Thursday, June 2, 2011

I'm Not a Voice Over Talent Agent!

Almost daily, I receive calls and emails from prospective voice over performers looking for an agent. I'm not a voice over talent agent. I talk about agents in the "How To" pages on my web site and in my blog posts, so I think my voice over talent web site may be picked up by the search engines because of that.

If you are truly interested in pursuing voice over as a career, I'd suggest you read my "How To" pages on my web site and also my blog posts. I hope those pages and my posts will be of some help to you – at least point you in the right direction. I have received many appreciative emails and calls from prospective talent thanking me for the quality and depth of information I have provided free of charge on my web site and blog. I’m happy to help with some basic advice. I do appreciate receiving emails from prospective talent as opposed to phone calls. I spend much of my day recording in my audio booth, and I cannot often take time out of a busy day to go through a step by step process of how to get started in this business. That’s one of the reasons I have provided the information which is accessible at any time on my web site and in my blog posts.

To begin your journey, you need to understand that it's not just about having a great or unusual voice that counts, but what you do with that voice and how you market yourself!

Those of us who work as voice over artists study and work hard continually honing our craft and marketing ourselves just to work and survive in this business. However, there are many talented people who do that and still do not make a living at voice over. Also, realistically, getting started by taking classes, making demos, marketing, building a web site, creating your own voice over studio, etc., requires an outlay of approximately $4,000 - $5,000. All things to be considered......

It is best to work with a voice over coach (in person or via phone!) in order to make sure you are ready to create a demo and start distributing it. The last thing you want to do is create a demo before you are ready. It will not serve you well in trying to get an agent or trying to get work. There are many good voice over coaches out there who are willing to work via telephone if you do not live in their area. Several coaches that I have personal experience with are: Nancy Wolfson, James Alburger & Penny Abshire , Marc Cashman , and Rodney Saulsberry If you contact them, please tell them I referred you. I don’t make any commission for referrals, but I just like them to know that I’m thinking of them!

Do your homework, find a good coach, and dig in! All the best to you in your pursuit of a career in voice over!

2 comments:

Steve said...

Good advice. And may I add, avoid the temptation to spend big $$$ on the "must have" microphone, preamp, etc... until your income from voice work can afford it. You'll know when you're ready for an upgrade. Good luck.

Voice Over Studio said...

Thanks for the comment, Steve. Good point. As long as the sound is clean and the acoustics are good, you can certainly get by with less expensive equipment and upgrade as you go along. That's the way I did it, too. You do need to be able to send high quality audio in order to build your business in the first place.

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