At CES, we saw a trio of new USB and iOS-compatible mics.  Then, just a couple of days ago, I ran down a few of the new mic offerings that were exhibited at NAMM.

Now Apogee steps forward with the MiC, that is due for distribution this month.

Apogee has an excellent record for producing peripherals that specifically work well with Apple devices.

Cipriano shows a comparison using his Sennheiser MKH416 and an Avalon pre-amp vs. the Apogee and an iPad.  Follow the links below in the conversation thread, and listen for yourself…pretty amazing!

CourVO

Together, we’ll be presenting on Secrets of Social Media especially designed for Voice Actors in a VOICE2012 break-out session.  There’s a tremendous amount of preparation going into this, and we know you’ll learn a lot.

For a better look at the announcement tomorrow, click on THE SOCIAL NETWORKING EVENT OF THE YEAR!

And just a reminder that valuable Early Bird registration for VOICE ends February 15th…so check it out now!

CourVO

Clipped from: bit.ly (share this clip)

It never ceases to amaze me that people think I’d be a good public speaker because I’m a TV news anchor.  If they thought about it, they’d realize I spend 99.99% of my time in a mostly empty studio, looking at a camera, and there’s maybe 3-4 other people around.

DJ’s are subject to this same misconception, and so are voice-actors.  If you’re good at speaking, you must be good at public speaking. Right?

Ha!  I might be good at speaking, but I’m not at all used to seeing my audience stare back at me…only a camera lens or a microphone.

I’m not a joiner, so Toast Masters never appealed to me. They just seem too gung-ho to me.

Over time, I’ve learned to be good at public speaking, and since my audience usually knows and likes me, I have an advantage.  Confidence is key, but that’s a chicken-or-the-egg thing.  What I’ve come ’round to is that any audience is really expecting a show….and YOU are the entertainment.  So you have to come out of yourself and be a showman.

That’s the goal.  GETTING there takes attention to the details, preparation…maybe a slide show.

Or does it?

Take the time to read this delightful article by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Jason Freedman that I found on LifeHacker.

Without giving it away, two of his main points that I love:

– Don’t Memorize

– Embrace your Ums

OK, now go out and get ‘em Tiger!

CourVO

VO Pro Peter O’Connell actually wrote eloquently about this back in 2008. Worth checking out!

NAMM originally stood for North American Music Merchants, but now it’s an international show for manufacturers, affiliates, resellers, and other vendors in the world of audio.

On the heels of CES in Las Vegas, NAMM was held this year in Anaheim, CA, and broke previous records for attendance.

If you saw my quick review of the new Blue Microphones at CES, well, NAMM is that…on steroids… times ten.

Apparently USB mics continue to be the darling of any recording set — vocals, voice-overs, or musical instruments.  Most audio engineers agree it’s not possible to get the same high quality fidelity from a USB microphone as you can with a XLR input, but that isn’t keeping manufacturers from trying.  That’s mostly driven by the insane pace of iPhone and iPad sales, and the realization that these devices can actually serve as excellent portable/mobile recorders.

At CES and NAMM, many of the name mic vendors bring their prototypes to show off, and then make vague promises that they’ll be on shelves “mid spring”, or “sometime in March or April”, or “just before Summer”…as was the case with the 3 new “Blue” mics I reviewed.

The mic pictured above, though — the MXL Tempo — is available now.  You can even get it in red and black, and it’s being priced all over the place at $59.   MXL also touts it’s iPad-compatible TRIO USB mic.

There are others, of course.

The iRig MIC Cast Mobile Microphone is a nice unit, but plugs into the earphone jack of your iOS device…not the 30-pin connector.

Finally, the Editors Keys SL150 USB mic comes with a kit that lets you plug right into your iPad for recording.

So many choices!  So little budget!  It almost makes you wanna hope for a road trip just to justify the expense of a USB/iPad mic to your better half!

CourVO

People gush over on FaceBook, and they play on Twitter, but they just aren’t sure WHAT to do with LinkedIn.

Like the other popular social media platforms, LinkedIn has been smart about constantly morphing their platform to accept new trends.  In that sense, LinkedIn encourages a lot of interaction and inter-relations between it’s members…and it pays to stay abreast of their tweaks.

But make no mistake about it, LinkedIn is the more serious sibling of the Social Media family…and LI does much to encourage and strengthen that reputation.  No other Social Network gives you the deep and wide search tools that LinkedIn offers.  The other huge strength of LI is its groups.  If you’re not maximizing your 50 possible group subscriptions, you’re not taking advantage of one of its richest features.  And here’s the thing…while you may want to add the various popular VO groups to your list…make sure to join some other groups where you might make relationships and find work (i.e…audio professionals, e-learning groups, audiobook publishers, etc).

Below is a list of 11 sites I have built-in to my Google Reader list for LI tips.  I try to visit most of them several times a week for tips.

1) http://linkedintelligence.com/

2) http://www.chrisbrogan.com/five-things-to-do-on-linkedin/

3) http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Leveraging-this-group-LinkedIn-open-3341869.S.86266352

4) http://www.socialmediainformer.com/2012/linkedin/social-media/

5) http://linkedintelligence.com/smart-ways-to-use-linkedin/

6) http://www.cio.com/article/697424/5_LinkedIn_Tips_for_Career_Success_in_2012

7) http://linkedin.alltop.com/

8) http://www.booleanblackbelt.com/2012/01/how-to-see-full-names-of-3rd-degree-connections-on-linkedin

9) http://www.chrisbrogan.com/power-up-your-linkedin-profile/

10) http://blog.linkedin.com/

11) http://imonlinkedinnowwhat.com/

CourVO

They even announced it on TV, so it must be true!

Do you know what a Venn Diagram is?  Two separate populations overlap (depicted by circles), showing the commonality of the two groups.

This is what we have with both unions today:

Union leaders may envision a universe of members belonging to both, as growing from 40,000 to their combined total of nearly 200,000.

You know, it’s funny…when the membership of either union is mentioned, it’s always the talk of film actors, stunt people, TV actors, stagehands, cinematographers, dancers, singers.  I never really see VOICE actors mentioned.  I’m not sure there’s ever been much love for our kind in this mix…but I digress, and I don’t want you to think I feel shorted, ’cause so far, I belong to neither group.

The question is:  Will it now make any difference to voice-actors who’ve been sitting on the fence (moi) to finally find sufficient reason in the merger to now JOIN???

The GREATER question is:  should you join now, ’cause the requirements are easier?  From an article by Ester Goldberg:

“AFTRA’s open door policy – which allows anyone to join the union online by paying the initiation fee – will end if SAG and AFTRA merge, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. In its place will be new SAG-AFTRA rules that primarily mirror SAG’s existing ones – a set of requirements that have made a meme out of “How do I get my SAG card?”

In addition, the price is changing: at $3,000, the new initiation fee is higher than SAG’s $2,277 or AFTRA’s $1,600, but less than the two combined.”

Even actors who are members of SAG say they’re reserving judgement on the wisdom of this merger until they see the fine print.  There are deep and thorny issues of health insurance, pensions, rates, governance, financing, membership requirements and dues for starters.

The final referendum goes to the membership near the end of February, and the tabulation deadline is March 30th.  So far, both Union’s board’s “overwhelmingly endorsed” the merger (The SAG board’s vote was 87.1% to 12.9% and AFTRA’s was 94% to 6%.).  To pass, the referendum would need a 60% approval margin from both organizations among votes cast.  That gives everybody about a month to air their dirty laundry and debate the contentious compromise.

I’m not worthy of analyzing this thing further.  I’m learning, and watching, and contemplating the outcome, and considering where voice actors fall in this mix.

Below is a series of links to various news organizations with different editions out over the weekend with the report:

 http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/479765-SAG_AFTRA_Boards_Approve_Merger.php

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sag-awards-aftra-merger-ken-howard-roberta-reardon-285661

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/479765-SAG_AFTRA_Boards_Approve_Merger.php

http://www.deadline.com/2012/01/actors-largely-support-proposed-sag-aftra-merger-at-sag-awards-but-there-is-also-opposition-and-concern/

http://www.aftra.org/6D4AAFEEE63943E7BE41C0314393AFA0.htm

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118049411

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/01/29/union-news-aftra-approves-merger-with-sag/

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118049411?refCatId=13

http://www.hitfix.com/articles/sag-and-aftra-this-much-closer-to-finally-merging

http://www.aaaa.org/news/bulletins/Pages/prodsig_012412.aspx

http://www.backstage.com/bso/news-and-features-news/aftra-board-of-directors-approves-sag-aftra-1006027752.story

CourVO

I’ve never actually worried about that myself.  I. just. do.

But I realize not everyone is as afflicted as me…they just want to get the most they can out of their social networks…not LIVE on them.

Thanks to Tokyo-based voice-actor Mark Weitzman, I got a tip about an online service just out of “beta” that may be what you’re looking for.

Alternion.com lets you aggregate 220 social media channels into one interface.  You can even get your email there…read, write, post, answer, Tweet, Blog, retweet, FaceBook, YouTube, Tumblr…seemingly everything you’d need to stay in touch…all at one stop.

This program is simple enough to understand, but I’ve just spent the last couple of hours configuring all my channels, and I’m still not done.  You may not have the same challenge, but the POP email account was specifically difficult to get going.  The jury’s still out for me on this aggregation site.  I can see the allure in using a site like this, but I think I’d always worry I’m missing something in the fully-featured native app.

Let me know what you think.  I admire the Alternion developers for a well-designed and technically intuitive interface.  Maybe like all the other sites (faceBook?) it just takes a little getting used to.

For a great explainer article on Alternion and two other similar sites, see the review on SocialMediaExaminer.com.

Thanks, Mark!

CourVO

Now add MixWerk Studios, Berlin to your Deutsche dictionary.

MixWerk showed up on my radar, when the founder — Uwe Engel — posted a complimentary comment to an article on my blog.  Not having heard of MixWerk, I began a brief email correspondence with Uwe, which resulted in the Question & Answer session you will see below.

Engel’s replies to my queries constitute a fascinating peek into a branch of opportunity not enough North American voice talent are taking full advantage of:  foreign markets.

Take a moment to read through Engel’s insightful answers as you plan your European marketing strategy.  Pay special attention to his answer to question #5 (I also appreciate the sentiment in his answer for question #8)

Uwe Engel’s brief bio: 20 years voice recording, mainly vocal and speech recording in Germany.  Founder of Mixwerk in 2004.  Since then, over 200 clients in 20 countries. Mixwerk offers voice recordings in 2 ISDN studios in Berlin/Germany with  voices from 40 countries

Thanks Uwe!

CourVO

Below, our Q & A:

1)  Would you please give a brief history of Mixwerk…how did it start?  Who are the principle founders?  What are the goals of your business?

Mixwerk was founded in 2004 in Berlin. We started as a voice over producer for Native Instruments, which develops well known Software Instruments. Our first challenge was to record their tutorial DVD for “Traktor”, a DJ Tool, in english and Japanese. Since then we worked for over 200 clients all over the world in 40 languages. Mixwerk was founded by Uwe Engel, who had 20 years experience in music recording. Now we are 4 people working to produce high quality voice recordings for our clients.

2)  What’s your business model?  Who are your clients?  What does Mixwerk principally do?

Clients are big brands and advertisement agencies from Europe and the US.  Our clients get full service, which means we offer them voices from our database, record them and finalize the recordings in the post production. Our core competence is to work very reliable with state of art audio equipment and do this within a very short timeframe. We do a lot of ISDN recordings and ADR even with picture.

3.) Do you keep a “stable” of preferred male and female talent for your clients?  If so, what languages?

We do not have preferred voices although we mostly do know which voice talents fits which clients needs. We have in our database voice talents in 40 languages.

4.) Do you see the opportunities for voice over talent in ALL countries and languages to be greater in the years ahead?

Principally we all are globalisation “winners”. Furthermore the production costs for voice over are going down. So more and more clients want to localize their content. So yes, all countries we have a benefit of that.

5.)  Is Mixwerk actively seeking talent of all languages for global clients?

We are always seeking very good voice talents from all over the world.

6)  What are the main challenges for North American voice talent in entering the global marketplace?

Our main challenge with North American voice talents is that for our German clients they need to speak some German words, like cities, names like Germans do. Our American voices that are living here in Germany know how to speak german words in English. So for our big clients like the automobile industry, they tend to use people who know the German culture or country. On the other hand many clients wants to attend the recording session and see everything in real. So it is always a bit difficult just to do it via ISDN or Skype.

7.)  Would you recommend ISDN for North American talent who are serious about growing their international client base?

We would recommend to have a software for ISDN like Source Connect.

8.)  Are you familiar with Bodalgo’s business model?…and if so, would you consider them an ally or a competitor?

They are not our “ally”. They have clients which do not pay the prices that we demand for our service. Of course, they have an official price list, but nobody knows the final price that a voice talent agreed on with the client. Secondly it is not a good relationship to the customers when the payment is based on a “myhammer” model. We now some voice artists that get some clients from this online platform and others, like all the “good earning voice talents” that we know are not working with them. But the market for the online voice over business is growing faster than the “premium” market. This is why one could have the impression this online market will be the big thing in the future. We believe that all business models will grow in the future, so there will be place for all business models.

9.)    What suggestions would you give talent in Canada or the USA if they were interested in finding more voice work in Europe?

Make an online research and simply apply to the relevant companies. Or better – if you know some professional voice here in Europe asked them to introduce you to the main important agencies.

But no one’s come up with a better way to briefly phrase the ethic that extending value IN ADVANCE of reward, holds great promise as a lifestyle, a marketing plan, and a business plan.  I try to live by that creed in this blog, and I can’t tell you how many times it’s payed dividends.

One of the gents I greatly admire in the voice over business is Bill DeWees.  He’s left behind a number of successful endeavours during his life, and is now making the voice-acting business look easy.  Note, I say “business“.  That’s how Bill treats it, and therein lies his success. That’s a familiar theme among the more seasoned pros.

Even though he’s a voice actor, Bill is maybe just as well-known for his pay-it-forward brand of how-to videos.  See the Bill DeWees channel on YouTube.

Yesterday on my Voice-Over Friends  FaceBook Group, Bill posted a link to an instructional video he produced as a live seminar recently.  You can view it for free, and in my estimation, there’s a gold-mine of VO business strategies in just the first hour, and then the show continues with valuable Q & A.  Please make an effort to watch as much of this as you can afford.

Among the gems in his presentation are reminders to treat all your past customers as future prospects through consistent follow-up.  Along with newsletters, postcards, emails, and phone calls, Bill shared that he uses the SmartContactTool to help automate some of this duty. When you click on that link, you end up on a site called Happy Grasshopper.

And then it hit me!  That’s how I met Bill! He had seen my blog about Happy Grasshopper from March of last year, and later contacted me to say thanks.

See!  Pay-it-forward brings its own rewards in due time, or to paraphrase:  What Goes Around Comes Around.

CourVO

The Berlin-based company launched in 2008, and now has 10-million users…and has just raised 50-million in venture capital funding.

From an article on TechCrunch:  Soundcloud “…has had over five million official SoundCloud iphone/android apps downloaded and over 10,000 third party apps have been developed on SoundCloud’s open platform (recent additions include integrations with professional music creation software Pro Tools and Cakewalk).”

The site is certainly a good fit for voice actors. You can store your demos there, then share, embed, post, link, email, and get social.  Follow other SoundClouders and get followers.  Join groups, and converse in forums.

Embedding any voice file anywhere is easy (or link).  You can even customize your embedded player to the color and size you want.  (See my embedded demo on the home page of this blog)

Not content to rest on their laurels, the developers at SoundCloud Labs are now coming out with what anyone would expect might be a next-gen step:  STORYWHEEL.  Using pics from Instagram (voted most popular iPhone app of 2011) to provide the pics, and SoundCloud to match with the audio, StoryWheel shows promise.

SoundCloud offers modest functionality for a free membership, but you’ll probably want to choose one of their other 4 premium plans ranging from ~$37.50/year (~$11.66/mo) to ~$610/yr ( ~$76.50/mo).

CourVO