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1.800.846.451Non-Union Voice Over Rates, Explained
Union and non-union pricing, side by side
A union voice over (SAG-AFTRA in the US, Equity in the UK) is billed as a session fee, then residuals each time a commercial airs, then an agent's commission on top, and the total is only known once the campaign has run. A non-union voice over is billed once. The price is worked out from two facts you already know before anyone records: how many words are in the script, and where the finished audio will be used.
That is the whole method behind the calculator below. It is the same card every voice on this roster has signed up to, so there is no quote to wait for and nothing to haggle over. To build your figure:
- Count the words in your script (the calculator linked below does it for you).
- Tick where the audio will play: internal, online, phone, broadcast, or all media forever.
- Add any loadings that apply, such as a character voice or syncing to picture.
- Add production if you want the files edited, mixed or split.
A working guide to length: a relaxed narrator covers about 100 words a minute, a natural read about 150, a fast retail read about 200. Timings on the card are estimates; the invoice follows the word count.
The non-union questions clients ask most, on licences, residuals and quality, are answered at the foot of this page.
The comparison
Union versus non-union, on one invoice
Both get you a professional voice. They differ in how the money is worked out, and in who is paid after the session.
Union pricing
A session fee for the recording day, set by the union scale. Then residuals: a further payment each cycle a commercial keeps airing, sized by market and medium. Then an agent's commission, usually ten to twenty percent, and sometimes pension and health contributions on top. The final cost is known when the campaign ends.
Non-union pricing, as used here
One figure, from word count and usage, paid before the session. Internal, online, phone and narration work is a buyout with no expiry. Paid advertising on air or on other websites carries a 12-month licence; rebook at the same card rate to keep it running, or choose the all-media buyout up front. Nobody is paid a percentage of anything.
Worked example: a 30-second radio spot, one city
About 70 words. Tick TV, radio and internet commercials, choose the local market, done. Running it on TV as well? Tick that too; both are priced in one booking. Want it forever? Swap for the all-media buyout instead.
Worked example: a 20-minute training module
Around 3,000 words. Tick e-learning, add production if you want one file per slide, and add the medical or technical loading only if the script is full of clinical or engineering terms. No licence, no renewal: the course is yours.
Third example, a character read for a game: word count, tick corporate and non-broadcast or basic internet for where it plays, add the character loading. Still unsure which lines apply? Email support@thevoicerealm.com and a person will walk the card with you.
Non-union, answered
The questions clients ask before they book
Non-union is a pricing model, not a quality tier. Here is what it changes, and what it doesn't.
Are non-union voices less experienced?
No. Many voices here have recorded union work for years and take non-union bookings the same week. Every voice on the roster is screened before it's listed, and you hear a demo, or a free audition of your own script, before you pay anything.
Do I pay residuals or renewals?
Never for e-learning, corporate, narration, phone, podcast or audiobook work: those are buyouts and the recording is yours for good. Radio, TV and internet commercials are licensed for one year; keep the spot running past that and you rebook at the same card rate, or tick buyout in perpetuity up front.
Can I use a non-union voice for a national campaign?
Yes. The card prices commercials by where they air and how long the script is, from a single market to national and streaming, and the licence terms are the same whoever books. Exclusivity, if you need it, is by negotiation.
What is the rate based on?
Word count and usage, never studio time. Recordings arrive dry; editing, music or split files are production, and matching a video exactly is a 100% loading. Under 750 words you get two full re-records for tone included.
One more: can a union member record non-union? That is between the actor and their union; plenty do, under financial-core or similar arrangements, and it is their call, not yours. You simply book at the card rate.
Non-union in five lines
What you are agreeing to
- You own the recording. Every line on the card is a buyout, except paid advertising on radio, TV and other websites, which runs on a 12-month licence.
- Words set the price, not minutes. Count the script; the durations shown are only a guide to help you picture it.
- The file arrives dry. No bed, no mix, no splitting, unless you add production.
- Matching a video exactly doubles the read. Approximate timings that your editor lines up are production, not sync.
- No residuals, ever. The figure you book at is the last figure. Union work bills again each time a spot airs; this does not.