There’s no end to great questions about the voiceover business that readers of The Magazine of Santa Clarita send in.
Q: I’ve been thinking about joining one of the Pay-To-Play voiceover websites, like Voices.com or Voice123. Do you think they’re worthwhile? –Sandy G., Newhall, California
A: Pay-To-Play websites, for those of you not familiar with the term, are subscription-only websites where clients post voiceover jobs directly (without the intermediary of a voiceover agent) and solicit voice talent to submit auditions. They cost $300/year and send you on average ten auditions per day. So for a subscription that costs less than a dollar a day, you’re being sent about 3,600 auditions a year, which breaks down to less than a dime per audition. That’s a real value, because you 1) Have the ability to recoup your investment in one job; 2) Be eligible for repeat work from each client; and 3) Can practice on lots of different genres of voiceover: commercials, narration, animation, audiobooks, promos, trailers and so much more. In addition, you get to work with clients from all over the world!
However, many of the jobs posted on these sites are non-union, so you have to decide whether that’s appropriate for you to do. The pay ranges anywhere from $100 to $10,000 (on Voices.com—Voice 123 posts some jobs for much less), and these clients are usually vetted by the pay-to-plays, but not always. But each site offers a ton of support and a wealth of VO-related information, not just for talent, but clients as well.
The caveat: you need to have a decent home studio setup. The reality: It’s relatively inexpensive these days to set one up, and all the information you need is available through books, audiobooks, articles, instructional videos on YouTube and through VO-related groups on Facebook, LinkedIn and Voiceover Universe.
I’ll share more voiceover questions and answers in the coming months. If you have any questions, please write to me and I’ll get back to you.
Cashman Commercials © 2012
Marc Cashman creates and produces copy and music advertising for radio and television. Winner of over 150 advertising awards, he also instructs voice acting of all levels through his classes, The Cashman Cache of Voice-Acting Techniques in Los Angeles, California and at Cal Arts. He can be contacted at cashcomm@earthlink.net or his website, www.cashmancommercials.com.