VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[iannyc]

Hey gang,

I'm a member of voices.com and not voice123.

Ive noticed a sharp decline in the number of decent paying jobs on voices.com (paying at least $500), has anyone noticed the jobs on voice123 getting better? Or worse? Is the cat out of the bag on voices??

Let me know!!!

-Ian

[Bish]

The short answer is yes.
Assume that any client that uses Voices is aware of, and may also use Voice123. Voices are not operating in a vacuum, and their recent shenanigans, most notably their commission rate hike to 20% has not gone unnoticed. I have not subscribed to Voices in quite a while but maintained a free profile for the sake of one big client who needed to use their system as a single contractor for multiple voice talent. He has decided that them raising their rate from 10% to 20% is taking the piss and has now set me up as a direct vendor on their corporate system. Basically, the bigger the job, the bigger the 20% dollar value. Voices have said "their clients have no problem with the price increase" which is delusional bullshit as many talents have first-hand knowledge of clients deserting them. If they are of a mind to use a P2P, then Voice123 is a far better option. I had also let my Voice123 subscription lapse, but recently won a year. I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of higher ticket jobs as compared to when I was a member before.
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
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[iannyc]

Capital, matey!! Thx for the tip!!!

-I

[iannyc]

Btw have you had a problem w invoicing/getting paid since they dont handle it??

[Bish]

I've never been stiffed... ever, in ten years*. I've never asked for 50% up front and I've never sent crippled or watermarked files to ensure payment. When dealing with a client through V123, it's the same as dealing one-to-one with a regular client. Voices is the exception, not the norm.

* I will admit to being fortunate. Others may have different stories.
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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.

[Jason Huggins]

I'm in the same boat. I've never had someone refuse to pay or anything like that. I also don't send watermarked audio, though I do sometimes only read a portion of the script if I don't know the client. I have never discovered that my audio has been stolen either.

My thought has always been that I'm working with people who use voices to produce a product (quite frequently for someone else) and most of those companies want to have good relationships with good talent. Stealing a VO would be a very difficult way to run a production company for very long. Everyone I've worked with (for the most part) has been solid professional people who work for reputable companies (or own reputable companies). Nobody wants a bad name in this entertainment industry so I doubt 99% of clients would even consider being shady. But..maybe I've been lucky too

I did have one client not pay once (and only once) but it was because his company went under and he lost his home. It wasn't a huge job so I just let it go.

[SteveToner]

[Bish]

I should add that my circumstances are different from most. For those that don't know, I'm a Brit resident in New York... so my Voice123 filter is only set for British & Other. It may skew the results because, as we all know, you Yanks are a dime-a-dozen and hence a lot cheaper
_________________
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.

[SteveToner]

I just went back through the emails I got in October. 30 "matches." 4 of them are TBD on the budget. Two at 500, which was the highest amount.

Amounts: 125, 200, 150, 400, 100, 100-300, TBD, 300, 300, 150, 300, 240GBP, 500, TBD, 100-120, 500, 350, 375, 300, 100-200, TBD, 150, 300-400, TBD, 100GBP, 200-250, 200-250, 350, 200, 450

Now, if I recall correctly, in another thread someone who was in the top 10% was getting about 10% of the jobs he auditioned for. My batting average would certainly be lower. If I had auditioned for all of these jobs, I might have gotten one. I didn't figure the average amount, but it looks to be maybe around $250. So is that what I could expect as a monthly income from V123? $3K/yr minus subscription fee?
I think there are better opportunities out there than that...
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www.TonerVoice.com

[Kristin Lennox]

I don't think, as a standard member, that you're seeing all the auditions that would be sent to you. If you only got 30 in all of October, that's REALLY low.

I think I would get an average of 30 per DAY, on a premium subscription.
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[SteveToner]

OK, but then shouldn't they be sending me the ones that are most likely to make me want to sign up? Their current marketing efforts are backfiring on them if what you say is true (assuming that in those others there would be a significant number of higher priced jobs)...
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www.TonerVoice.com

[Bish]

I've received 26 audition requests in the last week... and that's just for a Brit voice... I think Kristin is right about 30 per day for a US voice. Remember though, SmartCast will not send all of the listed auditions... there were probably far more than those 26 they sent me as they would have held some back because I don't pay for the firehose and I had the audacity to actually respond to a couple of them

The weekly "this is what you missed" message to non-premium members would probably be at least a couple of hundred long... and I think they decided that wasn't a good thing and they just give a sampling.

Oh, and of the jobs I have received, a number have been healthy four-figure ones.
_________________
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]

In the past week, I received 43 SmartCast invitations, the average value of which was $505. However, several in the $700-1200 range were for multiple spots or included cut-downs. And way too many of them included the dreaded "full buyout." And some called for specs I don't fit (African American, British, or to be read in French or Spanish). Consequently, the majority of those 43 went straight to the trash.

I did not include any jobs posted at "Union Rates" in my calculations because they generally don't go into detail about usage, so it's difficult to pin down how much they would ultimately pay.
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Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

[Ed Fisher]

AND...along these lines...

I haven't dealt with voices.com for over a year. But, I just received a "private invitation" through them to do a spot for a company I have dealt with before. I found out that my usual producer had left that company and my new contact was a lady. I told her though direct mail that we should deal directly (which I had done before) since I no longer was a member of voices.com and also that fact that they had doubled their commissions. This was her reply:

"To avoid the headache of having to set you up as a vendor, (which requires an invoice rather than a credit card payment, a W9, signed contract, etc.), would you be willing to go back through Voices.com if we increase the rate to cover their higher commission fees?"

I mean...WTF?

She would rather spend more money then deal with me directly.

I just have to shake my head.
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[ConnieTerwilliger]