Contracts: To Use, or Not To Use... THAT Is the Question...?
Contracts: To Use, or Not To Use... THAT Is the Question...?

Today, we're talking about the importance of using contracts for voice actors and outline the benefits and protections they offer. This video emphasizes the need for clear expectations, protection of rights, payment security, scope management, liability limitations, professionalism, and dispute resolution.

While formal contracts are generally recommended, I also mention situations where email communication may be acceptable as a substitute, such as for informal or small-scale projects with trusted clients or established working relationships.

However, the acceptance and validity of using email as a substitute may vary depending on jurisdiction and I advise seeking legal advice.

We wrap up by providing resources, including a book on voiceover legal matters, an AI and Synthetic Voices rider for contract addendum, a recommended entertainment lawyer, and a link to my own policies page for setting clear expectations.

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business, professional development, the vo industry, working with a VOPaul Schmidtcontracts, emailComment
Overcome Common Objections and BOOK the Gig
Overcome Common Objections and BOOK the Gig

As a voice actor, as really any freelance creative writer, developer, designer, you name it, your ability to attract and retain clients is going to be key to your success. And as a freelancer, you're going to run into some pretty common customer objections. And those customer objections can get in the way of or at worst, completely derail closing deals and booking gigs.

And when I say common objections, I'm not kidding. They happen all the time.

Today I'm going to help you do just that. We're going to explore some common customer objections. And I'm going to give you some strategies to overcome them so you can close more deals and book more gigs.

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business, business development, marketing, messagingPaul Schmidtovercoming objections, closing salesComment
Surviving in VO – Growing Relationships & Income Streams
Surviving in VO – Growing Relationships & Income Streams

Alright, let's take voice over out of it for a minute, okay? One in four jobs in the next five years. This is not just voice over. This is globally. One in four jobs is set to change because of factors like artificial intelligence, global supply chain issues, green energy and digitization.

One in four. That's not just voice over. That's the world over.

But it's clear in the next 5 to 10 years, maybe longer, that the ways that we go about finding work and generating personal income will change rapidly. But stick around because while there's a lot of not-so-great news, there's also a lot of great news for voice actors and freelancers who can learn to navigate this brave new world.

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casting sites, mindset, professional development, the vo industryPaul SchmidtAI, ai voices, freelancer sites, freelancingComment
Voice123's Rolf REACTS: Voices.ai & the FUTURE of VO
Voice123's Rolf REACTS: Voices.ai & the FUTURE of VO

I sat down with Voice123's Rolf Veldman soon after the launch of Voices' new AI product. Rolf gives us his reaction and his take on how AI, voice cloning, digital doubling, synthetic voices, text to speech (TTS), and technology in general will impact the voiceover industry. He references a chat with David Ciccerelli, talks about what a fair and ethical terms of use should include, and the ethos of Voice123.com and how it aligns with ethical treatment of all parties, including the voice actor.

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the vo industry, casting sitesPaul SchmidtVoice123, voices, Voices.com, AI, ai voicesComment
Voices.ai Is Here - IS the AI Voices Sky Falling?
Voices.ai Is Here - IS the AI Voices Sky Falling?

David Ciccerelli and Voices have finally launched their AI product called unshockingly, Voices dot ai. It’s here kids. It’s like the lump of coal you’ve been waiting to get in your stocking for years now. Except Santa-relli has been telling you all along what a good little girl you are. And somehow the whole time you knew the coal car was gonna be backing up with a big black nugget with your name on it.

It's here. Let’s break it down.

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business, professional development, the vo industry, AI/TTSPaul Schmidtai, ai voices, TTS, text to speech, Voices.com, voicesComment
Will ChatGPT KILL Voice Acting?!?!?
Will ChatGPT KILL Voice Acting?!?!?

ChatGPT. A.I.. Text to speech. Speech to speech. Are the digital boogeymen finally here to decimate voice acting and beat us up and take our lunch money?

Today we're going to talk about ChatGPT specifically and A.I. in general to kind of make sense out of all the fear and hype in the voice acting community.

With the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning, a lot of us are asking ourselves, Well, hell, how do we even stay relevant in a world that is changing at lightspeed?

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acting, creativity, mindset, the vo industry, AI/TTSPaul SchmidtChatGPT, AI, TTS Comments
GVAA Rate Guide: CRAZY Origin, Present & EXCITING Future Plans
GVAA Rate Guide: CRAZY Origin, Present & EXCITING Future Plans

The GVAA Rate Guide creator, David Toback, tells the crazy story of how the guide that our industry depends on was an accident, how he founded it with Cristina Milizia, what it is, WHY it's so crucial for talent to use it when quoting professional voice over rates, and what some of the exciting future plans for the guide are.

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business, professional development, rates, the vo industryPaul SchmidtGVAA, DAVID TOBACK, CRISTINA MILIZIAComment
Get Paid ON TIME: Freelance Billing Practices that WORK
Get Paid ON TIME: Freelance Billing Practices that WORK

One of the biggest pains in the butt for freelancers and voice actors is just getting paid on time. I know tons of freelancers and voice actors who have right now outstanding invoices, past due invoices, and I even know several who have been stiffed completely by clients.

It's rare, but it happens.

Today we're going to talk about how to manage your billing practices so that you minimize the risk to your own business while still maintaining a positive relationship with your clients. But most importantly, you get paid on time.

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businessPaul Schmidtbilling, payment, invoicingComment
Voice Over Career Suicide – AI, TTS, VO Contracts, & More
Voice Over Career Suicide – AI, TTS, VO Contracts, & More

Today, we talk with Robert Sciglimpaglia, noted VO attorney and voice actor, who warns us how to avoid bad voice over contracts regarding AI, text to speech, synthetic voices, and more.

We recently told the story of one voice actor who’s own voice she discovered on an AI voices website without her knowledge.

Rob explains how Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, and Google have been building voice databases for years, how companies like Revoicer are operating legally and ethically, and most importantly, how to protect yourself from discovering your own voice on an AI site.

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business, professional development, the vo industryPaul SchmidtAI, TTS, Revoicer, law, contractsComment
DIY Voice Over Demos – DON’T DO IT!!!
DIY Voice Over Demos – DON’T DO IT!!!

There are a lot of coaches,, one in particular, and even Voices dot com who will tell you how to make your own DIY voice over demo.

And I'm here to tell you in your best interest, especially as a beginner, do not do your own demo.

Today, I'm going to tell you in no uncertain terms why it's an absolutely awful idea to make your own DIY voice over demo reel and why it can significantly damage your career before it ever gets started.

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marketing, the vo industryPaul SchmidtdemosComment
Voice Actor Remie Michelle Clarke: "AI STOLE My Voice!!!"
Voice Actor Remie Michelle Clarke: "AI STOLE My Voice!!!"

One of the scariest aspects of being a voice actor in modern times is AI, artificial intelligence, synthetic voice, and text to speech. Most of the discussion has been around the question of, “Well, what happens when AI steals our work?”

The scarier question to me is what happens when A.I. has your voice?

Joining us from Dublin today is the Irish voice actor and author Remie Michelle Clarke with her story of how she believes her voice was stolen directly by artificial intelligence and the difficulties she's had in pursuing the people that have taken her voice.

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AI/TTS, the vo industry, tech/gear, businessPaul SchmidtAI, TTS, Revoicer, NAVA Comments
WOW! Voices.com NEW Rate Guide vs. GVAA
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.

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business, professional development, ratesPaul Schmidtvoices, Voices.com, GVAA, rates, bad rates Comment
Top 7 Beginner Voice Over Marketing MISTAKES to Avoid
Top 7 Beginner Voice Over Marketing MISTAKES to Avoid

How do I know if I'm making bad marketing mistakes that are turning clients off? What are the most common marketing mistakes in voiceover and how do I avoid them? What critical social media marketing mistakes am I making with my voiceover business?

Today we're talking about seven common marketing mistakes to avoid making in voiceover, why they are common and not so obvious, and why you want to avoid them.

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Paul Schmidt Comments
SHOCKING REAL CALL with an EXPLOITATIVE Voice Over Producer
SHOCKING REAL CALL with an EXPLOITATIVE Voice Over Producer

What you are about to hear is an actual call about an exploitative practice that is too common in our business. It is a prime example of producers who purposefully seek out younger and less experienced talent and knowingly exploit them for the benefit of their own organizations.

To be clear, this is representative of a tiny-but-still-too-large fraction of producers in the business and this call centers on but one specific practice: the all-media buyout.

It is shocking in its brazen self-awareness.

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business, professional development, working with a VOPaul Schmidtexploitation, buyouts, negotiation Comments
7 Truths You MUST Know Before You Get Started in Voice Acting
7 Truths You MUST Know Before You Get Started in Voice Acting

Today's post is essentially a letter to my former self. It's all the stuff I wish I knew when I was starting out in voiceover and stuff that you should know, maybe even before you get into voiceover.

My goal and hope are that you can learn from some of the mistakes that I made and learn some of the lessons that I learned. As I've gotten older, I've learned that when you can learn from somebody with a little bit more experience than you, it can save you a lot of heartache and hurt. I'd like to think as a voice actor, I've done a better job of listening, but I still have made my own fair share of mistakes and learned lessons that I hope to pass on to you here.

So here are seven truths you need to know before you get into VO or at the very least, as you're getting into VO.

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business, marketing, professional development, the vo industryPaul Schmidtgetting started, voice actingComment
How To Drive AMAZING Voice Over Client Experiences
How To Drive AMAZING Voice Over Client Experiences

Here's a question: How do you drive an exceptional customer experience, one that generates loyalty among your customers and drives repeat and recurring business? It all starts with understanding customer needs.

And today, we're going to talk about understanding and identifying customer needs, using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and just how that applies to the service business of Voice Over.

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professional development, the vo industry, mindsetPaul Schmidtcustomer service, maslow, customer needs, customer experience Comments
A Dialogue with Voice123: Can We CHANGE the P2Ps?
A Dialogue with Voice123: Can We CHANGE the P2Ps?

What if we could change how the P2Ps work? What if we could have a real dialog with the decision-makers, the policymakers, at the online casting sites? What if we could make actual recommendations directly to the people at the top of the pay-to-plays?

Now, it's one thing to have a monologue to someone in such a position as we did with David Ciccarelli of Voices in a couple of videos prior to this.

But it's another thing entirely to be able to ask questions from and make recommendations directly to the CEO of a major P2P platform.

Now, as it happens, one such opportunity is coming up.

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the vo industryPaul Schmidtvoice123, Voices.com, voices, p2ps Comments