Nina Nikolic | KidKerrigan

How to Find Voice Actors

Which voiceover casting site is the most worthwhile, and why is it (begrudgingly) the most controvertial one?

Trying to find voice actors? Try Voices. My colleagues will probably crucify me for this, but here goes nothing…

I’ll be honest here. Just because I use a particular platform and found how to make it work for me, doesn’t mean I need to like it. Conversely, where you choose to engage me for the best voiceover ever will certainly not affect the quality or energy with which I provide that service. It may, however, make me second guess applying in the first place. Shall we discuss why?

The Pros

Client Convenience

Easier it is for clients to get what they need, more likely they are to use the platform. More clients using the platform, more jobs for talent. Simples.

There are a few quirks on VDC such as truncated file names, or the client not being able to deny an additional payment request, which can cause confusion. Other than that, the process is straightforward:

1. Client needs voiceover
2. Talent supplies voiceover
3. Client approves and pays for voiceover
4. Everyone profits. Mostly VDC.

Talent Actually Get Paid

Since the client has to pre-load their budget into the system to lock in their job, freelancers get cash in their PayPal account every month like clockwork. No invoicing required. No chasing up Sally at accounting. No confusion over if the account number was incorrect. They even automatically close off the job if the client forgot to approve the work!

That’s a pretty massive luxury for talent. Especially given other platforms that require you to hound their customer service team during your monthly admin grind. And then pray it comes through the following month…

The Cons

How do I quote for that?

Most jobs on Voices are tagged in weird ways. “Animation” actually means “animated explainer”. “Video Narration” actually means “explainer video that isn’t animated”. And the available usage tags, namely “Online – Worldwide – In-Perpetuity” are problematic at best and confusing at worst; most of the time this actually means “Non-Broadcast License – In Perpetuity but used online on organically on our website not in paid ads – trust us!”

Double-Dipping

Talent must pay a whopping USD $500 to have access to open auditions. Most of them requiring an American accent (more on that later). However, when pitching with our Quote, we are also advised how much of the client’s budget we will actually earn, versus the platforms 20% “helps us provide you with the technologies, tools and support to facilitate the matching of talent to job opportunities, and the fast and secure exchange of services between clients and talent” fee.

Given there are memberships which are far dearer available, up to USD $2,500, one can see why there are talent whom are able to build their entire voiceover career on this one platform alone. They are premium featured talent on the platform, with the most visibility and of course the most trusted by buyers there.

That said, talent with a native (or incredibly accurate) American accent will be most successful simply because that is the market of choice on the platform. Similarly, Mandy is UK oriented, Bodalgo big in Europe with “international English” and so on.

What about Australian then, mate?

Thanks for asking! Don’t we all want to know? I’m truthfully not even sure most buyers looking for an Australian accent know where to find them. It does seem, from my experience with past clients, there isn’t one particular platform or portal that buyers know of to find us through. Clients who have found me on the website you’re reading this on now had to Google it! Heck yeah, SEO.

I’ve had memberships to every “pay-to-play” voiceover platform that I was able to access to, and have found the very occassional audition asking for an Australian accent on every single one. Some budgets were reasonable. Others, I’m not sure know if they realise what they’re going to get for that amount, given our ever-increasing cost of living. At the end of the day, I’ve had most success on Voices… in a British accent!

Which means I’ve had the most success winning Aussie clients (or clients from studios collaborating with Aussie stakeholders) from this website. Right here.

Do you need a great Aussie VO?

So, as a buyer who needs a convenient way to get the playful, gritty, authentic Australian voiceover you need, at great quality, and fast – what’s a person to do? Check out this previous blog post on How to Hire a Voice Actor!