{"id":4034,"date":"2020-12-18T19:49:46","date_gmt":"2020-12-19T00:49:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevoicerealm.com\/blog\/?p=4034"},"modified":"2025-11-20T02:18:51","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T07:18:51","slug":"voiceover-2020-vs-voiceover-1990","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevoicerealm.com\/blog\/voiceover-2020-vs-voiceover-1990\/","title":{"rendered":"Voiceover 2020 vs. Voiceover 1990"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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My, how things have changed! When I started this career 30 years <\/span>ago, the Internet hadn\u2019t even been invented, you had to go to the library to find a book about voiceover if <\/span>you wanted to learn anything (and those books were few and far between) and you learned the trade by <\/span>networking with people in the radio, TV, and production. My first stab at landing a voiceover job involved <\/span>having a producer friend help me make a voiceover demo<\/a>, then driving around Lincoln, Nebraska, to see if the ad <\/span>agencies and production studios would give me a chance and take a listen.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I will never forget the first job I landed\u2014for Alltel, the local phone company that was the cellular provider <\/span>for all those antiquated bag phones that was the latest rage. I remember getting all tongue-tied when I <\/span>would say \u201ccellular\u201d in the script (a word that didn\u2019t roll off everyone\u2019s tongue as it does now), but <\/span>somehow I managed to get through it and they actually hired me again! <\/span><\/p>\n

As time went on, I landed a local <\/span>gig reading regular radio spots for a local high-end furniture and interiors store. My first regular work <\/span>made me $30 a spot back in 1991, and I thought I was living high making that kind of money!<\/span><\/p>\n

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SONY DSC<\/p><\/div>\n

Then, as time marched on, I became the official voice for Alltel. I was the voice you heard when you tried <\/span>to call a cell phone and no one answered. \u201cThe cellular customer does not answer. Please try your call <\/span>again later.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you for calling Alltel…message 1.\u201d I will never forget that script! Yep, I was the voice <\/span>you wanted to throw tomatoes at because you wanted to actually reach the customer that wasn\u2019t <\/span>answering! The most notable part of that job was the frustration my teenage kids would experience when <\/span>they would call my cell phone and instead of getting me live, they\u2019d get my recording. <\/span><\/p>\n

That made me <\/span>somewhat of a local celebrity, but I think I was more infamous than famous because of my role in letting <\/span>everyone know they had failed to reach the intended recipient of their call.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The voiceover was good to me, and I ended up doing a lot of on-camera work as a result, traveling nationally <\/span>to do everything from product-demo gal for Maytag appliances, to live-announcer at the Consumer<\/span><\/p>\n

Electronics Show in Vegas. I was doing what I did best\u2014talking\u2014and getting paid to do it. Life was g<\/span>ood!<\/span><\/p>\n

Fast-forward to 2020. Yes, my how things have changed. Now, a home-studio is a must if you want to <\/span>have a voiceover career<\/a>. Long gone are the days of driving to recording studios all over the region to <\/span>knock out a few scripts. I must admit, as nice and convenient as working from home is, I miss those days <\/span>of the connections and camaraderie of working with producers and getting a nice pat-on-the-back after a <\/span>session. The home studio can be a lonely place, and one needs to be intentional to feel any kind of <\/span>connection in this business. Usually, I just knock out a script and move on to the next one.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

However, there have been some wonderful, longstanding connections made over the years and that is <\/span>something that makes the business of voiceover so much richer. If I had one piece of advice for <\/span>someone who is just getting started, outside of learning the trade, learning the technicalities, and making <\/span>a great demo, it would be to make sure you don\u2019t forget to make this about human interaction, valuing <\/span>your clients and making sure they know how much you appreciate working with them. <\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to <\/span>ask how their family is or share something you have in common. Those are the things that make them <\/span>want to come back to you over and over again. Because you are no longer just a voice to them\u2014you <\/span>are a friend\u2014you\u2019ve made a connection beyond a voice file being sent.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yes, times have changed, but voices will always be needed in this world, and my hope is that your voice <\/span>will bring as much fulfillment for you as mine has for me!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Karen is the Voice that Turns Heads. She’s an ADDY-award-winning voiceover recording artist with nearly 30 years of experience serving clients around the globe.<\/span>  Karen began her voiceover career in Lincoln, Nebraska, which grew into a successful full-time venture and expanded into on-camera work, as well. Karen voices projects for TV and Radio commercials, e-Learning, educational, on-hold, political, documentary, medical, technical, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Check out more of Karen’s work on this link: https:\/\/www.thevoicerealm.com\/view-profile-artist.php?artist_id=1027<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Karen started out driving her demo around Lincoln, Nebraska. She looks back on 30 years in voiceover and why human connection still matters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":4061,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[176,141],"tags":[43,73,422],"class_list":["post-4034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-voice-over","category-female-voice-over-artists","tag-female-voice-over","tag-voiceover","tag-voiceover-career"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t