any earnest voice actor could him-or-herself be overwhelmed by the needed skill set to be successful in this business…if they stop to think about it.  It would be easy to be self-defeated by that on a bad day.

THE NEW HAT

Well, now…add to your bag of tricks a new skill that you may have to rely on more and more:  YOU AS THE PRIMARY ADVERTISER FOR YOUR COMPLETED PRODUCTS…and I’m not just talking about demos on websites.  I’m saying you will not be paid for your finished work if you do not actively advertise and promote it.

Right now, this paradigm is rearing its ugly head mostly in the audiobook marketplace, and largely on the initiatives put forth by ACX.  Their “Royalty Share” model  asks you to assist in the promotion of the book you just narrated for no money upfront (paraphrased).  Your share of the royalties can be handsome if the book does well, and IF you are great at social media, and other forms of online promotion.  If you’re not, the returns could be meager.

WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE

An email from ACX yesterday notified me that my most recent narration of a Sci-Fi book called “Exile” was now available:  Here’s the notification:

Congratulations, EXILE – Book I of the Five Worlds Trilogy is now on sale at audible.com. And we plan to make it available on iTunes and Amazon.com within the next few days. Once you begin earning royalties on your audiobook, you will be able to monitor its sales on ACX.
To further galvanize interest in your audiobook, check out these tips on how to best promote yourself and your audiobook – and how you can capitalize on the ACX bounty program, which gets you $25 each and every time your audiobook is one of the first three purchases by a new Audible member. The more you promote your audiobook, the more you stand to earn. Good luck!

Here are some excerpts from the ACX site that outline a tutorial for promoting your work so it will sell well, and you will be eventually paid:

___________

Never promoted yourself online before? To get started, just take three simple steps. The payoff is worth it… And you just might have some good fun.

  1. Get on Facebook: Half a billion people are on board. You can find them.
  2. Try Twitter: It’s where information flows fast and freely. Dip your toes in.
  3. Join LinkedIn: This is home base for your professional profile. Be found there.

Feel like you could use some background? Learn the basics

Already on Facebook and Twitter?

Dive in deeper. Here are five ways to promote your work and make your online presence more effective:

  1. Start a blog: See how easy it is to build this potent tool
  2. Syndicate your content: Learn how to get more mileage from your online efforts
  3. Maintain your online identity: Follow these simple steps regularly to keep your information fresh
  4. Measure the impact: Find out how well your efforts are working
  5. Join the conversation: Discover ways to contribute to online discussions… and why you should

Extra Credit

Try these extra steps. They’re easier than you might think… and they pack a powerful punch.

  1. Try podcasting
  2. Get on YouTube

I just used about three or four of the above suggestions for promoting my book by writing this blog, and posting a link on FaceBook.  Who knows if it’ll be successful.

Luckily, while EXILE was a royalty-share deal, it was also under ACX’s stipend offer, which pays the narrator a set price for each finished hour.

I don’t mind using my Social Media skills in this way, but honestly, I much prefer being paid a solid dollar for earnest work up front.

CourVO

 

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Compensation, Marketing, Social Media/Networking Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

CrowdSourcing Rates Conundrum

October 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Didn’t I just say recently that topics, threads, forums, and articles about VO rates never go out of style?  See Rates Rebound of September 19th, 2012.

Yesterday, one of our colleagues noticed the article, too, and sent in a call for help.

Without mentioning the name of the person who posted the comment/question, or the person who is facing the rates issue, I’m turning over this real-world quandary to all of you for a crowdsourced answer.  This person’s conundrum has several classic twists, turns, and challenges.  We’ll all learn a little.

Have at it!  Let’s figure this out, and help a friend!

CourVO

______________________________

Unfortunately, I’m really in a bind here, trying to offer advice to one of my actors who’s picked up a gig doing news reading for a third-party distribution service catering to the blind market. It’s an intensive deal, too: every morning, every week; the news has to be from that morning – hence the commitment.

I can’t seem to find anything on assisting him with rates, though. This is his first gig of its kind, though he’s been a member of SAG for 15 years (background and stand-in work on major network shows and films.)

His voice is, in a word, exceptional. Unique. It has a natural gravitas which commands your attention. (Why do you think I love working with him? Besides him being a great guy and a serious professional in everything he does, that is.) So, I’d hate to encourage him to not bust out immediately with the SAG rate (it’s … pretty high) since he’s leery of it being shot down. He’s just a natural, rare talent. This is no doubt a job in which he could excel – along with many others.

But where to start?

Also, this is clearly a long-form project. He’s to deliver all audio self-produced and in finished form online immediately following recording. I can’t imagine how he couldn’t tack on a bit more for that, right? Most of the rates I see are for per-minute, short-form, one-offs. This is an intensive commitment for an indefinite period of time.

What should I advise?

Filed Under: Compensation, VO Community Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Rates Rebound

September 19, 2012 By 3 Comments

Mention VO rates, and you’re bound to get a vibrant response.  Such was the case with yesterday’s blog “Low-Balling Liability?”

Certain topical touchpoints in voice acting seem to hit a nerve, no matter how often they’re mentioned in blogs, forums, or groups.  Rates is one of them.  It’s so popular that BOTH of my LinkedIn groups on this subject see new subscribers every day.  (Setting VoiceOver Rates, and Voice-Over Rates – Private)

I’m not trying to beat a dead horse, but in an ever-changing marketplace, talking about compensation levels never really goes out of fashion or necessity.  SAG-AFTRA is a merged union.  Internet-based auditioning and delivery is more the norm than the exception.  New hopefuls are joining the ranks every day.  Rates SHOULD be discussed often and extensively.

Nearly all the responses were incredulously disgusted with the rates being put forth by ExpressVoices.com.  Things like:

  • “…these are bottom-feeders who make it impossible for VO professionals to make a living. It’s disgusting…”
  • “…this cannot possibly be the future of voice over. The writer sounds like an alien….”
  • “…what? Another shark in the murky waters of  the discount VO swamp?…”

And those were the people who wrote me private email.  Others chose to respond in the comments section of the blog.

One particular response stood out, though.  Here it is:  “…What is the minimum someone new to the field should accept?…”

The answer to that is almost beyond the time and space I have here to construct a response.  I suppose it’s best summed up in the words:  “aim high”.  Yes, I suppose a newbie is a little more unsure, less confident, and more willing to accept an entry-level scale.  Meh.  We’ve all been there.  Just….don’t settle for that in the long run.  With your improvements in talent, technology and training, constantly upgrade your pricing structure to match your achievements.

As I mentioned, talent unions’ best contribution to our business is that they ARE willing to set minimum pay standards.  As far as I’m concerned, these should be minimum starting points in negotiating both union and non-union jobs.

Here are three great resources available to us all that help set the standard (not exhaustive by any means, but handy).

Producer’s HandyDandy Voiceovers

VoiceOver Resource Guide

SAGAFTRA contracts

CourVO

Filed Under: Compensation, Freelance, Pricing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Low-Balling Liability?

September 17, 2012 By 4 Comments

In this post, I will not name the whistle-blower to protect the innocent.  It is not me who found this site.  That person received the notice (read below) as an email, and asked my opinion.

Over the years, I’ve moved off-center in the debate about the capitalist laissez-faire system of letting the marketplace settle where it will on the subject of rates.  Of course, it will do that anyway, due to economic forces.  But that doesn’t stop me or you from resisting it, and striking back where and when we can for a more sane level of freelance compensation for all the investment we put into our individual businesses.

I’m not entirely of the opinion that the talent unions have the answer either, but at least they’re willing to draw a line in the sand, and sometimes I think that’s what we all have to be willing to do.

I don’t agree with the proposal below, but ultimately, I pass no judgements on the organization’s business plan, nor on those who wish to be a part.  I could be the one in the wrong. Maybe this is the future. But I know that had I been a recipient of this offer, I would’ve politely said, “no”.

Maybe some of you rec’d the same verbiage you see below.  How are you responding?  How WOULD you respond?

CourVO

______________________________

Moving along to the final phase of talent selection for ExpressVoices.com.

This is an exciting time and before you dive in, I need to be clear of what I need and expect from you.  Here goes:

All talents must be full time VO professionals who, except for relatively brief amounts of time, are in their home studio daily. We are not looking for air talent that will cut a spot when they get off their shift. This is for full time Voice Talents- Pros. There are going to be occasions that you will be out or on vacation. ExpressVoices must be made aware of these occasions before they occur as far in advance as possible.

Turn around: This is Eastern Time. If you receive work prior to noon, it must be returned prior to 4p. If you receive work between noon and 4p, it must be returned prior to noon the following day or on Monday if received on a Friday. This is a no exception policy. Only you can judge if you can make this work in your time zone, with your other responsibilities. You must not miss a deadline. Should that occur, you may be removed from the roster.

ExpressVoices.com will be built around the very best voices ( you!), and quick service at a low price point. There will be a substantial marketing effort and advertising budget to make the company a success and you hopefully a great deal of money. It is not out of the realm of possibility for you to make four figures a month. Not the first day, but I would expect we will be doing quite well within six months.

Over three hundred talents have expressed a desire to part of ExpressVoices.com. From that number, we are down to fifty or so. The final roster will be between 8-15 men and 8-15 women. These talents must be pros in every sense of the word.

We’re looking for a 60 day initial commitment  after which you give us a thirty day notice if you’d like to move on.

Pay structure:
$20 for a dry :30. One take minimum. Should you wish to supply additional takes that is up to you.

$30 for a dry :60. One take minimum. Should you wish to supply additional takes that is up to you.

$20 for a dry:15 Must give two takes. Should you wish to supply additional takes that is up to you.

$20 for two different dry :10’s One take each minimum. Should you wish to supply additional takes that is up to you. If there is only one :10 the you must supply 2 takes minimum. Should you wish to supply additional takes that is up to you.

$20 for up to 3 different dry :05 tags. One take minimum. Should you wish to supply additional takes that is up to you.

Long form pay will be in 100 word increments- $30 for the first 200, $20 for each 100 or portion thereafter.

What about revisions?  If a spot needs to be redone due to client error, they will be charged. If you make an error, you redo the spot free of charge. There are going to be occasions where you followed the client direction and they are not happy for some reason. You may be asked to redo once at the discretion of ExpressVoices.com for no charge. We’ll keep a look out for abusive clients to make sure this isn’t ongoing.  Hopefully these occasions will be few and far between.

Audio Delivery:
Clean stereo MP3′s
-224kbps @ sample rate of 44100.
-Remove pops, clicks, loud breaths etc.
-All takes on one MP3
-Levels should be no more than -3
-No audio compression, time compression, EQ etc.
-Any edits should be within natural voice cadence regardless of the speed you are speaking (normal pauses etc).  In other words, do not edit things together in an unnatural way.  We should assume clients have no editing ability and will air your audio as is.
-All spots must be recorded at a minimum of .25 under requested time, example; :29.75 for a :30

The quicker you turn your work around, the better job you do, the greater likelihood clients will return to you again and again, often for years and years.

As you are professionals, all of the above will not be difficult. The better your quality control, the more work you will get.

ExpressVoices.com will not choose talent for the client. So, your initial work will be strictly from your commercial demo. It should be around one minute in length and represent your range. It should not include characters or voice effects of any kind or wild production values, whiz bangs and the like. All of those things take away from what the client wants to hear which is your voice and what you can do with the copy. The first spot on your demo should represent what you do best. Your commercial demo should not include promos, narrations, etc.  Commercials only.  I know many of you know all this, please forgive the lesson.

You will be paid monthly.

Please find a piece of :30 copy attached.  Please voice it and return it to this address.

I look forward to hearing you and am excited with the opportunity to work with you!

Filed Under: Compensation, Pricing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ranking Rates

February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Everybody struggles with setting freelance voice over rates.

Well, not everyone.

I know established talent who have set minimums for all sorts of contingencies.  $350 minimum session fee for turning on the microphone, regardless of the length of the copy.  25-cents/finished minute.  $50 per page, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, Arial 12-point typeface. $250 for the first hour, then $125 after that.  Quarter hours go for $50 each.

‘Course you could get around it all by joining the union.  Their rates are set in stone for reasons lost in the mists of time (kidding!)  Union rates may be more relevant VERY SOON if the AFTRA/SAG merger goes through.

I’ve tackled the subject of rates several times recently.  Paul Strikwerda and others, too.

See:  CourVO’s Blog:  Setting Rates, October, 2011

See: CourVO’s Blog: 20+ VoicOver Rate Sheets and Resources July, 2011

See: CourVO’s Blog:  VO Rates Rants, Feb. 2011

See: CourVO’s Blog: Setting VO Rates, June 2010

See Paul’s Blog:  Why You’re Leaving Money on the Table

See Paul’s Blog:  AudioBook Fees, What to Bid?

From time to time VOICES.com’s VoxDaily touches on this:  http://blogs.voices.com/voxdaily/2010/04/a_discussion_about_rates.html is an example.  And Edge Studio publishes a highly-regarded rate card.

Doing a search for “rates” on VoiceOverXtra also returns quite a few good resources.

I also administer two LinkedIn groups on this subject, one is private, one is public.

SETTING VOICE OVER RATES

VOICE-OVER RATES (private)

This issue is inevitably tied to honest appraisals of self-worth, time and equipment invested, and market variables.  No matter what others tell you…unyielding, fixed, hard-and-fast one-size-fits-all rates are a rarity.

Ask friends in the biz.  Research the topic.

The last thing you want to do is underprice your value, nor do you want to over-bid yourself out of a job.

One immutable law comes clear, though.  The more you think of yourself and your product, the higher esteem you will gain in the eyes of your client.  ‘Works like a charm.

One more thing:  be willing and able to say “no”.  “YES” can seem desperate sometimes when you know better.

A couple of recent articles on setting freelance (not necessarily VO rates):

Setting Freelance Rates:  Hourly or Per-Project?

Setting Rates: A Field Guide

CourVO

Filed Under: Compensation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“X” Man Stands His Ground

November 21, 2011 By 1 Comment

You gotta draw the line.  Stand up for yourself.

Peter Dickson did.  Maye we should all take a little lesson from him.

The booming Brit voice on the X-Factor saw a challenge to his job comfort coming, and (with a little help from his agent) put his foot down.

We may not all operate in the rarified air of performance that Mr. Dickson enjoys, but the principle is the same.  Roll over, or push back.

Peter pushed back, and it worked.

See how he “Threatened to Quit the Show”.

In a somewhat related matter.  You may want to review a recent blog by Paul Strikwerda entitled: “Those Bloody Bottom Feeders”

CourVO

 

 

Filed Under: Compensation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

ACX Incentive

July 11, 2011 By 10 Comments

The launch of Audible’s site for narrators in May sent ripples through the audiobook business.  The blog I wrote about ACX was one of my most-visited articles.

Check back in a few days, I’m working on some Q & A with one of the principal officers you’ll want to read.  In the meantime, the folks at ACX are offering some meaningful incentives you may want to consider as you decide on auditioning.  (note, offer assumes you’re “approved”…See below the release they sent me).

The offer below is a creative tool.  Overall, the compensation model ACX has devised is not perfect, but shows they did plenty of research and consideration before launch.  It reveals what I believe to be the widest spectrum of choices for narrators seeking more work, and hoping to find a pay solution that works for them.

ACX’s limited incentive plan:

To celebrate the first hundred ACX audiobooks in production, we have a new special offer for you, THIS OFFER IS ONLY FOR PRODUCERS WHO ARE EITHER “AUDIBLE APPROVED” OR WERE PART OF OUR BETA-TESTING PROGRAM EARLIER THIS YEAR.

If you accept a Royalty Share offer on any ACX title by August 31st, it comes not only with the usual extra $100 per-finished-hour stipend (e.g. $1,000 for a 10-hour audiobook), but we’ve sweetened the pot by making your second Royalty Share deal earn a $200 per-finished-hour stipend (e.g. $2,000 for a 10-hour audiobook), and your third Royalty Share deal earn a $225 per-finished-hour stipend (e.g. $2,250 for a 10-hour audiobook). See Stipend Offer Terms and Conditions for complete details and requirements. The stipend is, of course, in addition to the Royalties and Bounties you earn on sales of the audiobook. Here’s how it’ll work, step by step:

  1. Choose any book being offered as a Royalty Share deal. We especially recommend titles from this list, which were hand-picked by Audible’s editors for their good sales potential
  2. Submit your best audition
  3. If you get a Royalty Share offer on one (or more) of these titles, accept the offer.
  4. Upon your completion and approval of the audiobook, submit an invoice to ACX for $100 or $200 or $225 X the number of finished hours
  5. We pay you that fee
  6. You also earn half of the 50 – 90% escalator royalty on each sale of the audiobook (i.e. 25% – 45% as outlined here)
  7. You also earn half of any $25 bounty generate by downloads of the audiobook, as outlined here

You can get this per-finished-hour stipend offer on up to three productions, so don’t be shy about auditioning. Good luck!

Best,
The ACX Team

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Auditions, Compensation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

VO for Peanuts

March 25, 2011 By 1 Comment

Seasoned VO Talent and Casting Director J.S. Gilbert writes a perceptive blog article in reaction to a Parade Magazine story about respective pay scales for different professions.

At the bottom of the list:  you guessed it –  VO talent.

J.S.’s analysis of this state of affairs is well worth the read for the realism it may inject into the starry-eyed dreams of get-rich-quick VO hopefuls, or it just may spur you to try harder.  Either way, do yourself a favor and take the few minutes to read the blog.

Parade Magazine’s Annual Salary Survey

Nice work, J.S.!

CourVO

Filed Under: Compensation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Freelance Fodder

October 13, 2010 By 1 Comment

Nothing dogs a freelancer more than the issue of fair pay.

The freelance voice talent I know struggle mightily with this on the various forums (see yesterday’s blog, Lively LinkedIn)  I’m not going to beat this horse too much more, but I’m fascinated by it.

Well-established voice talent don’t seem to waste much time on it.  They have a price and stick to it (Did they always when they were newbs?  No!).  The rest of us rabble seem to writhe in endless agony over the question of fair pay for fair work.

Paul Strikwerda, who always writes cogently on this issue, pointed out the standard 2008 article on Freelancer.com about the “Fast Good Cheap” answer.

Members of the VO-BB constantly remind each other to “get spiney” or hold the line on the urge to sell-out for the low-ball.

Here’s a new article I found on another freelance site:  Freelance-Zone.com.  Read Joe Wallace’s article “Be Fearless” (kind like spiney, I guess).

CourVO

Filed Under: Compensation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Setting VO Rates…

June 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

….is more than just a quandary, it’s actually a group forum over on LinkedIn.

Lately, there’s been some lively discussion about pricing long-format narrations (with some side-notes about how the industry is in the throes of trying to decide how much it wants to pay).

You can find the discussion HERE if you are a LinkedIn member.  If not, you should be. It’s one of the “Big 4″ social media sites, and it’s free.

Also, my partner in Social Media ventures — Terry Daniel – has posted a new YouTube video about FOURSQUARE.  Terry thinks FourSquare is the best thing since graham crackers, and talks about it in his video on SocialMediaVO.com.

I’ll have some video of my Social Media teleseminar with Edge Studio — recorded on my FLIP  during the session — in the next blog.

CourVO

Filed Under: Compensation, Pricing, Social/Professional Networking, SociaMediaVO Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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