PAY TO PLAYS

Marketing Effort or Scam?

How do you tell the difference between a legitimate marketing effort and a scam? In show business, the difference can be surprisingly difficult to tell.

Pay-to-Plays Are Not (All) Scams

There are a million pay to play sites out there, and they are not all equal. Some are very popular, like Voices and Voice123 that are, in my opinion, oddly set up and really expensive for what they are. However, if you know what you’re doing, you can easily get your money back and then some. I’d consider VDC to be worthwhile, despite all of my gripes with the site and its less than stellar ethical reputation.

Beyond these, you can find sites that only book e-learning videos, or explainer videos, or animation, etc. These all seem to have some kind of price tag in exchange for adding you to their site. I find that these sites, more often than not, aren’t really worth it. The “agent” doesn’t really do anything for you other than add your demos to their site, which can increase SEO traffic theoretically, but is it really worth what they ask?

Before you give anybody any money, look up their site and contact some of the talent on there to see if they’re happy with the ROI. Personally, of all the sites I’m on, VDC is the only one I’m really alright with paying for. There are other sites that I’ve paid for that haven’t so much as sent me a single audition.

Then there are people out there claiming to be managers or coaches (or life coaches, or agents, or all of the above). They charge for a series of classes which usually involve paying for new headshots. They promise to put you in touch with agents in New York and LA. They use the word “contract” so often you start to forget what the word actually means. These businesses are scams run by con artists. I’ve found several of these in DC, and even started to work with one before suddenly having a moment of clarity, after which I had to endure an hour(!) long conversation on the phone insisting I stay in the program. I then had to forcibly take my money back via chargeback when they wouldn’t give me a refund, and their phone number suddenly changed.

Another life lesson: credit cards give you more power in questionable situations.

Tips on Avoiding VO Scams

Here’s a good rule of thumb: if somebody talks too much, they’re probably lying to you. If they want money to represent you, they’re not a real agent. Real agents take a percentage of jobs won through them; they don’t bilk their talent under the pretense of maybe finding them work or worse, simply sticking them on a site and forgetting all about them.

Legitimate things to spend money on are:

Pay-to-Play sites with good reputations. There actually are a few.

Marketing and Advertising on various platforms (social media, Google, newspapers/letters, etc)

Business cards, postcards, URL domains, and other marketing materials

Acting classes and coaching sessions from verifiable sources with solid client testimonials (ALWAYS DO YOUR RESEARCH)

That’s pretty much it. NEVER pay an agent to work for you. If a site wants beaucoup bucks to put you on their ugly, outdated site, don’t do it. There are real agents out there who work on behalf of the talent, and they don’t ask said talent for money up front.

The Old (Marketing) Ways Are Best

Another bit of advice: the telephone is your friend. Find voice actors in your area and call them. See what their experience is like. You’ll be much more likely to secure solid leads to track rather than mining for gold on the internet. This is a tough enough business to hang with. Market yourself wisely, and you’ll be ahead of most of the fledgling competition out there.

Rex

Don’t Like Voices or Voice123? Check These Sites Out.

PAY TO PLAYS, VOICE OVER MARKETING

Pay to play sites are here to stay. Voices and Voice123 rule the roost for now, but they have some of the highest yearly fees and lowest quality gigs around. They’re the Wal-Mart of P2P’s; no gig turned away, no budget too small. Sure, there are more gigs than you could possibly ever audition for, but after being on Voices for about nine months now, I’m frustrated by the sheer number of postings with poorly written copy, or “sample” scripts that comprise entire 500-word plus projects, or hilariously microscopic budgets (I know I’m still a rookie, but I’m not doing a national TV spot for 100 dollars and neither should you). Voices has been a decent learning experience if nothing else, giving me access to tons of active copy that occasionally does lead to paid work. However, there are other sites out there that are definitely worth exploring and possibly investing in.

e-Learning Voices/Commercial Voices

These sites are run by VoiceOverXtra’s Rick Gordon. These sites target specific fields of VO, maintain small rosters of vetted talent, and encourage clients to select talent based off of their profiles and demos rather than have everyone compete through auditions.

Kingdom Voices

Having a niche is crucial for anyone’s business. Kingdom Voices deals only with faith-based voice projects. Again, they vet their talent and keep their rosters small, something I think all working VO artists would want in a site. While I don’t have personal experience with the site, their annual rate is much lower than Voices and the profiles allow for videos in addition to audio demos. Worth checking out if you want to work with faith-based communities.

[update]: Kingdom Voices is closed.

United Voice Talent

While it’s not the prettiest site in the world, I’m frequently invited to UVT auditions, all of which are well worth the time investment. Their pay structure is based on “talent hours”, which are reflective of current union rates. It’s audition based and you’re not allowed to contact the client on your own, but at least the rates are fair and you’re not inundated with hundreds of postings that aren’t worth your time. Talent, again, is pre-qualified and there is no yearly fee. If you’re in the VO game already, this one’s pretty much a no-brainer.

The Voice That Speaks Volumes

Ms. Tish, a great voice talent in her own right, recently got into the casting game with this site. It’s still very new, but being a talent herself, her approach takes the talent into consideration. With no fees, quality auditions, and personal email invites to pre-vetted talent (are we seeing a trend here?), Ms. Tish really seems to be moving in the right direction. I’ve already started seeing auditions for some great projects from Ms. Tish, and I look forward to seeing where she goes next.

[update] Also gone.

Voiver

Voiver is still in beta, but I’m very excited to see where this one goes. They’re handpicking talent and have some very promising features in the pipeline. Without giving too much away, they’re changing the way the talent interacts with the client. Usually these sites operate in relative anonymity. I rarely talk directly to a client with Voices, rather I just get a yay or nay dispensed through the booking agent.

A balanced approach utilizing all of these tools, as well as the traditional routes of casting agencies, mailing campaigns, cold calling, and good old fashioned word of mouth are all needed to be successful.

Rex

Where to Find Voice Over Work

PAY TO PLAYS, VOICE OVER ADVICE

You’ve decided you want to get into voiceover. You’ve done some research, cut a demo together, and now you’re ready to dive in. Where do you go to find work? I’ve been asked this quite a few times recently, and the general answer is: everywhere. It just depends on what kind of voice work you’re looking for.

Pay-to-Play Sites for Voice Over

For smaller jobs of all types, I use Voices. There are a million pay-to-play sites, and yes, the vast majority of jobs on there are extremely low pay, often with horribly written copy and next to no chance of repeat business or relationship building with the client. However, I’ve found that in my first year, it’s a great resource to have. You get tons of daily practice, more auditions than you can handle, and plenty of fodder for future demos. Will I be using it a year from now? I’m honestly not sure. But for those starting out, it’s a great way to develop your reading technique, hone your voices, and build your armor. And hopefully make a little money at the same time.

Audiobook Narration

For audiobooks, look for local companies that act as proxies for big businesses like Audible and ACX. Or, simply go to ACX directly and start auditioning. This industry has exploded over the years and the door’s wide open for new talent. The pay is typically fairly low, but each project is a good chunk of work and a steady income is possible, something which you aren’t likely to find in many other sectors of VO.

Can You Work as a Voice Actor in Animation?

The animation work is (mostly) in LA. Which sucks for me because that’s where I want to end up (in animation, not in LA). If you want to go the animation route, make your own cartoon. Cartoon Network has been giving people outside the typical LA circuit the means to air their own projects to a multi-national audience and is the best way, in my opinion, to break into that industry.

For bigger, better projects, nothing beats a good agent. My highest paying work comes from the local agencies I’m slowly but surely building a relationship with. In a world where P2P sites seem to be taking over, sometime the old ways still work best.

IVR, Explainers, and Documentaries, Oh My

There’s IVR/telephony work for businesses of all sizes. There’s internet explainer videos for damn near every business and product in existence. There are documentaries and TV companies and radio stations and recording studios and ad agencies and production houses everywhere. I find work by emailing, cold calling, mailing postcards, handing out business cards, mentioning my services at parties, anything I can do to get a bug in someone’s ear that I’m here, I have the goods, and they need to work with me.

It’s a nonstop hustle, but luckily there’s more work out there than ever. Is it the possibly fictional halcyon days where landing a commercial spot would buy you a house? Not really, at least not for most. But you can still make a damn good living as a voice actor. Just get started somewhere and see what you can make of it.

Rex

Review: Voices.com One Month Subscription

PAY TO PLAYS, VOICE OVER REVIEWS

I did a fair amount of research into to Pay-to-play type sites available out there and VDC consistently came out atop its competitors. There is quite a lot of trepidation about the P2P model in general, and I can totally understand why. The idea of paying for leads, basically for the privilege of contacting clients, can feel a little unfair at first glance. However, I’ve come around on my thinking of the model and decided that it is worth the cost of admission.

Speed Up The Auditioning Process

Over the last three weeks, I’ve adjusted my approach significantly. When my account first activated, I spent hours auditioning, cutting each one together and sending them off one at a time. About ten hours later, I had auditioned for about fifteen different jobs. A couple days in I decided to filter by deadlines, take the ones that were ending that day, and record/edit all the auditions in one go and then send out the auditions. At this point I’d already drafted a cover letter template that I have barely altered since. This cut down the amount of time I spent auditioning dramatically.

Try, Learn, Repeat

After doing some more research, I changed my approach. I turned email alerts back on and auditioned for jobs as soon as they came out. This has definitely improved my ‘listen’ and ‘like’ rate. I’m now sitting at 93 jobs answered, 91 demo listens, 10 likes, and four jobs complete with a fifth one in process. While the money is still firmly in part-time territory, this means I’d earned enough in one month to pay for a yearlong subscription, which includes increased visibility on the site. I also have enough fodder to start cutting together demos specifically geared toward different types of jobs (internet, video games, business, etc). Once I have all of those in place, that should improve to book gigs without having to produce a custom demo for each job.

What is Your Voice Over Strategy?

Worth the price of admission? Well, that’s up to you.

While I was pessimistic about the chances of Voices.com working out originally, it has proven itself to be a great tool for finding VO gigs. I’ve been fortunate enough to garner the attention of a few clients within my wheelhouse, which, turns out, is video games. I’ve already had repeat clients, which is pretty mind-blowing considering I’ve been at this a little longer than three weeks. If you’re able to put the time in and quickly produce quality demos, Voices can absolutely work for you. Just know that it takes a flexible schedule (it is essential that you respond to jobs as quickly as possible, because they fill up fast) and a fair amount of work making auditions. The good news is, after making all those auditions, you can turn around and improve your hard marketing system whether they get you the job or not.

I never thought I could start my VO career with this much momentum. While VDC hasn’t been my only source for work (aiming for 35 different, consistent sources by next winter), it’s certainly been the biggest. It certainly seems like there’s room for growth with this model and I am looking forward to a fruitful year with them.

Rex

Is Voices.com Worth It?

PAY TO PLAYS, VOICE OVER REVIEWS

On Monday, I finally took Voices’ inaugural ten dollar offer for their premium lite membership, which affords me the opportunity to bid on gigs and send custom demos to clients. I’ve done a lot of talking to myself in my padded room since then.

Was it worth it?

Hustling for VO Work

In the last three and a half days, I’ve created 40 custom demos for different types of projects. Some of them are characters for video games, some from motivational or promotional online videos, a ton from commercials that want that somewhat raspy, vocal fry heavy sullenness that’s so popular in car commercials and Apple ads these days. I probably won’t get any work from these. Now, since I’ve literally just started building my career as a voiceover artist, I’m trying not to take issue with how much time I’m putting into these custom demos. The way I figure, I need the experience, and it gives me ample opportunity to nail down what I’m really good at and what I need to improve on (i.e. everything).

The Pay-to-Play Model Needs Work

I take issue with the pay to play model. While it strives to operate as an open market forum where talent and client have equal opportunity to meet and find mutual benefit in one another, it assumes that I, the talent, am willing to extend not only my time to produce a unique demo for every single client, but am also unsure of whether I’m even dealing with a real person. Voices seems to be the most widely respected company in this type of business, but I’ve still heard horror stories of clients taking demos wholesale and using them in their commercials without paying for them, or phishing scams designed only to bilk email addresses from talent.

There’s also an oddly translucent quality to the process. Voices.com wants you to know how many people have submitted a proposal (which can include a custom demo, stock demo, or nothing, but these statistics are not displayed), and where you are in line, as it were. There’s a ranking system based on your profile that will place in line depending on what percentage you “fit” the project. So if you’re a teenage girl submitting for a Tom Waits impersonator, you aren’t likely to be high up on the list.

However, it’s been my experience so far that there are so many people using Voices that even though I’m a 95% match, I’m still in the bottom 5% of the line, because the other 105 people are also 95% matches. This may have to do with the ranking system dependence on a small handful of qualities to discern this percentage. This system could definitely use a little more sophistication before it becomes truly useful.

Does the Rubber Meet the VO Road?

Or is it VO rubber on the…road? Anyway, next, you get an icon next to your proposal if a client has listened to your demo (uh, yes, please do that; I took the time to record a demo just for you, the least you could do is listen to it), and if they ‘like’ it. I’m assuming the like function acts as a sort of bookmarking system for the client, and a nice little pat on the head for me. I’ve gotten three likes out of my 40 demos so far (out of 14 listens), so….yeah. I don’t know what I’m supposed to take away from that.

If nothing else, I will have spent ten dollars to practice a good deal on unique scripts that I didn’t have to bother writing, I’ll have tons of fodder for new demos for my website, and I’ll learn not to check this damned board every ten minutes to validate my sense of self worth. I promised myself that if I didn’t book enough work to cover a year’s subscription then I wouldn’t bother renewing the subscription, as I feel my time would be better spent chasing down more tangible leads that, insanely enough, don’t require me to pay for the privilege to maybe talk to an actual human being. I’ll keep this blog updated with how things turn out.

443.692.7260

voice@rexanderson.com

REX ANDERSON