Navigating Voiceover Rates – The History!

Navigating voiceover rates… That is a tough one! If a time machine was available to us the voiceover world would look very different 25 years ago. It is an industry that has accelerated, evolved, and changed dramatically in a very short space of time. It is an industry that 100 years ago did not exist outside of live performances such as ventriloquism. So, now it is hard to believe looking at the modern-day industry that only 25 years ago the voiceover industry was a closed club. Very few voice actors were working, voiceover-specific agents held pretty much all the cards and it paid… well… brilliantly! So has that died a death? not entirely… but it is complicated! So let us navigate the history of voiceover rates together in this article and also explore the changes in the industry as a whole.

Navigating Rates? How About Navigating Tapes!

Yes! It might sound bizarre or like something from a museum but actually sending demo tapes was the norm in the 80s and 90s. A lot of time and effort not only went into getting material recordings but also getting them copied and posted out to prospective representatives. Home studios were just not a thing! Perhaps the rich and famous may of had something but no doubt 99.99% of people were heading into studios. In fact some of the stars would be driven around in limos going from studio to studio – sounds nice right?

Say Goodbye to Good Rates!

Ok maybe I am being dramatic, we have not said goodbye to good rates entirely, but the landscape is different. Agents no longer hold the gates to all of the work but they do typically host the better jobs. Bigger budget organizations don’t have the time to be wasted on unorganized and unprofessional wannabee voice actors. So they typically avoid marketplaces, AI, and pay-to-play sites. By the way, not all voice actors on the marketplace and pay-to-play sites are wannabee talent, but you can be sure you will find some there.

This reminds me of a story a friend told me. A client of his needed a project done within 24 hours and could only pay $100. My friend told him his rate for that project was $250 and usually it would be an additional $50 for the quick turnaround time but he was happy to give him a $50 discount. The client said no and went to a pay-to-play site. He spent his $100 easily but two days later needed a pick-up. The voice actor he used was a 19-year-old guy in university recording the audio on his phone under a blanket. The client could not get ahold of the student and in turn went back to my buddy! This time my buddy did not let him off for the quick turnaround as the client needed it immediately. So instead of paying $250, he spent $400 all because he chose to lowball and use a platform that invites unreliability.

Navigating Voiceover Rates Wrapped

So there you have it? What else can I say? You can find a harsh accent trying to imitate American English on Fiverr. Or you can find a young guy looking for beer money whilst he is studying via the pay-to-play sites. Oh, and we did not even touch on AI – but that’s ok I have a whole article about that here. The alternative, of course, is to hire experienced, talented, professional voice actors and adhere to the industry standard rates. So to close, I will leave you with one final gimmick. If you are paying with bananas you will get monkeys, but if you pay properly you’ll get everything and more. Sometimes the cheaper option is more time-consuming, expensive, and damaging in the long run.

Navigating Voiceover Rates – The History! by Debbie Grattan