VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[ricevoice]

This has happened to me a few times the past couple of months, so I thought I'd pass this along. I've had a couple of prod houses I do work for present me with auditions and ask for price quotes for jobs, and in their e-mails to me they asked me to be lenient with my quote since the client is in (insert small market). So I Googled the clients based upon the info I found in the respective scripts and found that:

-- Client 1 is based in a "small-town" in Texas... one that happens to be a Dallas suburb. I asked for and received my full rate for large market radio (the spots were airing in Dallas).

-- Client 2 is based in a "small-town" in Kansas, but happens to be a massive company with worldwide revenues of nearly $100 Billion-with-a-B annually. I asked for and received my full rate for a 5-minute non-broadcast narration.

The internets certainly make it a lot easier to do our homework before bidding on jobs, and as freelancers we can't always assume that the people presenting the jobs have done this research... and really if their production fees are the same regardless of usage there's no reason for them to. Taking the extra 2 minutes to get the background info on these clients allowed me to ask for (and ultimately receive) double what I would have charged for a small-scale client... definitely time well-spent!
_________________
Chris Rice - Noisemaker
www.ricevoice.com

[asnively]

I completely agree with you! We've got teh intertubes, we ought to use 'em! And very encouraging that the clients ended up agreeing to pay full price. That's a real testament to your talent and the value you brought to their project. Well done!
_________________
the Amy Snively family of brands for all your branded thing needs.
Amy Snively
Faff Camp
FaffCon
TalkerTees

[Mike Harrison]

Sometime within the last year, I was asked by a casting agent to provide my Don Pardo impression for a commercial client. The casting service said, after advising them of their legal responsibilities for using Mr. Pardo's 'likeness' for commercial purposes, the client opted - rather than have me do a 'full-on' Don - to have me read in the style of Mr. Pardo.

When the ISDN session rolled around, however, it was clear that the client either had not been informed of or they simply wanted to ignore the legalities. When I very courteously and gingerly explained the ramifications (that we all could be sued), the client - clearly a spoiled brat accustomed to getting his way - quickly grew testy and said the whole idea of the spot was that it sound like Don Pardo (I didn't see the connection in the copy). He further whined that "the spot's only going to air in a local market," and the chance of it being heard by anyone who mattered was slim to none. And, against the advice of the casting agency and myself, he demanded the 'full-on' Don.

We did one take and then I politely excused myself for a moment, left the booth and called the casting agent and said that due to the client's unwillingness to play by the rules, I wanted a signed 'hold harmless' release. The agent told me to send the release to her and do as the client asked.

We finished the session and I sent the release form. The next morning I received an email from the casting agent who stated that the client "went through the roof" at the idea of having to sign a release, refused to do so and decided instead to re-write, re-cast and re-record the spot.

I used the interwebbernet to look up the client, find out who their advertising agency was, and learned that the local market the spots were going to air in was... an Arbitron top 10 east coast metro.

But, gee... if the client (not a Mom & Pop business but a well-known local restaurant chain) was so certain that nothing would have come of having my Don Pardo impression air in this major city, I wonder why he didn't just sign the release. Too bad, baby. It's called responsibility. Here's your blankie.
_________________
Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.