Is PANIC Setting In at Voices.com? 2 Signs

I talk to a lot of people in the voiceover business.

Voice actors, casting directors, producers, agents, you name it.

And while not everybody's business is flat or down at any given time, think most people acknowledge that right now, the voiceover industry is going through a slow period.

Now, as I film this, we're in the back half of September of 2023, and I think most people will acknowledge that this summer particularly was slower than most summers, and it's been that way for several months.

Now, one of the facets of the business that I think is seeing maybe the most change right now are the online platforms.

And today, we're going to take a look at two specific pieces of communication that I think give a really good snapshot in time of just how desperate Voices appears.

And make sure you stick around for the end of the video because there's somebody out there that's even more desperate than Voices. And we'll tell you who that is at the end.

So, the first piece of evidence that Voices is getting increasingly desperate is this line that they've added to at least some, if not all of their auditions.

“This job is posted at the client's approved talent budget. While all quotes are welcome, we encourage competitive bids to improve the likelihood of being chosen by the client.”

Translation: “While all bids are welcome, we need more lower bids in order to service our clients because we're sure as hell not going to lower our fees.”

This is an indicator to me that for low-budget projects, now more than ever, Voices is seeing submission numbers much lower than they're maybe accustomed to seeing.

Now, it's also entirely plausible that Voices started seeing these numbers drop and took a more active approach before they started getting complaints from their buyers. Who knows?

Either way, Voices and or the buyers are not happy with the numbers of submissions they're getting for lower budget projects.

And I think that's a fantastic thing.

That means now, maybe more than ever, we're getting grounded as a group, as voice actors in knowing our worth and standing up for fair and appropriate rates. And we're not auditioning for those lowball projects like we used to.

If that's true, that's awesome.

But what really blows me away is the yet again hypocrisy of Voices.

If the submission numbers are suffering, is Voices making their fees more competitive? Have they offered a break to voice actors or to talent buyers with the platform fees?

The answer, of course, is no.

But they have zero problem bluntly asking voice actors to lower their rates to meet the client's stated budget.

Now, this hypocrisy completely aligns historically with Voices’ what I call the “two sides, one mouth” approach to voice actors.

They'll say on one hand, and this is a direct quote from Voices CEO David Cicerelli: “I can say with certainty that we've helped more talent than anyone.”

But when Voices introduced professional services years ago, it didn't take long for us talent to figure out that the same jobs that were being posted elsewhere were being posted as professional service jobs on Voices.com for up to 60% less talent budget.

Also, in 2022, Voices introduced an affiliate program where they would pay you up to $100 for you to turn your client contacts over to them when they won't even be completely transparent with voice actors on who the talent buyer is that we're working for on any given job.

Hypocrisy is nothing new for Voices, but now we're starting to see a desperation that we previously haven't seen from them.

So first, Voices has added that line to the audition, the casting notices asking talent to lower their bids. And if and when that doesn't work, they've taken to reaching out to talent directly to literally beg them to submit for certain jobs.

And here's an example:

And when we look up this job, which by the way, is a managed services job, which means there's a point person at Voices in Managed Services whose job it is to make sure that the client is taken care of, to make sure that they get the submissions they need in order to cast a job and get the job produced.

And it's that person from whence this email came. And if we go to the casting notice on Voices, we see exactly why the number of submissions was low

5500 words of non-broadcast narration, roughly 37 minutes. Using GVAA rates, the budget should be $1250 to $1750 dollars.

The stated budget for this job. $150 or about 1/10 of appropriate professional rates.

Oh, I'm sorry. My bad. $120 because of course, 20% to Voices on top of your yearly fee, of course.

And for that privilege, you get to wait up to 90 days for payment.

Is it any wonder they're begging talent with not one, not two, but three pleases?

Now, this job has a particularly stratospheric level of hypocrisy because it's clearly a thinly veiled AI job, which would fly directly in the face of the fAIr Voices Pledge, which Voices signed months ago with NAVA, the National Association of Voice Actors.

Why do I believe this? Number one, “We're looking to hire hundreds of voice talents to record this project. We look forward to receiving as many auditions as possible.” That's red flag number one.

Number two, “Talent must read the script using their natural everyday voice without additional interpretation, acting, or intense emphasis. Produce speech at a consistent pace with clear articulation. Be able to record in a consistent style and pace and not deviate from the script.”

Red flag number four [my bad - should be #3]:

A very high level of sophistication and specificity in the audio specs. So, whenever that happens, we know that the client themselves have a high level of sophistication with audio production and spoken word production.

Let's take a look at usage. “The recordings will be used for internal research and development purposes. Non-broadcast, internal. In perpetuity, there will be no public or paid usage.”

That does not, kids, prevent them from reselling that material at a later date.

So once again, Voices is talking out of both sides of their mouth by all appearances.

But here's the saddest part of all, and this has nothing to do with Voices’ own desperation.

Just when I think we're making some progress, just when I think we're holding our ground, that we're starting to understand our worth as individuals and as a group, that we're standing up for fair and appropriate and professional rates…

Just when I think we're taking a big step forward, more than 183 voice actors, either undereducated on the proper rates that this work should command or more desperate than Voices themselves are, have submitted for this job.

We've got a lot of work to do.

For more information on the VO Freedom Master Plan, click that link. And to get my Move Touch Inspire Newsletter for voice actors that comes out usually Thursday morning, sometimes Thursday afternoon, click that link too.

In the meantime, thank you for being part of the conversation both here on YouTube, in the VP Pro community, at the Facebook group VO Freedom, and in the voiceover community at large. The more we talk about these issues, the more we can come together and the more that we can stand solid as a group and as individuals and get the fair and appropriate and professional rates we all deserve.

Thanks very much and we'll see you again next week.