Voquent CEO Miles Chicoine: AI's 3 Big Threats to the VO Biz
Voquent CEO Miles Chicoine: AI's 3 Big Threats to the VO Biz

Today, a fascinating discussion with the CEO of UK-based Voquent, one of the major voiceover service providers globally about their recent stand against AI. It's an especially strong stand in the context of the ones that the other providers have taken in recent months, and we talked to Miles Chicoine today about that stance. Miles has got some amazing insights, some really interesting insights about AI and how it's affecting both the voiceover industry and the world at large. This is our chat with Voquent CEO Miles Chicoine.

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AI/TTS, casting sites, rates, sag-aftra, the vo industryPaul Schmidtai, ai voices, voquent, miles chicoine, interviewComment
SAG-AFTRA & WGA Strikes: Fighting for HUMANITY in Art
SAG-AFTRA & WGA Strikes: Fighting for HUMANITY in Art

Here, today, right now, those developing generative AI are threatening to put a lot of us out of work. In October of 2020, the World Economic Forum said that while AI would likely take away 85 million jobs globally by 2025 (and we’re more than halfway there, by the way), it would also generate 97 million new jobs in fields ranging from big data and machine learning to information security and digital marketing.

But here’s the thing: The jobs it’s taking away aren’t the same jobs it’s creating. It’s not creating jobs for creatives. It’s taking them away. Good luck quitting your job as an actor and waltzing into a machine learning job.

And for a prime example of just how this is happening, look no further than our own industry and the current SAG-AFTRA and Writer’s Guild of America strikes against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which includes the major streaming services and Hollywood studios.

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AI/TTS, creativity, sag-aftra, the vo industryPaul SchmidtSAG-AFTRA, WGA, strike, AI, ai voicesComment
5 MUST-HAVE Features of Your Voice Over Website
5 MUST-HAVE Features of Your Voice Over Website

Maybe you’re building your voice over website for the first time. Or maybe you’re redesigning your VO website. How do you design your voiceover website to not just look good, but to actually help grow your business? Specifically, what are the website features you must have? How do you make it easy for customers to do business with you through your website?

So in this video I’m going to give you 6 website features you must have on your voice over website to insure it will help you grow your VO, and at the end I’ll tell you how you can get my Top 10 Website Strategies ebooklet that has 4 additional strategies you can use to boost the effectiveness of your VO website design.

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marketing, the vo industry, business developmentPaul Schmidtwebsite design, websites, VO websitesComment
9 VO Lessons I Learned in the Gym
9 VO Lessons I Learned in the Gym

When you think about it, the gym and the VO booth have more similarities than you might think, and I think the gym is a great metaphor for the booth. Both are dedicated spaces where you’re focusing on self-improvement, on learning new skills, on getting uncomfortable and stretching and literally growing. In both you have tools for feedback – in the gym it’s a mirror, in the booth, it’s your headphones and studio monitors. Both have coaches or trainers to help guide us.

So, let's dive into the 9 voiceover lessons I've picked up from an unlikely place - the gym.

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mental health, mindset, personal development, professional developmentPaul Schmidtgym, consistencyComment
SAG-AFTRA Strike: The Most Important Moment in THE HISTORY OF ACTING
SAG-AFTRA Strike: The Most Important Moment in THE HISTORY OF ACTING

SAG-AFTRA is on strike, and it can be very confusing to non-union actors and voice actors, and those who aren’t actors.

Today I’m gonna break down the major issues around the strike, why this is a watershed moment in the history of acting (and no, I’m not overblowing it), and why non-union actors should not only pay attention, but should absolutely support the strike and advocate for us all.

Remember that episode of friends, when Joey lost his health insurance?…

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AI/TTS, business, the vo industry, sag-aftraPaul SchmidtSAG-AFTRA, strike, union, streaming, tvComment
Feeling Overwhelmed: Relieve Stress & Simplify Your VO Life
Feeling Overwhelmed: Relieve Stress & Simplify Your VO Life

Loneliness. Doubt. Knowledge gaps. Distraction. Overwhelm. Rejection.

Voice actors battle these struggles every day and oftentimes they lead to unfocused action, wasted resources, poor decision-making, and feelings of overwhelm (or VO-verwhelm).

Without the right support and resources, it's no wonder why so many voice actors and audiobook narrators burn out before achieving their dreams.

VO-verwhelm is a real thing, and today we’re going to talk about what it is, and how to recognize the feelings of overwhelm, reduce stress, and simplify your VO life.

Here are 7 strategies to tame the overwhelm beast:

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mental health, mindset, social media, the vo industryPaul Schmidtoverwhelm, akrasia, depression, anxietyComment
NEW! VO Pro – A Private Global Community JUST for Voice Actors
NEW! VO Pro – A Private Global Community JUST for Voice Actors

There are a million voice over Facebook groups and most of them are great, but let’s face it, Facebook itself is a toilet and all the groups are largely the same thing – it’s an online forum and that’s mostly it. Discord is powerful but looks like Slack on meth and has a big learning curve.

So the question has been how do we leverage the power of community to help educate, connect, and support voice actors in a way that we currently haven’t been able to reach.

How do we bring together growth-minded, driven voice actors who are committed to their craft, along with top coaches, the best educational tools in the business, and help them more deeply connect with each other, learn from each other, and support one another?

Well, I have an answer: VO Pro.

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professional development, mindset, mental health, marketing, rates, the vo industry, business development, AI/TTSPaul SchmidtVO Pro, the vo communityComment
Are You Serving SPAM? Demystifying Email Deliverability
Are You Serving SPAM? Demystifying Email Deliverability

One of the biggest objections I hear from voice actors is I don’t want to be spammy in my email marketing. And I get what people are saying here, and they’re right. They don’t want to be perceived as sending irrelevant, salesy, sleazy messages to poorly targeted, or not targeted at all, people.

In other words, if they reach out to prospects, they want that to be a quality engagement and I 110% support that philosophy.

BUT there’s another kind of spam. And it’s this second kind that you may be sending and not even know it. It’s unintentional spam. It’s messaging that you’ve taken the time to craft, taken the time to target your prospects, taken the time to try to do all the things right, and yet it’s not even making it to your prospect’s inbox, because the ESPs, the email service providers are marking it as spam and culling it from the system before you’ve ever had the chance to say Hello.

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business development, marketing, messaging, businessPaul Schmidtemail, marketing, marketing mistakes Comments
The ONE Thing that Changes EVERYTHING in VO and LIFE
The ONE Thing that Changes EVERYTHING in VO and LIFE

There's one hack, one great secret. One thing you can do for your growing your voiceover business. And it's so powerful that it works for not just growing your video business, but for improving your physical fitness, your mental fitness, and your emotional intelligence. It works for improving your relationships.

It's the difference between setting goals and achieving them. Between a dream and reality.

And it's so simple to understand that even a sixth grader can get it. And when I say what it is, you will kick yourself because you already know it to be true.

So what is this cheat code to all good things in your life?

Two words…

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marketing, mindset, professional development, personal developmentPaul Schmidtconsistency, perfectionismComment
WHY IS THE VOICE OVER COMMUNITY SO SPECIAL?
WHY IS THE VOICE OVER COMMUNITY SO SPECIAL?

The VO community to me is far and away the most supportive, uplifting, collaborative, encouraging group of people I have ever been around. That to me is clear. What is not clear, what really want to get to the heart of is… WHY? Why are voice actors and audiobook narrators so…kind and helpful and all the good things?

WHY? I asked our community on social media recently this very question… Why do you think it is? Does voice acting attract better people? Or does it just bring out the better in us? And if so, why? How?

And that’s what we’re gonna dig into today. As answered by you.

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mindset, mental health, the vo industryPaul Schmidtthe vo communityComment
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