Part of my ever-changing social media strategy is to delay letting anybody know when I’m gone on vacation (duh!)…so that would-be robbers will not take advantage of my absence.   But nothing prevents me from spilling the beans now that I’m back!

“But Dave,” you say, “I read a fresh blog article or two every day last week on Courvo.Biz.  Why did you mess up your vacation by blogging”?

I didn’t.  I sandbagged 5 fresh blogs, and scheduled them to be published one each day.  Here’s the cool part, though.  At the 3-level beach house in Sayulita, Mexico, the neighbor had Wi-Fi, and I was able to tap in, thanks to a worker who slipped me the code.  Gotta love the black market in Mexico!!!

So I did occasionally check email and tinker with the blog as seen in this photo:

…and yes, that’s the ocean in the background.

I took the time to inform my regular clients well in advance of my planned absence from the studio this week.  I DID take a rudimentary mobile studio but regretted it several times over.  If it were just a laptop and a mic it wouldn’t be so hard, but you need the cables, the mic stand, the patch cords, the battery charger, the USB cable, and when it’s all said and done, the TSA scanner Nazi’s just cant…quite…see…everything, and that means going to the “special” line where they have to break down everything in your bag.  Add Immigrations and Customs to that formula both going and coming back in TWO countries,  with connecting flights, and you have a wife who starts rolling her eyes.  Next time, I’m leaving the portable studio at home.  I never used it, and it was too much hassle.

I did, however, find an idea for a whole new genre of voice work that seems untapped here in the US.  Here’s a pic that shows one of several trucks that roam the streets of most Mexican towns with a loudspeaker mounted on the hood or the roof.  It plays a loud advertisement either recorded or spoken live by the driver into a mic.  See short video clip below.  Just think:  grab a couple of clients who want real-time advertising in YOUR city…promise them at least as much exposure as the taxicab placards get, and with a professionally-voiced message that can be altered at a moment’s notice.  What’s not to like?  (Uh, better check with your municipal noise-nuisance standards first.)

CourVO

…and by that I mean I’ve worked hard, found a certain measure of success in my family life and my professional career.  I have lots of friends, and food in the fridge.  At 56, I find self-assurance comes easily, ‘cause I feel I’ve earned it.

So when I wrote the blog about Synthetic Voices recently,I really wasn’t trying to sound the death knell of Voice Acting…nor was I terribly troubled by its implications.

JUST OVER THE NEXT HILL…

But that, along with other things happening in the world right now could almost begin to convince me that there may be cause for concern – long term – for opportunities in voiceover.

Here’s why:  yesterday, 4 more good people lost their jobs in our newsroom.  TV news, and TV stations in general are REALLY hurting.  Our General Manager likes to quote how many millions of advertising dollars are just “gone from the market”…and the number is in the tens of millions.  Car dealers (the core of TV advertising support) are folding.  Revenues at TV stations everywhere are down anywhere from 20% to 60% (conservative).

Have you listened to radio lately?  Formulaic.  Impersonal.  Repetitive.  Shrill.  They’re hurting too…but they’ve had years to adjust to life-after-TV.

TV is just getting accustomed to the juggernaut incursion of the internet. (more like whacked in the head!)

So…have you listened to radio lately?  I haven’t.  Millions of commuters are listening to their iPods or talking on their iPhones instead of the drivel that passes for entertainment on (most) Radio stations.

CAN’T IGNORE “THE CRUX” OF THE MATTER

So, my point is:  Radio and TV.  Hurting.  Ad dollars going away….and just where do you think the lion’s share of a voice-actor’s best jobs are?  Yep.  Radio and TV. 

At least that’s the paradigm to which we still pay homage. 

Folks…that paradigm is changing.

“Not to worry”, you say, “my bread ‘n’ butter VO niche is in medical narrations, audiobooks, and websites.”

God bless ya…I’m not talking to you.

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE

I’m talking to the entire COMPLEX of agents, unions, casting directors, advertising & PR firms, buyers, media-as-we-know it.  It’s all changing right under our noses!  Sure…slowly…. no doubt about it, and in fits and starts, but if you’re into the world of social media at all, you clearly see the pell-mell change of stream-of-conscious thinking, sharing, and marketing that is New Media.

“Wait a minute, Dave,” you say…”This recession thing will be over soon enough, and we’ll all be back to profitability.” 

AAaaaactually, no.  It’ll never be the same again (my humble opinoin)

 Because of the immediacy, the interaction, the I-want-what-I-want-when-I-want-it nature of  social media and the internet, TV viewers are switching allegiances.  Heck, the internet is where I’m getting MY news these days.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE

Here’s the silver lining, and then I’ll shuddup.

Good content, quality writing, excellence of endeavour, and solid presentation will never go out of style…no matter the medium. 

Your golden tones are still needed…but…well….you may just…maybe wanna start not depending on the promise of Radio and TV as much.  Again, I could be totally wrong, but I don’t think so.

CourVO