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What's Ahead? It's Already Happening:
Unions, Agents, P2P, Talent & More
November 9, 2010
 By Roger KingVoice Talent Agent
Performance Network Agency Given that I’m a wildly successful voice talent agent - and by wildly, I mean I am able to make the occasional mortage payment and cover my regular dental check-ups - people often ask for my opinion of where the voice over industry is headed.
Okay, not that often ... but after 10 minutes of careful deliberation, I’m ready to offer some opinions.
TRENDING NON-UNION
First off, I may be biased, but I think the industry is trending non-union.
Now, just because I run a non-union shop does not mean I am anti-union. But I think for voice work, the union model is outdated.
Producers on tight timelines don’t want to have to fill out three different contracts and deal with complicated rate structures when they’ve simply got to get a radio spot produced and on the air by Wednesday.
MANY RATES COMPETITIVE
And I think there is a perception by some in the union world that those of us doing non-union work are giving our services away.
But I’ve actually found that in many cases, our rates are competitive, if not higher than union rates. But of course, we usually have a buyout rather than residuals.
On occasion that can be frustrating when a client plays the hell out of a TV spot for what seems like a decade.
But commercials most often only run for a short time, so residuals become a moot issue.
In general, there is just more flexibility budget-wise in the non-union world, and we are set up to respond to booking requests at a speed that matches the fast-paced world in which we live.
AGENTS LOSING?
Yes, there are some home studio folks voicing spots for $50, but there are bottles of wine that sell for $6, too. I think you know what I’m saying.
Some have predicted that the advent of the home studio and now, pay-to-play sites like Voices.com and Voice123, may spell an end to the agency model of voice representation.
But after initially hyperventilating at the success of these sites, I recognize that there are many different types of clients.
FOR BUSY PRODUCERS
I know a producer who listened to over 700 auditions to cast a voice for a series of web commercials.
Aside from all the cocktail parties he must have missed, the problem with this approach is it … hmmm … how shall I put this?
Takes too much damn time!
HOW AGENTS HELP
A busy producer may not have time to listen to 7 auditions, let alone 70. Those are the producers I love, as the owner of an agency.
We are a solution for them. Everything is organized. We know the talent.
We attempt to and often succeed in making the producer’s job easier so he/she can deal with other important aspects of the project like editing, reworking the budget or locating a decent sushi restaurant near the recording the studio.
NARROW THE CHOICES
On the other end of the scale, I know another producer who on each and every project asks me to only audition four people.
He doesn’t want his client to have too many choices, or it will take forever to complete the project.
I get the feeling he has read The Paradox of Choice - Why More Is Less.
My point in all this, is that just like any other area of life - the range of producer styles and personalities runs the gamut.
Which means there will continue to be work for both agencies like mine and pay-to-play sites.
LOOKING AHEAD ...
On that note though, I do have some other thoughts about what to expect in the world of voice-overs in the next five years.
In fact, I’ve come up with a list of 10, without pre-determining that I was making a Top 10 list.
Now, you may feel that some or all of these are already happening, which means you won’t give me much credit for being prescient. Hey, I never said I was Kreskin!
1. I think pay-to-play sites will have to move to a business model that is more commission-based. It is not sustainable to just make money off membership fees.
2. The recording studio will never die as long as there are good take-out/delivery places nearby. Producers need a place to take their clients and justify their existences.
3. Budgets are shrinking. Not necessarily at the top end, but in the middle. This doesn’t mean that voice talents will make less - as much as it means producers will turn to suppliers (talents) who can make their jobs easier.
4. Clients will always pay for quality. This is the part of the biz that won’t change, and one I quite enjoy.
5. Like any profession, the pretenders eventually fade away or are weeded out. We are experiencing a peak in people pursuing voice work. But most people still don’t know it’s even a career option. Shhhhh …
6. People who can spot talent and present said talent in a coherent way will be more valuable.
7. It will continue to be a bit like the Wild West in terms of pricing, but see #4.
8. Demand for foreign language voice overs will explode. This is good news for anyone who just happens to have some involvement with an ethnic voice talent agency: www.ethnicvoicetalent.com.
9. Acting will become even more a key to securing voice work. It will be less important to take “broadcasting courses” and more important to take improv and acting classes.
10. More people connected to the voice over industry will write web articles and blog pieces about what to expect in the voice over industry.
ABOUT ROGER ...
Roger King is the president of Peformance Network (PN) Agency, which provides voice over talent to the radio, television, film, multi-media and animation industries. In 2004, he launched a sister agency, Ethnic Voice Talent (EVT), and now represents over 100 voice over talents and translators in more than 15 different languages.
PN Agency: www.pnagency.com Ethnic Voice Talent: www.ethnicvoicetalent.com Email: pnagency@pnagency.com Blog: www.voiceovercanada.ca 
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Maria
www.mariahowell.com
www.facebook.com/mariahowellfanpage
I also believe that I am contributing to number 10. My blog stats just told me that I'm getting very close to 40,000 views this year, and that too makes me jump for joy!
All in all, there are many reasons to be optimistic. Thanks for sharing your insights, Roger!
Point #4 will always be true.
I hope you're right about p2p sites but they would close their doors within a few weeks if they only earned a commission on jobs awarded. And they could be cut out of the picture too easily by talent.
I have a question of Steven of V123 who writes:
"I also tend to disagree that Voice123 is headed towards commission-based because if voice talent can make $5,000-$100,000 a year on Voice123, which 10% - 40% of paying subscribers do, commission-based means they will actually be paying more than a subscription fee right now ... MUCH more."
I'd like some clarification of those numbers please - 10% to 40% is quite a range. I'm sure if stats can be pulled, they can be far more accurate than that. And what % of that 10-40% are at the $5,000 level versus the $100,000? I 'm pretty sure that a lot less than 0.1% (that's one in a thousand) earns a 6 figure income from any pay to play site. And I'm also confident that less than 10% earn even $5,000. Can you please clarify your numbers?
Lynn
Indeed, once "the pretenders" realize that flipping burgers is a better way to make a living and stop attending conferences (numbers have now started to drop significantly), P2P sites will have to face other revenue streams or close up shop.
And Roger is right ....only those who pursue acting will rise to the top.
TS
I believe you are correct in your "educated" observations. Thanks for posting them here. I especially like the point about "the pretenders" eventually fading away. That taking place will certainly help those of us who are legitimate contenders.
I think you make the same mistake many voice talent make by lumping paid subscription sites together just because one pays to use it.
Keep in mind:
Voice123 is not successful because of Voice123.
Voice123 is successful because voice over talent pay one fee, never pay commission, never wait for a phone to ring, and everything the talent makes goes in their pocket. If it all goes sour, deduct it from taxes. There is no intermediary to say, 'I wont pass along this talent because he wont make me money'.
All Voice123 did was set up a system that said, 'Here voice talent. You are smart enough to find work yourself.'
Voice123 is not anti-agent. In fact, some of the most successful talent on the site have agents. It is a business tool to find work.
The true root issue here is that many voice talent believe they are betraying some older method of finding work, or such people involved in those methods; simply because they tried it.
It is also a mistake to lump Voice123 in with other websites. It has a completely different business model. Voice123 does not 'sell auditions'. It sells 'technology services'.
I also tend to disagree that Voice123 is headed towards commission-based because if voice talent can make $5,000-$100,000 a year on Voice123, which 10% - 40% of paying subscribers do, commission-based means they will actually be paying more than a subscription fee right now ... MUCH more.
As for Unions, they use Voice123 to find talent and sign contracts directly with the voice talent. Follow the Twitter posts and you will pick up on it.
There is MUCH more going on than meets the eye, and challenging conventional perceptions is in order to grow with the future of the voice industry.
Best,
Steven
Community Development Manager
Voice123
ps- When a shy guy like myself gets confident and outspoken about what he believes, I can guarantee you I know what I am talking about.
And thanks John for publishing it!