'Tis the Season: The Voice123 Political Impersonation Contest!

It is an Election year, of course, so why not have some fun with it? So...

Voice123 is holding a contest to find the best political impersonations, as voted by you, the Voice123 user!

Write your own script, and provide your own political impersonation on the Voice123 Premium Forums! Submit as teams! Submit by yourself! You decide!

All submissions have to be 60 seconds or less!
Voice over talents will be able to post in a special forum category to showcase this contest.

There will be 4 winners of a guaranteed free six months on their subscriptions, 6-months per candidate/impersonation winner, with a chance to win a full year free subscription!

• Barack Obama
• John McCain
• Joe Biden
• Sarah Palin

The special forum will be locked on October 25th. You can post your impersonation here until that date! We will send you the info on how to vote the week of October 27th to November 2nd!

The winners of the one-year subscription will be announced on November 4th... Election Day!

However, it won't stop there... On Election Day, the winners of the impersonation contest, that have impersonated the newly elected President and Vice President of the United States, will both be awarded another 6-months on their subscription! All contestants will receive free web exposure through the Voice123 Blog and Forum!

Voice123 hopes you will have fun with this contest, and we look forward to hearing from our next Presidents and Vice Presidents of the United States of America! :P

Thank you always!


Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager

The Future of the Voice Over Industry, by Me

Voice123 just turned five years old and Juan asked me to write about it. Several times before I have written about the history of Voice123. This time, however, I boldly write about the future of the voice over industry as a whole.

Being the president of Voice123 has allowed me to have thousands of conversations with talents, producers, voice seekers, clients, agents, voice over coaches, and union leaders. Each conversation has helped me shape an idea of what I think the future of the voice over industry will be. Some of you will agree with my predictions, some of you won't. Whatever your position may be, please keep in mind that my predictions do not represent my desires. My logic may or may not predict what my heart would like to experience.

Media Fragmentation Will Demand More and More Voice Over Professionals

50 years ago most people in the United States had limited choices to get their information: four nationwide TV networks, a dozen radio stations, and a couple of newspapers in their town. Today, the number of options is almost unlimited for any given person: hundreds of cable networks, millions of online videos, hundreds of radio stations (AM, FM, satellite, HD, Internet), millions of podcasts, and millions of online newspapers and blogs. Each one of those communication channels wants to be unique and have its own content. Many of them require voice overs. This trend is happening all over the world. As the fragmentation continues, more and more voice overs will be required to fulfill those needs.

Home Studios Will Be the Norm

The price of the technology and the equipment required to have a professional-grade recording studio keeps going down. Time, our most important commodity, will be the most important factor when voice overs determine their rates. By recording from their own home, at any time of the day, wearing any clothes they want (if any), voice-over talents will be able to offer more for less. As such, home studios will become the norm for most projects (not all projects, though).

Technology-Savvy Talents Will Prevail

Voice over talents that are tech-savvy will be able to set up better home studios. They will also be better audio engineers, better with editing recordings, better at using online tools as Voice123, etc. In short, they will be able to deliver a better product. Voice over talents that do not know how to properly record and deliver using these new methods are on their way to being extinct relatively soon, and are already facing skilled competition as you read this.

More Jobs at Lower Prices

Voice over talents with home studios will be able to do more recordings per day than talents that have to rely on rented out studios. Less commuting means more productivity, and quicker turn-around time. More productivity means lower prices for the buyers (the voice seekers), but a more steady income for the sellers (the voice over talents). You can think of it as the industrial revolution of the voice over market. From being in an artisan profession, the independent voice over professional will move on to become a service-oriented profession where booking 100% of the working-day time to do jobs will be the objective, and almost a requirement.

Business Skills Will Become More Important than Voice Skills

Having a good voice will always continue to be important, but in a few years a voice over professional will only succeed if they have basic skills in marketing, sales, billing, accounting, most important of all, in how to make their clients fall in love with their service. Given that 'time' is the most important commodity nowadays, voice over talents that help voice seekers save time will be the most successful.

Less Millionaires and a Market of Industrious Professionals

It will be easier to win the lottery than to become a national celebrity doing voice overs. Media fragmentation makes it very difficult for anybody to become a widely-known celebrity. However, on the other hand, media fragmentation has sky-rocketed the demand for voice over professionals. In the past, few voice overs could be full-time professionals. Those that were full-time professionals were making the big bucks. In the future less people will become rich doing voice overs, but many, many more people will be able to have a decent and above-standard style of living by being full-time voice over professionals.

Hourly Rates will Replace "National", "Regional", and "Local" Rates

When the media was not fragmented as it was in the past, it was easy to determine if the recording that a talent was performing was going to be broadcast in a national, regional, or local market. Nowadays, few recordings are meant to be distributed in a specific geographical area. Many recordings are not even broadcast. They are electronically reproduced on-demand. During the next few years, and as the media focuses on delivery-customized experiences to the consumers, almost all voice over talents will be charging for the time it took them to do and deliver the recording, regardless of who will listen to it. This, of course, means that royalties will probably become a thing of the past for almost all voice over projects.

Union Jobs Will Be Less Common

Years ago both screen actors and voice over talents were cast and hired the same way: They had to go somewhere to be cast. If hired, they then had to go somewhere to perform their work. The voice over hiring process of today is very different. Even if screen actors can cast online, we are far, far way from the day when they can record their scenes with their own video-cameras and deliver them online to the producer of the TV show.

Voice over professionals and screen actors rarely have the ability to share focus on both areas, today. Having the existing unions represent voice over talents is as useful as having cab-driver unions represent auto-industry workers. True, they both have to deal with cars and they both want to switch to hybrids as quickly as they can, but their work is performed in significantly different ways. New buyers of voice over services have figured out, how in most cases, dealing contracts under existing unions to hire voice overs professionals doesn't make logistical sense. It won't be long before almost all of the current signatories realize that as well.

Will existing unions adapt to the changes on the voice over industry brought forth by technology? I wish they would, but based on my conversations with them, they know little about the reality of the common, non-celebrity, voice over professional. It will be easier for a new voice over guild to grow than for the existing unions to adapt. On top of that, the relation between voice over professionals and their clients is moving away from being an employee-to-business relation and is becoming more of a business-to-business relation. As a consequence, I think that non-union jobs will dominate most of the voice over market for many years to come.

Voice Over Talents Won't Be Replaced by Automated Text-to-Speech Software

No, at least, during several decades to come. Although advances in this area have been impressive, has a long way to go before voice seekers may consider it a viable alternative. First, current technology still lacks many features that would allow a voice seeker to properly "direct" the computer. Second, if those "direction" tools are ever developed, they will be complex to manipulate. Being a voice over professional is, among many other things, being creative. When a graphic designer is hired to create, the buyer usually wants the designer to add his/her creative touch to it. The same applies to voice seeker. They want a creative person behind the mic delivering something unique. As with graphic designers, technology will continue helping the voice over professionals, rather than diminish them.

I know these are bold predictions and I know that statistically speaking, I may be wrong. Time will tell. What are your predictions? Do your predictions match mine or are widely different? Let us know! Post your comments below!

Happy 5th Birthday Voice123!!!


Alexander Torrenegra
President and Co-founder

Headshot or Not?

Voice123 knows that many talented professionals in the voiceover industry are also models, actors, sound engineers, etc. A question Voice123 receives quite often is, also mentioned on the Voice123 Premium Forums is, 'Should I upload a headshot or not?'. The answer to this question can only be determined by what you choose to do as a business preference.

Below are just a few reasons for talents uploading headshots (or not), and as everyone is their own business on Voice123, read below, and see if it is the right choice for you:

Uploading headshots:

• To give the viewer of your page an indication of what voice to expect (e.g. Cathy Faulkner), almost to set the mood for what they are about to hear, or indicate types of work they would like to do.
• To show that you do work in other areas of the entertainment industry (e.g. Lori Taylor).
• To remove the anonymous stigma (e.g. Donna Cuddemi) of the online world by showing your face.
• To display graphic art (e.g. Steven Lowell) that you, or someone you know, has created for your profile.
• To display artwork or a website (e.g. John Driscoll), descriptive of the type of voice you market.

No headshot? (actual statements made regarding this topic)

• 'It is a faceless industry. Let my voice paint the picture of my work.'
• 'If they knew what I looked like, they would not expect that voice to come out of my mouth'.
• 'I prefer privacy, being that the Internet is public domain'.

We have mentioned only eight reasons, and all of them come from feedback in which Voice123 was told 'what works best for them.'

From the reasoning above, we hope you can think about what may work best for you!

Thank you always!



Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager

No Better World Than Don's... From the Heart

Sadly, this morning I came into work, after the last weekend of the summer to find out very sad news that Don LaFontaine had passed away over the weekend.

I must admit...I am somewhat shocked. Last week, on Voice123 Premium Forums, Bobbin Beam was kind enough to post a letter from Don LaFontaine. In this letter, I saw strength and determination to get passed his difficult illness. We at Voice123 are extremely saddened by this loss of an icon to the voice over industry.

To me, Don LaFontaine stood as the first person to really bring the voice over industry into the limelight, and no longer make it a 'faceless industry'. I still remember commercials I had seen him in while taking classes and matter what type of voice I listened to in my voice over class, be it male or female, every student listened to his work and thought, 'I wish I could sound like him.'

In fact, Don LaFontaine taught me the most important lesson about being in this industry in that you have to believe in yourself and be loyal to those you work with. Although he mentions it in the letter, years ago while being interviewed on NBC nightly news, a reporter asked him,

'How can every movie be the blockbuster hit of the summer? Is that possible?'.

Don simply replied, never shaking or doubting, and almost looking as if a friend's integrity had been questioned,

'Yes.'

My teacher showing us the interview, paused the tape, looked at all of us and said,

'That it is a very, very smart man.'

We at Voice123 thank Don LaFontaine and will miss his legacy. He gave of himself to an industry, and in the act of opening up about his career to the public made so many people better whether he knew them or not, and changed the face of, or in this case, put a face on an industry.

As a tribute to him, out of admiration and appreciation for all the things he did and how much he contributed with his example to the voice over industry, Voice123 invites those of you who share this feeling today, to record a message expressing your thoughts about him, may our voices reach him and show him how thankful we are. Your message will be published in a tribute web page to Don LaFontaine.

If you would like to participate in our tribute to Don, please click here. (If asked, use the following verification code: 387207).

Our hearts and thoughts of the team at Voice123 go out to the friends and family of Don LaFontaine.

We wish you all the very best,

Steven Lowell
The Voice123 Team

New Voice123 Feature! Activity Information!

Voice123 has released a new feature that will assist voice-seekers when posting voice-over jobs... Talent Activity Information!

This feature was created to let voice seekers know when the last time a Voice123 talent was active before sending a direct invite, eliminating wasted time in waiting for answers and responses.

This was done for the following reasons:

• Putting an end to bad experiences of you directly inviting talents, only to have the request go unanswered, not knowing if the talent was either on vacation, unavailable, or ignoring the request.
• Increase comprehensive business communication through the Voice123 interface, to give you a faster and easier experience.
  

Here are some questions Voice123 has received regarding this feature...

Where is this info displayed?
Right at the top of the Voice123 profile! ex: Caryn Clark

You will see the following information:


How accurate is this information?

• Very accurate! The info displayed represents the last time the voice over talent was logged on and actively using his/her Voice123 profile and audition inbox. If you directly invite them, they will see it.
• In addition, talents also have a 'Going on Vacation' feature, which is indicated on their profiles, two reasons to trust that the information you are seeing is accurate, and that a person will be easier to contact!

Voice123 hopes this feature assists you in the future, especially when a project is time-sensitive, where you find you need to look for voice-over talents and to directly invite talents using our voice talent search feature!

We hope this helps you with your next project!

Juan Salcedo
General Manager

'The Olympic Voiceover Connection' by Bettye Zoller

How do you compare a voiceover performer to an Olympic athlete?
That’s easy.

What can voiceover performers, beginners to advanced, learn from Olympic (or any good, for that matter,) athletes?
We both win gold medals. Yes, it’s true. Athletes win medals and rings and trophies. They can be honored in a Hall of Fame. We voiceover talents win respect from our peers and agents and producers and earn good money . And we can win awards too (I am so proud of my ADDY, CLIO, Golden Radio, Audie Awards in my thirty-four years ‘before the mic.’).

Do you have what it takes to win? Do you believe in yourself enough to jump into the pool at the Olympics or walk the balance beam or win a foot race?
Guess what! We voice talents walk the balance beam in life every single day! Every day is a new game.

Do you have producers or advertising agencies who use you time and again because they admire your professionalism and ability? Where did those qualities come from?
I’ll bet you EARNED THEM! Watching TV last night, writing this brief essay for Voice 123 suddenly occurred to me. I heard athletes talking . They said things such as:

“I will never give up.”
“Yes I can do it and I will.”
“I won’t accept second place.”
“This is hard but I get up every morning to practice at 4 a.m. before school.”
"I have been dedicated to being a success at this since I was six years old.”
"I love what I do and it means everything to me.”


The great broadcaster Ron Chapman (KVIL DALLAS, now retired, and a giant in his field) once told me, “sometimes people say, ‘I am thinking about becoming a radio broadcaster or a voiceover talent.’ And I always say, ‘if you’re just THINKING about it, give it up. You have to be dedicated, you have to want it with a burning passion. You have to starve and want food and turn down jobs to be an intern at a radio station and learn your skills. You have to find the money for workshops and voice demos. You have to work part time on a day job so that you have time to audition for voice jobs. You have to be a great voiceover talent and a pro. That takes time.” Michael Phelps, the amazing gold medal swimmer at the 2008 Olympics, said, “when so many people say that it’s‘not possible, it just makes me want to do it more. I never give up. I’m dedicated to success.”

Are you dedicated?
Or do you, like so many students I’ve taught through the years, say, “Oh do you think I really can do this? I’m so unsure about this.” I always reply, “Well, if you have that much self-doubt, maybe you shouldn’t be doing this. All performers and achievers must have self-confidence and dedication. Find yours.” Others say, “I just don’t know if I should spend money on this CD voiceover demo or not. I know I should spend more money and time on my voiceover career but I just am so doubtful it will ever pay me back.” This is extreme self-doubt. This is extreme insecurity and makes me wonder if this person SHOULD do the demo or the workshop. Over the past week watching the Olympics, we’ve seen performer athletes overcome obstacles, illness, doubt, shyness, and they have achieved historical victory.

Can you achieve victory in voiceovers?
Any career takes persistence and self-confidence. It takes growing and developing and always achieving more than you thought you could. Voiceovers are no exception. Being a voice talent takes courage when the cash flow is meager and you could leave the field altogether and concentrate on a day job.

But you don’t leave the field because you love doing it, yes?
Why do voice talents wear themselves out doubting if they are any good at all? Why do they often keep asking people (qualified or not) if their demo “is good or not?” Do the people they ask know ‘good’ or ‘bad’? Are they professionals in the field? And what does it matter in the final analysis if someone ‘likes’ your demo or not unless they can hire you? The purpose of a demo is to win jobs, not to ‘please people as entertainment.’ Your insecurity in your own talent is showing. Did Mark Spitz ask people if he could swim? Did Michael Phelps wonder if he should compete in the Olympics?

While they studied and trained with experts (and so should you!) they were self-confident, and surrounded themselves with people who were enthusiastic about their prowess. Beginner to advanced voice talent, keep up your education. The Olympic athletes would not have kept progressing had they not continued to grow and practice and study and improve and to believe they could improve! When I first entertained thoughts of entering the voiceover field (and studio singing field), some told me it was not a good idea and that I should keep up my successful career as a singer and actor in live venues (I was a headliner including opening act for Tony Bennett and vocalist with the jazz great Lionel Hampton). I had been on the road for over eight years at that time and I wanted so to get off the road, settle down, have a family. The recording studios offered me a chance to get off that road! I did not listen to the naysayers. I persevered. Soon, I went ‘on staff’ at three recording studios as a jingle singer and later, became a voiceover talent too.

It took almost two years to make the transition and make a really great living wage in the recording studios. I had union benefit s too…health coverage, dental, drug coverage, building a retirement pension fund. I had been making a very good salary as a live performer. I also taught college courses. I was doing fine before the “studio bug” bit me. But this was better. I saw the future. Some with whom I worked at the start of my career in the recording studios had been active for many years when I was a newcomer. They already were wealthy. They owned a house. They drove a nice car. On the sessions, they discussed their vacation homes, their stocks and bonds, their real estate investments. Their children were in private schools.

I was renting. My four month old baby son was without a father. I had to succeed. I had no choice. The recording studios made my life what it is today and I am grateful. Some studio professionals viewed me as extreme competition and did not welcome my presence. It was difficult finding friends in my new home town, Dallas. The competition was vicious. I was lonely and felt as an outsider. It took several years for people to realize (I guess) that I wasn’t going to go away and that I was, in fact, a girl with talent whom they could accept into their professional circle.

Are you dedicated to becoming a voice pro or are you a novice who is simply ‘playing around’ with voiceovers?
Dedication...That’s the most important word. Stick with it. Be positive and assured in your talent. Keep growing. Respect your competition and admire your competitors as you try to achieve greatness. Get rid of self-doubt. It only hurts you.

by Bettye Zoller
www.voicesvoices.com


Voice123 thanks Bettye Zoller for her contribution to this blog, as well as, a Voice123 Coach.

Hot Topics! Voice123 Premium Forums!

Hello!

This is just a quick email to alert you to hot topics that are being left on the new Voice123 Premium Forums!

The discussions this past week have even included posts by experienced voice talents and even a voice seeker in an interesting topic on opinions of how to set up being paid once a job is booked!

"I'm interested in saving time. Time, time, time is my biggest factor when working with Voice 123." - Voice123 Voice Seeker

Come see the hottest topic of the past week, or if you have any suggestions on things you would like to see on the new Voice123 Premium Forums, post a thread and tell me about it!

The Voice123 Premium Forums are specifically used so premium subscribers of Voice123, and Voice123 voice seekers, can post their thoughts, questions, and also find coaching and advice on demos and auditions!

By popular demand, we also added a new category: The Copy Writing and Reading Clinic.

Write and/or read copy, and then discuss with others! Try it out! See what others have to say!

Hope to see you there!

Thank you always!


Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager

Leaving Town? Try Voice123 'Away' Status!

If you are leaving town today, Voice123 is happy to introduce the new Voice123 'Away' status for your profiles, perfect for those who fear they may be contacted while on business or vacation, and cannot get back to the voice seeker or direct invitation in time. Setting your status is quick and easy. Simply go to your My Home section of your account, and click on the link 'Going on Vacation?'. From there, you will be able to type in how long you will be away, and your profile will appear as 'Away' status during that time.

We certainly hope that many of you have the opportunity to try this new feature before leaving town for your next business trip or vacation!

Have any questions you would like to ask Voice123 talents and staff, or maybe thoughts on the best way to use this? Try asking a coach or peer in Coach's Corner by posting in our new Voice123 Premium Forums! (e.g. Check this topic: Speech and voice-over).

Thank you for using Voice123!


Juan Salcedo
General Manager
12 Desbrosses St. New York, NY 10013

"Making Money With VoiceOvers" Conference in Dallas, Sept.6th & 7th

There may never be a better student/teacher ratio at a voice-over conference than this:

More than a dozen top voice-over teachers and celebrities will train and network with just 20 fortunate voice actors at the Making Money With Voiceovers conference, slated for the weekend of Sept. 6-7 in Dallas.

"You will hear top professionals, mix and mingle with people who have attained careers in the voice-over business, and learn so much in a small group setting," says conference producer Bettye Zoller - the national voice-over talent and coach.

She is owner of the www.voicesvoices.com educational firm and VoicesVoices recording studio in Dallas.

Attendees will "learn from real-world professionals in the voice-over business what the business is really like, and how they can find success faster and sustain it over a career," adds Zoller.

Held annually, the conference is also a fundraiser for Reading Radio Resource of Dallas, a non-profit organization that creates audio products and radio shows for sight- and learning-impaired people. Also featuring breakfast buffets and catered lunches on both Saturday and Sunday - plus a Saturday night mixer - the event will be held at the Reading Radio Resource Building near downtown Dallas. Hours are: Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, please visit www.voicesvoices.com.

Thank you!


The Voice123 Team

New Voice123 Resource Center!

One of the most recent updates to Voice123 has included a new Resource Center, easier to navigate, including the opportunity to make suggestions on new articles while rating...I mean ranking...wait I mean rating just how helpful the article is.

The most popular article in the Resource Center was actually written by a Voice123 talent, Caryn Clark, titled 'So You Want to be Paid Huh?'.

There are also plenty of articles, webinars, and information that can give one a step in the right direction. If you do not see what you want or would like to add something yourself, make a suggestion and we will find a way to add it for you!


Also, another tool to learn about Voice123, the voice over industry and contribute to the community is to participate in the new Voice123 Forums.

This week's current hot topic is How Do Voice Seekers Rank Audition Proposals?

"I noticed that I received a couple of "Likely hiring" ratings, but never got hired. Is there an explanation? Or could it have just been down to me and someone else...and I just missed being chosen?" - J.C. Haze

This week's hottest category... DEMO ADVICE

"If you find that you are doing the same kind of project (pace, approach, scripts) over and over again, it will be hard to find enough variety to really make your demo stand out." - Connie Terwilliger

We hope you will take advantage of these great tools:

• New Voice123 Resource Center
• The Voice123 Forums

Thank you always!


Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager