This Rate "Guide" Is RIDICULOUS! DO NOT USE IT!

I recently posted on social media a great guide from the website of a well-known coach in this business.

And today I call bullsh*t. I'm going to break down exactly why I think this entire rate guide is a crap sandwich and be specific about the damage it does to voice actors and the industry as a whole.

You may want to put on coveralls. This is going to get messy.

I want to make it clear that this is not an attack on this coach personally, but it is an opposition to his teachings and practices in this rate guide which I believe are harmful to the careers of voice actors who put this right guide into practice and damaging to the industry as a whole.

business, casting sites, professional development, rates, sag-aftra, the vo industry, working with a VOPaul SchmidtSeptember 14, 2023rates, bad rates, bad dealsComment

WOW! Voices.com NEW Rate Guide vs. GVAA

Today, we’re going to go over Voices' new rate guide and compare it to the GVAA so that you’ll know exactly the differences between the 2 guides, where exactly Voices' rates are substandard and stick around because we’ll also show you where they’re actually above standard.

For years, the voice acting community has been begging Voices dot com to take solid steps to protect voice actors from unfair rates and practices on their site.

And I am happy to report that they seem to be taking some steps to do that.

First, Voices has revamped their rate guide for 2023.

business, professional development, ratesPaul SchmidtFebruary 16, 2023voices, Voices.com, GVAA, rates, bad rates Comment

WHY Negotiate Voice Over Rates?

"How do I set and negotiate proper voice over rates?" That's one of the most common questions I get from newer voice actors. In fact, just this week I had one of my students in the VO Freedom Master Plan ask it in just this way. “I also feel like a huge obstacle for me is pricing knowledge. Knowing how to price myself and how to justify my prices, I don't want to do cheap work in many businesses I've reached out to directly have told me they just use places like Fiverr to buy cheap VO. Drives me nuts"

It drives a lot of people nuts, so let’s get into it.

business, business development, mindset, rates, the vo industryPaul SchmidtSeptember 1, 2022GVAA, rates, bad rates, negotiation Comments

How To Avoid BAD Voice Over Rates

One of the hardest things to learn when you're in the first few years of your voice over career is rates. Specifically how to avoid bad voice over rates, how to deal with aggressive voice over job listings. You know what I'm talking about? How to negotiate voiceover rates and when and why in perpetuity is bad for voice actors.

Now, when you're in the first few years of your career, rates and negotiation tend to be a bit of a black box.

First of all, why do we negotiate? Why do we negotiate voice over rates? How do we spot aggressive voice over job listings on the voice over websites and voice over job boards? And ultimately, how do we avoid bad voice over jobs and bad voice over deals?

Quoting Voice-Over Rates: Abundance vs. Scarcity

I’ve been pretty vocal on social media about so-called “coaches” in this business who purport that Fiverr, Upwork, Craigslist (for chrissakes), and the like are the key to a career as a professional voice actor.

My problem is not with these sites. My problem is with the scarcity mindset and the so-called “coaches” who teach it.

How To Handle Lowball Budgets – 2 Real World Examples

It can be very confusing trying to figure out how to handle casting notices that come in that are well below the going rates.

This week, I thought it might be useful to show two real-world examples I’ve received very recently as well as my actual responses so that you can see how to handle these less than ideal requests.

business, rates, work, working with a VOPaul SchmidtApril 28, 2022lowballers, marketing, quotes, rates Comments

Businesses Don’t Beg

Businesses, especially businesses who sell to other businesses (B2Bs) set their own rates as the seller at whatever they deem necessary, within what the market will tolerate. They don’t go groveling to their customers every year and beg.

Many voice actors and freelancers, the overwhelming majority of whom have likely been employees at some point, carry this submissive seller mindset into setting and maintaining professional rates.

rates, businessPaul SchmidtDecember 16, 2021rates, negotiation Comments

Free Food Will Cost You

I recently came across a video on YouTube by a voice talent whose stance was that it’s ok to charge $5 for a voice-over in certain circumstances, notably for new voice talent who wanted to get potential buyers to “try” or “sample” their wares.

Good idea? Not if you want to be in business.

business, business development, professional development, ratesPaul SchmidtNovember 4, 2021rates, priceComment