The voice over industry is one where only a small percentage of those working actually bring in enough to perform their craft full-time.<\/p>\n
Whilst you’ve probably read articles or seen television reports about those Movie Trailer Voices<\/a> bringing in millions of dollars per year, the reality is most voice actors earn a lot less than that.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rates for a voice talent’s services may appear to be exorbitant at first glance, it needs to be remembered that they are working as a contractor. Paying their own medical, marketing, taxes, insurance, new equipment etc.<\/p>\n Furthermore, the voice talent rates<\/a> are generally the cheapest part of any advertising campaign.<\/p>\n Some clients think, ‘why should I pay someone a few hundred dollars for 15 minutes work?’ The fact is you are paying for the use of the recording as well. If your product is cola<\/a>, and a voice talent records for you, it may limit any other work that may come their way for the duration of your campaign.<\/p>\n To answer the question posed in the title of this blog post, the answer is anywhere from $125 for a non-union recording up to tens of thousands of dollars for union voice over jobs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Just like doctors learn and perform their craft over years and years, voice talent are no different.<\/p>\n Trust me when I say ‘there is a difference between using a budget voice and a professional voice.’<\/p>\n At the end of the day, the voice talent is going to be an extension of your brand. It’s the sound clients will hear as representing you. A professional voice<\/a> will be able to take your feedback on board and provide you with a clear sounding, correctly pronounced recording in a short amount of time, with the least technical errors.<\/p>\n If you try and save a few dollars by using a cheap or budget voice talent, you’re likely to end up disappointed and dealing with a recording which is unusable.<\/p>\n It’s true, you get what you pay for!<\/p>\n