VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Edwino · Joined: 29 Oct 2012 Posts: 22 Location: Mid Atlantic

Since the update of the voices.com website, a week ago, I have seen the opening rate of my auditions dive to about 11%, before it was about 70%. Anyone else having any problems with this?

Edwin

Jason Huggins · Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 9:34 am Post subject:

I would be curious to see if there was a change in their voicematch calculations. Has the number of 100% matches declined significantly?

Bish · Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 9:57 am Post subject:

I have an on-going dialogue with voices.com at the moment. I have gone on record with them as being very critical of the "opened" & "thumbs-up" system. I was finding that I was seeing lots of jobs being awarded when my audition was submitted early (say, 6 of 40) and hadn't even been opened. I stated that it wasn't in anyone's interest for this to be known. Updates like this encourage micro-management by the talent and can only lead to frustration when your submission is not even opened. A lose-lose situation with no benefits making "send and forget" difficult to maintain (I know, that's mainly my fault).

The latest development (last night)... I checked on one of my "thumbs-up" auditions only to find that the audition page noted it as "Not Yet Reviewed" by the client. Clearly contradictory signals... it's either opened and liked, or not opened... make your bloody mind up!

I tried to impress upon voices.com that too much information is a distraction and can only lead to frustration because the talent gets to see the regard in which he's held by the prospective clients... very little indeed!

This latest development is just a further example of how voices.com are chasing the stat & metrics-ridden model that is Voice123.... and they're chasing it in such a desperate fashion that they're rushing this crap out before it works properly (I don't pay hundreds of dollars per year to be your beta-tester).

Things can only get worse. I await their (no doubt mealy-mouthed & condescending) reply to last night's bug report and rant Smile

_________________
Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

Lee Gordon · Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 10:46 am Post subject:

I have experienced the same things as noted above. For example, of the last 50 demos I've submitted, only six show as having been opened.

Like Bish, I looked at one that had been given a "Thumbs Up" and when I looked at the "My Audition" screen it was marked Not Yet Auditioned.

Unlike Bish, I don't care how much information they provide. I just want what they do provide to be accurate.
_________________
Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

Bish · Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:24 pm Post subject:

It's my own inability to ignore the information that the problem for me Smile

With the current system, I'm actually starting to worry about whether or not this is having an impact on the client's side. If Voices.com can screw up so completely, then it might be possible that someone has given a thumbs up to an audition and then followed through with a booking... only to find that the system won't allow it because the audition is marked as unopened. As a client, I'm probably going to move on to the next (especially as Voices now make it difficult to make email contact with someone).

The point is that I shouldn't even be put in the position where these are questions in my mind. The system is in tatters and there is no confidence. Bad information is far more damaging than no information.

Voices have not yet replied to my bug report from last night (apart from the auto-ack generated by the system). I wait... with low expectations.
_________________
Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

JoeActor · Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:57 pm Post subject:

I'm in the same camp with Bish.

VoiceMatch is just "SmartCaste Lite" from my perspective.
If voices.com's customer service becomes as abusive as V123, there won't be much left to distinguish the two companies.

I've already had multiple conversations with the folks at voices.com. Initially, they were going to show the VoiceMatch score to the seekers, but after some negative feedback from the talent, they said they would hide the actual numbers. What they didn't say (and ultimately implemented) was that auditions would now be ranked in order of VoiceMatch! And how exactly is that really different?

Needless to say, I'm very disappointed in the direction they're heading. They had an elegantly simple system, and now it's getting messed up to compete with, IMHO, the horror that is V123.

Like the WOPR says in War Games:
"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."

Joe J Thomas
www.JoeActor.com
www.SoundsGoodToYou.com

Scott Pollak · Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 1:40 pm Post subject:

JoeActor · Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 2:03 pm Post subject:

Limerick Lane Audio · Contributore Level V Joined: 13 Jan 2012 Posts: 151

Scott Pollak · Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 2:30 pm Post subject:

And Joe, yes, we can and will certainly agree to disagree. No problem there. There are MANY folks here who will disagree with me about V123, and probably a number who feel quite adversely about voices.com.

I don't know anything about the inner workings of V123. Since the old forum days, there hasn't been any forum-censoring that I'm aware of. Steven Lowell has been extremely forthcoming and he and I have become decent friends over the past few years.

Certainly Alex is in it to make money! Why else would he start up and run a business? Why do you act and do v/o? To make money, of course. And I'm certain the fine folks who started and run voices.com are in it to make a buck or two, also.

I left a company that I felt wasn't being fair to their clients (a well-known v/o 'factory' that I've discussed at length on the 'entre nouz' forum), so I certainly will choose to NOT support a business that I feel is unethical. But again, I don't have the knowledge, insight or feelings about Alex and V123 that you have.

And there is a not-so-fine line between standing up for one's ethics and beliefs and applying for the poorhouse. I have to feed my family, too.

THAT BEING SAID.... If I really felt Alex was a bad person, or that V123 was an 'evil' (my words, not yours) business, I certainly would pull the plug.

But they're nothing more than an online v/o business, like the rest. And a lot of well-respected talents, such as Connie, Lee, JS, and many others, probably feel the same way since they, too, are subscribers there.

But again, Joe... no harm, no foul. We SHALL disagree on this, and all is cool. I, personally, am very glad to not have to compete over there against someone as talented as you. Competition is already tough enough!
_________________
Scott R. Pollak
Clients include Pandora, NPR Atlanta, Wells Fargo, Cisco, Humana, Publix, UPS, AT&T, HP, Xerox and more.

www.voicebyscott.com

Jason Huggins · Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 4:13 pm Post subject:

Some passionate P2P conversation. Bish, I thought you said you wouldn't be pulled into P2P conversations Smile

Personally, I am on both sites, both have always paid for themselves, and I've found some great clients through both services. Regardless of each business or website model, if it is consistent, and I can come up with a plan to leverage the system in place, I'm good with whatever they do.

Bish · Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 4:43 pm Post subject:

Ahhhh... I'm relying on a technicality here. This isn't (or wasn't) a discussion about the validity of using P2P sites per se (everyone to their own) but a specific response to a comment regarding the failure of the mechanics and operations of one particular site.

Please note that I'm steering well clear of the other discussion!

... and still no answer from Voices Smile

_________________
Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

Bruce · Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 4:47 pm Post subject:

We really have beaten the "Are P2Ps worth it?" issue to death, haven't we?

The topic is this one site's current glitch and their response to it, yes?

Many thanks.

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

Jason Huggins · Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 4:51 pm Post subject:

Duly noted. I will steer clear of religion, politics, and P2P validity. Smile

Edwino · Joined: 29 Oct 2012 Posts: 22 Location: Mid Atlantic

I have received a reply saying there is a glitch in the player which seekers use to hear auditions. And they are trying to resolve it. I quite like the information as long as it accurate, as already mentioned.