VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[Rognog]

I just joined Voice123 a few weeks ago and now I'm starting to wonder if it was a good idea. What, in your opinions, exactly are the pros and cons of using it? Has anyone booked using it? What are the ways to maximize your chances of getting a gig when it comes to quoting rates and entering remarks?

[DaveHines]

[kgenus]

Bruce is right on the mark ... so I'm curious....

Imagine you've spent thousands of dollars on equipment, sfx and music licensing, marketing and promotions. Many of you do not have to imagine.... Would you not have the same concerns for the work you're offering your clients? your client's a longterm relationship with an unknown quantity?
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Genus

[Bailey]

[kitstern]

I have to say that after reading the request again, he doesn't ask for anything a qualified producer wouldn't want to know about a talent. But it's the way he's asking for it, as he does sound frustrated and irritated. Not having dealt with V123 from a producer's standpoint, it must be irritating to wade through hundreds of replies when most of them aren't presented in a professional manner.

Just my 2 cents.
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[Doc]

As has been said dozens of times before here, "one gets what one pays for"!

[Frank F]

Everyone here keeps forgetting what the rate most folks get from V123 is... $10.00 to $20.00 a read.

I can understand this "submitter's" frustrations, but then he is using V123... if he were competent, he wouldn't be using V123 in the first place. He wants a deal, and he wants to have high quality VO talent for pennies... won't happen... not from V123 anyway...

Personal opinion: spend your money elsewhere... you would be better served getting a better mic or mixer or.... than trying to get lots of (or any) paying gigs from V123...

Frank F
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

[dhouston67]

Frank beat me to it somewhat, but here's my final weigh-in.

Not knowing the producer's identity, I grant that he may well fall into that category suggested by Kevin...but I have my doubts. In my experience, very few "top-level producers" a) post jobs for talent on V123, b) feel that $500 is far too steep for 20 hours of professional VO work, or c) take the time to outline every single detail of what's expected in the reply...ostensibly to those whom he was rejecting in the first place.

Yes, all of his concerns are valid. If he's looking to hire at bargain-basement rates (like so many others on V123), then he'd save himself lots of greif by realizing that he's going to get some bargain-basement responses.
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[Christopher French]

I was reading the initial post to this thread and when I read that he wants to know the person's going rate for 20 hours of voice work a month, I was thinking about $1000 to $1250. . .but then I remembered that he wanted it to be about $100 to $125. I should check my email and see if I got that message. I haven't even been looking at the voice123 stuff anymore. I just delete it when it comes in. Since I'm not a paying member, I can't audition for any of the public posts, and they won't list my name in their searches, so why the f*** should I even bother with voice123? So far, it's been nothing but a big, fat, hairy waste of time.
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"The only limitations we truly have are the ones we place on ourselves." -Attributed to Donald Trump

[LaurenLee]

Hi everyone! Well, I said I'd post when I had something of value to contribute, so here goes:

I signed up for V123 a year ago January (result of a New Year's resolution to kickstart myself again after four years caring for aging/dying parents). It was part of what the business gurus might call a "multi-pronged marketing plan" -- I contacted all the studios and producers for whom I'd done work over the years and whom I'd advised I'd be on hiatus when the family stuff became intense, got myself a website and started online networking as well. I had no real expectations, and spent a few months in the "custom demo required" runaround before getting wise. Nonetheless, I got my first gig, a :30 TV VO for $250USD within the first two weeks, and that client has contacted me since for ongoing, similar-paying jobs. Other V123 gigs, for example: :60 TV $500USD; 2-minute corporate $350USD; IVR retainer for $400USD/month for 0-20 one-liners.

Yes, it can be a nasty system, especially when you see leads like the one cited in this post (yup, I got it too, snorted and deleted) -- but there are people like that out there, and a wise man once told me the best thing I could learn when I started in this biz was to learn to suffer fools gladly. That was when the internet didn't even exist. (oh my!)

V123 netted me several thousand bucks in the first year, just less than a third of my total income. I was glad to renew. Yes, I deplore what the low-ballers are doing to the industry, but ours isn't the only industry the internet is turning upside down: good thing is, history shows quality will prevail, even in a world of Billy-Bob poop'n'scoops. (Sorry, I'm into old-car restorations too). IMHO, best thing to do is figure out how to make the wave work for you. And enjoy the ride. Only comes along once, so what the heck.

I've made V123 work for me by carefully tweaking my profile so their search engine turns up jobs I want to do. I won't answer a lead that low-balls on price, and refuse to engage in the "custom demo required" runaround unless they meet my minimums (I won't even turn on my equipment for less than a hundred bucks). I quote a range for first-time inquiries, modelled after my "big city" agent's rate card. I do get a respectable number of private leads, and have gained several ongoing clients and networked them to other new clients.

Just my two cents...

You guys are great!
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www.voiceover.ca

[schaer]

I'm staying out of this one However, instructions - the more detailed the better - are an essential part of the biz and I prefer a director/producer who knows what s/he wants.

I just popped in here to tell y'all that I posted under "Work", that the station I work with is looking to establish a voice pool. So far I have demos from twelve guys and two (2) gals. Does this reflect the ratio in our business?

Bernard
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