VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[alextorrenegra]

[billelder]

Well...this proves one thing. This board is becoming the "go to" place for voiceover discussion when the owner of a Voiceover service comes here to defend their business model.

Hmmmm. Wonder when this board will set up its own VO site for clients to audition?

Now Deirdre, the question you need to answer is...Deal...or No Deal?

[Drew]

"Please note that this system will increase considerably the chances of you being hired by the talent-seeker. Our objective is to make you work less in auditioning and increase the chances of you being heard and hired,"

Please, do elaborate. It seems to me what will happen is that all of us premium members will, indeed, allow the low ballers to fall to the wayside as we await those $500 and better jobs to appear (of which there are few), and then..Ka Ching...two points wasted on yet another 300+ talent dog pile.
_________________
www.voiceoverdrew.com
Skype: andrew.hadwal1
Although I have a full head of hair, I'm quite ribald.

[Tom Greenlee]

Alex....I can understand the concept and how it would improve some of the major problems or concerns people have....but the one aspect of the credit system that I can't see a resolution for, is....yes the approximately 5 free auditions a month will reduce the number of people that audition for any given lead....but if you want to make your audition decisions wisely and only audition for the leads that appeal to you (with your 5 free auditions)...you have no idea what lead is going to come up next. You may pass up on some that don't really appeal to you or you think, there's better ones coming....so you wait.....one comes up....you audition....but after you've used your free auditions......the next lead that comes up is right up your alley and pays 2000 dollars....so you purchase more credits and audition for it.....how many times a month this could happen, you can't tell because you don't know what clients are going to post leads and what they will be...some months you may not need extra credits but some months you may need alot.....you can't really budget for it......how much will additional credits cost? that hasn't been stated yet in your info.....also it's very vague on how many credits a lead will cost to audition...your info says MOST can be answered with 2 credits...indicating some will be more than 2......what is the criteria so we can better know how much we will need......anything that pays over 500 dollars will cost 3 credits...4 credits? You understand what I'm getting at.
_________________
TG2

"Communication without intelligence is noise; Intelligence without communication is irrelevant."

Gen. Alfred. M. Gray, USMC
Former Commandant of the Marine Corps

[Deirdre]

[Drew]

"Sometimes they post a note in the WORK section. There are quite a few folks who have managed to find a gig thru their association on this board."

Yes, indeed.
_________________
www.voiceoverdrew.com
Skype: andrew.hadwal1
Although I have a full head of hair, I'm quite ribald.

[skynet74]

My Premium membership ends tomorrow. I received a voicemail message from the company Friday telling me they were going to call back on Monday with some great news for me. I'm sure that this great news for me will turn into great news for them as they attempt to get more of my money.

With that said, I do like several things about Voice123. I can audition several times a day in my pajamas and at least have the opportunity to make additional money. That's the good part. Unfortunately the bad part is that after 850 Answered Auditions in the last year, I've actually only received ONE $300 job. So the Math alone is enough to make me sour on the company.

The idea of having to pay to answer leads is not exactly making me want to rush to get my credit card tomorrow. I need more info. How much will these credits cost? Will this be on top of the $195 Dollar fee? I sure hope not, because that would probably be enough to make me never use that site again. If they are going to charge for credits, then I no longer want to hear anything about a yearly fee. it's just not going to happen for me. One or the other, but NOT Both.


We'll see.


John

[Tom Greenlee]

As a premium member you will get 10 free credits per month......that comes out to, 5 auditions free per month...1 audition is 2 credits...round about......after you have used your allotted 10 free credits, you will be required to purchase addtional credits if you want to audition for any more leads that month......that's how it is going to work. And YES....the additional credits you purchase will be on top of the 195 annual fee.
_________________
TG2

"Communication without intelligence is noise; Intelligence without communication is irrelevant."

Gen. Alfred. M. Gray, USMC
Former Commandant of the Marine Corps

[skynet74]

On Top of the $195 Fee? OK thanks for the info. Goodbye Voice123. It was nice knowing you.

[Tom Greenlee]

I'm a neutral party as far as V123 is concerned...I don't want to sound like I'm their spokesperson or anything, but you may want to reconsider and not throw away your membership so quickly......it IS a great marketing tool....and it does work out to much less than some other marketing vehicles you might be using or would consider using. Although I can't say I'm in absolute favor of the credit thing they are going to implement...it does provide you with some opportunity to land a paying gig, and it serves the alternate (VERY IMPORTANT) function as a powerful marketing tool. It still is a good value for what you are getting......I wouldn't rely on it as your primary means of getting work tho....just as a cost effective tool with the added bonus of the possibility of landing some gigs. My own opinion here.....not Gospel.
_________________
TG2

"Communication without intelligence is noise; Intelligence without communication is irrelevant."

Gen. Alfred. M. Gray, USMC
Former Commandant of the Marine Corps

[Spacegypsy]

The problem right now with V123 is that people are contacting the client directly once they have the company name, and some V123 ads actually now state that they can only accept contacts through V123, because of this trend.
It makes no difference to pay more to audition more, because even if you do, someone will have contacted the company directly and bagged the deal - it's a lot easier to bag a gig if you have spoken to the client and had some rapport, rather than them having to read a one-way communication through V123.
How on earth can they expect us to get excited about paying more money than we currently do (with the proposed credit system) , for less of an opportunity? If we buy that, we are as daft as they obviously think we are.
I don't get work through V123 anymore, though I used to, and sometimes I even wonder if all the leads are for real, because the wording is so similar.
I made the same suggestion as Connie, to charge clients for the service too, and just got the same answer "exciting changes coming soon!" - exciting for their bank balance, but not for bona fide talent.
If they upped their subscription charge, that would get rid of wannabees - but they want some of everybody's money, they are a business after all, so they keep the basic subscription low and charge on the credit system so the carrot keeps dangling.
If Voice123 were a casting agency, they would make nothing like the cash they do from the low pay gigs they offer.

[Drew]

Well stated, Kat. I couldn't agree more.
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Skype: andrew.hadwal1
Although I have a full head of hair, I'm quite ribald.

[alextorrenegra]

TGG, John, Drew,

If you are unsatisfied with the Voice123 system as it currently works, I don't encourage you to pay or renew your membership. Seriously: I am not writing in here with the objective of selling memberships or defending our business plan. I am writing in here to listen to what you have to say and to improve what we do.

Although many talents and talent-seekers are happy with our service, we want to increase the percentage of users that find Voice123 useful. We know that that is the only way we can stay in business in the long run: by helping the industry.

We are currently working out many of the details that address the specific questions you have about this new system. We are doing tests and working hard so that only fair and long lasting solutions are implemented. And that they are implemented well. You can rest assured that if the credit system does not pass the tests properly, it won't be implemented.

Again, thanks for your honest and sincere feedback.

[skynet74]

Personally I would rather see Voice123 act more like an AGENT. The client should be required to pay Voice123 Directly. Then after keeping 10 percent for themselves, Voice123 will then pay the winning Voice talent the remaining amount. I feel this would bring in more than enough money to avoid the need for this proposed "CREDIT SYSTEM".

Combine that with the idea of sending out each lead to only 25 or 50 members. Then cycle through the entire list of premium members for each job so that everybody gets an equal chance. This would instantly increase the rate of succeess each Premium member has in securing work.

If Voice123 could come up with a Business model such as the one I've just proposed I really think it would be a success for everybody involved.


John

[brianforrester]

I just can't keep my fingers away from the keyboard when this topic comes up...

We all know that V123 appears to be well intentioned however poorly executed from a talent perspective. This latest "upgrade" only serves to reinforce the poor execution opinion.

When my Premium Membership came up for renewal, I received a very nice e-mail from a V123 representative asking me if I was going to renew, and also soliciting my feedback. Being the good hearted vo-bb'er that I am I offered up my opinion in near trilogy novel format, which I felt was objective and well intentioned. I obviously want to see V123 be successful, because the long term success of sites like this have the potential to help the industry (or hurt the industry if done poorly).

Anyway, I felt that I was polite (although long winded) and fully anticipated a quick little reply from the gentleman in question with at the very least a stock "Thank you for your feedback, however we have reviewed your comments and have decided to go with another talent"... nope, not so much as a read reply!

My point... for a company that claims to be looking out for the best interest of their talent pool, to solicit feedback and then not even offer so much as a thank you note, is a very poor practice and only serves to reinforce that the feedback from talent is not held in high regard. Very odd, since it's the talent who pay the bills!

As I've said before, I wish V123 all the best, and at such time as I feel they are truly looking out for the best interest of the talent and providing a genuine service to our community, I will willingly open my wallet. At this time, they appear to spiraling in the opposite direction of all advice offered by many professional talent both on this board and elsewhere.

Good luck to you Alex, but I genuinely suggest you begin listening to the opinions of the pros... not just paying lip service to them!
_________________
Brian Forrester Voice Overs
www.brianforrester.com
brian@brianforrester.com
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