GET TO WORK

He: Did I read on your blog where you told people trying to break into voice work to chase gigs on Fiverr and Upwork?

Me: If you’re one of the (very) few people who actually read my blog, then yes you did.

He: But the big name “coaches” and “experts” say gig sites like those are bad for the industry, and provide garbage gigs at equally awful rates.  They say gig sites offer cut rate quality, and potentially doom participants to getting pigeonholed as cut rate, low talent performers.

Me: Well, I’m not “they,” I’m me.  And I’m certainly not a “big name” anything.  But none of “they” are particularly interested in new artists becoming “they.”  “They” are a lot more interested in keeping competition to a minimum.  Some of “they” are really just hoping to score a few bucks off dreamers for “coaching.”  If they can get you to pay them AND keep you from turning into a competitor, that’s two wins in one.  

He: Are you saying some of the big name people are “gatekeeping?”

Me: Not all of “they.”  But a percentage.  Look, the reality is that the pandemic caused an explosion of people trying to work from home.  Setting up a rudimentary voice over studio is as easy as tacking up some comforters in a closet.  Now, everyone with a mic and a dream is trying to break into the industry.  Most will flame out fairly quickly.  But the ones with real talent and determination will find work, and then more work.  Clients are a lot less interested in your work history than they are in your work future.  If you can provide the read they need, and you’re not some wanted fugitive or lunatic, they’re probably too busy to give a damn if you did a v/o for some rando YouTube channel for 5 bucks last fall, or whatever.

He: But don’t “they” have a point about gig sites causing a “race to the bottom” industry-wide, rate wise?

Me: You have to consider the clientele.  That blockbuster movie’s production house isn’t gonna hire the v/o for the global trailer on Fiverr.  That Big 3 automaker isn’t looking on Upwork for the voice to introduce their next sport-ute.  No one is scoring a national ad campaign for a monster fast food chain on a gig site.

He: But the big name agencies have rules about their signees being off the gig sites.  Some even say they’ll refuse to sign you if you’re active on one.

Me: And they absolutely should.  When you rise to the level of real representation, taking gig site work undercuts not only your own paycheck, but your agency’s, too.  10-20% of 5 bucks won’t keep an agency’s lights on, much less help them help their roster find work.  But my advice was for the newbies, the people who are capable of doing the work, but haven’t found that “break” yet.  As I said then: “Get. The. Gig.”  Without a professional demo, professional advancement is nearly impossible.  Without those early gigs, a professional demo is, as well.  Work begets work.  Learn to swing the bat before you try hitting major league pitching.

He: You mentioned “rudimentary voice over studios” earlier.  How does “professional-grade” differ from “rudimentary?”

Me: That’s a topic for another blog entry.  Besides, the one or two people who have read this far don’t believe this is a real conversation anymore.

He: Are you saying I don’t exist?

Me: I’m saying if you want professional voice over artistry, hire Ben Crystal.

De-NIED

When I’m asked for advice on how to get started in the voice over industry, my answer is seldom the one expected.  It’s not “buy <brand name microphone/preamp/interface/DAW>,” nor is it “buy or build a recording space as close to acoustically perfect as possible,” nor even “audition, hydrate, repeat steps 1 and 2.”  Those are all important parts of building a career, to be sure.  But they’re kind of obvious, and if whoever is asking me for advice doesn’t already have some sense of them, then I might as well tell them to grab a karaoke mic, clear some space in the corner of a broom closet, and drink a gallon of maple syrup.

The single most important thing voice actors absolutely need is thick skin.  Learn to accept, and move on from, rejection.  Because voice actors FAIL to score gigs more often than they drool over the latest gear on Sweetwater, rehang bass traps, and read scripts.  I have an agent.  Actually, I have more than one.  They’re real professionals, and they keep my inbox (reasonably) full of audition requests.  But when I get a request, I know before I download the attached script that I’m going to be competing with other guys on my agent’s roster, guys on the roster of the agent down the street, across town, across the country, and even (since I do a fair amount of international work - check out my Australian demo at BenCanRead.com!) across the planet.  My odds of scoring any gig are fairly low from the jump, and that’s WITH representation.  For the actors slugging it out on the gig sites like Fiverr, or the P2P sites, those odds are actually significantly worse.  

There are voice actors at the top of the industry who have progressed far enough past the “prove it” stage of their careers that they’re already “the guy” before they can download the attachment bolted to the email from their agency.  And yet, even they still occasionally find themselves duking it out with other superstars.  For the rest of us, it’s a “no” until we hear otherwise, not the other way around.  If you can’t handle denial, you best be considering a different career river to paddle down.  Because in voice overs, you need talent, tech and not an insignificant amount of luck.  

Think of it this way: Company X needs a :30 for product Y.  Their ad firm will contact agencies Q,R and S for auditions.  The agencies will send spec scripts to the talent on their rosters whom they think fit Company X’s specifications.  By the time the script hits your inbox, it’s also landing in the inboxes of dozens of your colleagues.  Even if only 10 talents get the request, you’re already looking at a 90% likelihood that you end up with nothing to show for your efforts except a file you’ll have to delete from your hard drive.

Buy the best kit you can.  Build, or buy, the best space you can.  And do every worthwhile audition you can.  But remember: this is a game you will lose FAR more often than you win.  If you can’t handle taking “Ls” like a champ, you won’t last long enough to win the title.