This sounds like a “you get what you pay for” kind of thing, to me.
Find a podcast host that you really enjoy listening to - reach out to them to see if they would do it on the cheap!
Also curious as to where you got the price. The length of the contract as others have mentioned might be the issue. It might just be an hour of work, but they will tie up their whole day for this one bit of work.
Just like when you ask a contractor about small jobs around your house, they are turned off and throw out a ridiculous price because they don’t want the job, but are still giving you an option to go with them.
I seriously don’t get why people keep saying this, as though it’s some kind of unique situation.
If you hire a cleaning person for your appartment, they don’t say, “Hey, if I clean your place, that means I need to come over to that part of town, and that’s gonna take up my whole day! So I’m gonna charge you for 8 hours of work.”
Yeah, no. You pay them for the time they are there, and it’s kind of up to them to schedule stuff so they aren’t screwing themselves over.
Likewise, for things like contract work for other industries, if I need to go to a site, they pay for my travel time… but it doesn’t just get rolled into some abstract increased value of my hourly rate. That’d be nuts.
If you do not want to pay it, feel free to do it yourself. The market determines the value of good voice acting, not you.
Because it is. Your voice is a finite resource when you’re a voice actor. They’re basically independent contractors and you keep comparing them to salaried employees.
Broadway is also kind of a bad example since people tend to do that more for their resume, personal desire and the prestige involved than the paycheck.
Again, if people think it’s too much, they can pay their friend or neighbor to do it and get the results you’d expect.
They do. That’s why you’re paying $800 an hour. It’s what their time is worth and what the market has determined people will pay for it.
Exactly!!! I mean someone could say… hey… can I call you the morning of and if you don’t have anything scheduled that day will you do it for $400? It’s a starting price/number. it isn’t like the price is locked in stone.
And no - I don’t think it’s anything like housecleaning.
I compared them specifically to independent contractors.
I’ve said multiple times now that’s fine… although it doesn’t seem like that’s actually what they are normally getting paid.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the agency heard “tech startup project” and decided to quote some absurd number just to see if they could get it.
Your earnings as a voice actor range from: $35 for a small market radio spot, $150 for a 15 second recording for say a small website, $250 – $350 for a 30 second major market radio commercial.
He’s talking about 3 minutes of stuff, roughly 180 seconds. Going by those rates it seems well within the boundaries.
Bear in mind there, that a 15 second clip doesn’t take 15 seconds of your time. I mean, the cost of that 15 seconds isn’t multiplied by 4 to get your hourly rate. To record that 15 seconds takes way more than 15 seconds.
That’s also not really concrete wage data, it’s more like anecdotal cases. If you look at other sites tracking the salary and wage data for voice actors, it seems to suggest that the actual hourly rate is more in line with normal actors, meaning it’s more like $20-30 an hour.
Ultimately though, as everyone seems to agree… the value is determined by whatever folks are wiling to pay. If someone thinks its worth paying $800 for an hour of some guy’s work, then that’s what it’s worth.
Sure, but rates are usually based off of “how long/many words is the segment,” from what I can tell.
So if it’s a 3 minute segment, presumably it will take longer than a 15 second one and the rates will tend to track with that.
Wow, this is a great idea. The only podcast I know is Car Talk, though.
What about a youtube personality?
Lol. This is probably why it costs so much. Researching and finding someone takes time.
Have you ever tried to direct a 3 minute acting take? It should not be multiplied by 4, but by much more. The longer the performance the easiest it is for it to go south and the more tales it will need.
15-30 seconds is on the easier range. One phrase, maybe two. Going over that starts to be some serious work (if the expectations from the director are high).
You can try cutting it in smaller performances and splitting but then you are going to be paying more for a professional dialog editor.
I highly recommend ReformistTM. His voice is amazing, and he does frequent streams so you can judge for yourself the quality of both his voice and his equipment. He specifically states that he is available for and has previously done voice-over work, so it’s likely he would at least consider working on your project.
Yes!!
It was Clim Fandango’s fault. He stressed him out.
These two guys have voices suitable for radio and voice overs IMO and the latter one only has 1.2k subs so getting ahold of him should be easy.
I’d also scour sites like chaturbate for aurally talented streamers.