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Friday 24 October 2008

Voiceover Work in the Downturn

How is the looming recession affecting your voiceover business?
Some voice talents have reported a downturn of 30%, others not so high but some voice talents have been hit even harder. Experienced voiceover artists hope to weather the storm, but where does this leave the novice voice artist, and those just dipping their toe in the voiceover market.

Over the past 6 weeks, I've noticed a slow down in direct voiceover enquiries and online & offline audition opportunities. It may just be a blip or could indicate a more general trend for the coming months and years.

So what does this all mean?

1. Will new wanabee voice talents move quickly out of the VO business as VO jobs become harder and harder to come by? Will this leave more work for the established artists?

2. Will new VO talents who offer their services at lower prices than established talent pick up more and more work as clients cut their voiceover budget?

3. Will clients start using "John from accounts with the nice voice" to record their voicemail messages, telephone greetings rather than a pro voice artist?

4. Will established talent have to drop their rates to secure work?

5. Will potential clients be more alive to the benefits of using a professional Voice to create a professional brand and image for their company?

6. Will voice talents have to re-double their marketing efforts? Will we have to find new markets for our services as traditional voiceover markets retract?

7. Is amateur hour almost over?. Voiceover artists are now going to have to take their business seriously - invest in their marketing, their websites, SEO, analyze whether all or any of the online casting sites are worth the investment, work on promotion and discover their versatility and adaptability.

8. When will it all end - and how many of us will be left standing?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Alison,

Very pointed questions! I can add some cheer to this post if you're up for some.

Last month, and the month prior, we posted a record number of voice over jobs at Voices.com. Now, the majority of these opportunities are Private Jobs (direct contacts), however, since they are direct job offers, they aren't visible on the main jobs board.

I think you're hitting a lot of nails on the head for a variety of cases and scenarios. What we must remember though is that every person is unique and their responses will be too.

Many aspiring pros may find that it's time to move on and that will make it easier on the pros to get the work that may otherwise go to someone less qualified.

These are all questions that need to be asked, but I think if a positive mindset is kept during these economic times of hardship, the outcomes will be positive and perhaps even more exciting.

As entrepreneurs, you are controlling your own destiny and prospects of work. No one can fire you, lay you off or lose confidence in your work except yourself.

If everyone who is in this business as true professionals can step up to the challenges and aim for success and "business as usual", the present economic struggle won't affect their business nearly as much as it could if they allowed themselves to fall into the dangerous conversations and negative reports being disseminated by the media, some politicians and financial institutions.

Thanks for raising the topic :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie