Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Voice123's Holiday Season

The most difficult part about being in the voice industry during the holiday season is that it works on an opposite time-schedule from most jobs. Given the trying times facing everyone today, Voice123 decided it would be best to work through the holiday season to make sure we were here to handle job opportunities, auditions, and inquiries. Getting them processed quickly would attract more work, and be helpful to those auditioning. Personally, it is hard to forget that feeling of having recording equipment just sitting there, then being expected not to work because of the holidays, knowing all too well that my next paycheck could be out there somewhere.

I know there is no greater feeling in the world than to be 'a working voice over talent.' I also promised myself that if given the opportunity to make a change, I would make it a point to see that no one else would experience a downtime in being able to work. However, there is an international demand for using Voice123 and I could not do something like this alone.

This is why I am very happy and lucky to be a part of the Voice123 team. Over the holidays, our staff, including Tania Isabel Zapata, who co-founded Voice123, and Carmen Texeira (a new proud mom on December 19th, 2008) came back at their own will, and we were all very excited to work the extra hours and keep Voice123 going, both for those who needed to work, and for those who needed voice talent. We enjoyed the holidays together too!

We all made the best of it as a team by keeping in contact with each other at all times via laptop, cell phone, computer, Skype, etc. even when on vacation in various parts of the world or at our own family gatherings. We were online at midnight to say Happy New Year to each other! Some can say this was a bit excessive, but it was still a great deal of fun, and users of Voice123 were equally pleased to see we were here.

From this end of the operation at Voice123, we always feel our greater responsibility to the general public is to make sure we are here for our users to make sure they can do what they love, whether a talent or a seeker.

As a result, we had over 680 SmartCast jobs posted on Voice123 for the month of December 2008, up from 569 posted in December 2007. We also watched as talents auditioned well into the night as late as 3AM EST, and we had a good time listening and passing auditions to international clients.

We sincerely hope that in doing this many more people were able to book work and post jobs through Voice123. We had a wonderful time this holiday season, we thank you for being there, and we were glad to be here for all of you. There truly is no greater feeling in the world than giving back to an industry you love to work in.

We wish you a Happy 2009, and look forward to a positive future!


Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
My Blog

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Steven,
Thank you for the great teamwork, and the nice Holiday story. I know it means a great deal to the voice over community. Have the best New Year ever!
All The Best,
Bobbin Beam, ISDN Voice Actress

Anonymous said...

I want to add my "thank you" to the Voice123 staff for keeping the talent working through out the holiday season. Its something I just didn't think about. How selfish of me. But I certainly appreciated everyone's efforts to be on their jobs to make certain we(talent) could continue to audition during this period. Happy New Years to you all. Vonna Bowen, VO talent.honzeod

Nádia Lamas said...

Hi Steven,

I´ve just enrolled in your site but it seems that you have a lot of work... in fact I would like to take only Brazilian Portuguese voice-overs, is it possible? Thank you! I wish you a wonderful 2009!

Nadia

Anonymous said...

I would like to send an extra sincere thank you, and koudos, to one of your voice talents;
Julie Amato.
After reviewing 45 proposals, Julie was my clear choice. She did not let me down. Rather, she went overboard to serve me with priority service, clear communication and a stunningly beautiful voice.
Congratulations to Julie for possessing such a gift, and thank you to Voice123 for making it possible for me to find her.
All the best~
Ron Hansen, VP
BlackIceDiamonds.com

Anonymous said...

One word:

BRAVO!

Chuck Morrow

SuzeB said...

Hi,

I'd like to add my thank you, too.
I got a job from an international co. that I auditioned for right before Xmas.

Happy New Year to you, too.

I have to ask, though, why it says @ the end of your blog that you wish us a "safe and Happy Halloween?" :-)

Thanks again.

Susan Bramson Voice Talent

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot for preasenting a holiday mood and best wishes for 2009 through an impressive artical.Happy New year & have a nice time for ever.
Hardeep Rajvansh
Voice Artist

Unknown said...

happy New Year to all 123 stuff
and MAZAL TOV! to Carmen.
Elie Yehudai

Unknown said...

happy New Year to all 123 stuff
and MAZAL TOV! to Carmen.
Elie Yehudai

Anonymous said...

Hi Steven,

Thank you for the great service we get from Voice 123. I was and still am very impressed at your initiatives and your sense of customer service. I know that work can be a passion and I do feel that most of you, if not all, are very dedicated and it shows. May I add that I would feel more comfortable to know that there is a rotation in the volunteers that work during the Christmas Holidays: family gatherings and parties with friends are valuable too...I hope that the "Happy Halloween" wish is a consequence of one of those festive moments!

Marie Élaine Roy, Montréal, Québec