An Open Letter to Voices' New CEO: 7 Ways to Make Up with the VO Community

It’s November and as we stare down the barrel of the Holiday Season, it's clear that 2023 has held more change and transition for the VO business than any of us knew at the start of the year.

We’ve also seen some change and transition in the PSP platforms, especially at the largest of the VO-specific platforms, Voices, as they replaced Founder David Ciccarelli as CEO with interim CEO Jay O’Connor in October.

So today as we start wrapping our heads around 2024, I think there’s an opportunity here to begin to repair a fraught relationship between the platform and the voice over community, and so I thought I’d write an open letter to Voices and Interim CEO, Jay O’Connor.

I believe that Voices can run a healthy, profitable business, provide significant value for shareholders, and have an ethical, collaborative relationship with the voice actors who provide the services upon which Voices is built.

Here are a few steps Voices can take to start to repair our relationship and show some good will toward the voice-acting community.

The Rise and FALL of VOICES and VOICE123

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to remember Voices and Voice123. Both had lives with so much promise, yet cut so short. We had such hopes for you.

But as The Good Book says, “Yay, though I walked through the shadow of the valley of the pay to plays, I shall fear no evil, for the GVAA Rate Guide is with me.

Lord, we pray for these souls, Voices and Voice123, that though they be twisted and tortured by the evil of publicly traded corporations, that you may deliver them, Lord, once again into the kingdom of private ownership.

Pray with me, brothers and sisters. Lay your hands on your mobile device right now. Can I get a hallelujah?

[Hallelujah!]

All this we pray in the name of fair compensation and usage. Amen.

casting sites, sag-aftra, the vo industryPaul SchmidtNovember 2, 2023Voices.com, voice123, voice123.com, voices, p2p, p2ps, pay to play, pay to playsComment

A Voice Over MASS EXODUS? Will 80% of Voice Actors Be OUT?

Music Radio Creative’s Izabela Russell recently said on their channel that she sees a mass exodus happening in the voice over industry. And while Izabela’s take is stark, and blunt, it’s not new.

Do I agree with her? Yes. And no. I’ll get to that.

I agree, and I’ve said this for years, that AI will obliterate the bottom end of the industry where price is and always has been the primary driver. And I think that’s a good thing because for those of us who have taken the time and effort to get the training, build our businesses, and command pro rates, AI will take clients who don’t care about quality in the first place off the table. It will give them a better solution to their problem, and it will eliminate or at least minimize the garbage work out there for human voice actors.

And for those who haven’t taken that time and effort, I do think there is a reckoning coming.

So, what do we do? As voice actors? Push is in fact coming to shove, so what do we do when the robots can do what most voice actors can do?

AI/TTS, professional development, the vo industryPaul SchmidtOctober 26, 2023AI, ai voices, Izabela RussellComment

The 5 Biggest LIES in Voice Over & the REAL TRUTHS BEHIND THEM

One of the biggest problems that folks new to the business coming into voiceover run into as new voice actors is how to separate, how to sort out the good information from the bad.

In fact, it's one reason I started this channel because there is a substantial amount of factually incorrect garbage going on in our business that's floating around out there and the only way to fight that is with real facts and honest truth.

Now, is truth in the eye of the beholder. Largely, yes. But again, there's stuff out there that is just factually garbage and has to be called out as such.

So, today we're going to do just that. We're going to talk about the five biggest lies in the voiceover industry, what the source of those lies are and the corresponding truths that you need to know to be a successful voice actor.

casting sites, marketing, professional development, the vo industryPaul SchmidtOctober 19, 2023lies, fiverr, upworkComment

Should I Get into Voice Over? 9 CRUCIAL Questions

Several times a week, people reach out to me, and I'm sure I'm certainly not the only one and say, “People say, I have a nice voice. Should I get into voice acting?”

My answer used to be, “Sure. This is a great business, and it's the best job I've ever had. And second isn't even close. Come on in!”

And while that's still true as much as it ever was, my answer has changed.

Voice over and voice acting isn't for everyone.

Some don't have the talent. Some don't have the drive. Most think it's something it's not - and that is a quick way to easy money with no experience.

So how do I answer the question? Should I get into voice over truth fully when I know little to nothing about the person answering the question?

Today I'm going to do just that. So, if you're considering getting into the voiceover field, if you're wondering if you're cut out to be a professional voice actor, I have nine questions for you that will help you answer that question.

acting, business, mindset, professional development, tech/gearPaul SchmidtOctober 13, 2023marketing, training, mindsetComment

David Ciccarelli OUT! And Why That’s BAD for Voice Actors

Well, two weeks ago I said that Voices was getting desperate and ten days later they ousted their CEO, David Ciccarelli.

Earlier this week, Voices made the following announcement:

Dear Valued Customers and Friends,

Today, we share some bittersweet news as we bid farewell to a cherished member of our team, David, who has been at the helm of Voices.com, Inc. as its chief executive officer for the past 18 years.

Since founding Voices.com, David and his wife Stephanie have been instrumental in nurturing and growing the community and building the marketplace.

His dedication and leadership have been integral to our success and we are immensely grateful for the journey we have shared under his guidance.

David's decision to step down as CEO was not made lightly.

So, what does this mean for Voices going forward? And more importantly, what does it mean for voice actors?

Spoiler alert: It ain’t good for anybody.

casting sites, the vo industryPaul SchmidtOctober 5, 2023voices, Voices.com, bodalgo, castvoices, voquent, voplanet, Voice123Comment

Is Voice Over Work DRYING UP?!? THE 6 BIG CAUSES

As I touched on in my last video, 2023 has been a slow year for voiceover. In fact, this might be the first year in the 21st century that we can honestly say that voiceover work has not… available work… has not grown year over year.

There's no hard data that I know of in the voiceover industry that shows the exact amount of available work. But I talked to a lot of people in this business and pretty much everybody agrees it's been a down year.

This has also been the year that A.I. has exploded onto the scene.

Terms like generative AI were barely on our radar a year ago and they're now part of our everyday lexicon. A year ago, A.I. Voices was a term and a concept we all knew and were aware of and knew was coming. But nobody had any idea what that was going to mean for 2023.

Now, that said, if we agree that voiceover is in a bear market then that begs the question: why?

There are six main reasons VO is slow right now and I'm going to break them down for you today.

acting, AI/TTS, business, sag-aftra, the vo industryPaul SchmidtSeptember 28, 2023AI, ai voices, strike, economy, training, covid-19Comment

Is PANIC Setting In at Voices.com? 2 Signs

I talk to a lot of people in the voiceover business. Voice actors, casting directors, producers, agents, you name it. And while not everybody's business is flat or down at any given time, think most people acknowledge that right now, the voiceover industry is going through a slow period.

Now, as I film this, we're in the back half of September of 2023, and I think most people will acknowledge that this summer particularly was slower than most summers, and it's been that way for several months.

Now, one of the facets of the business that I think is seeing maybe the most change right now are the online platforms.

And today, we're going to take a look at two specific pieces of communication that I think give a really good snapshot in time of just how desperate Voices appears.

casting sites, rates, the vo industry, AI/TTSPaul SchmidtSeptember 21, 2023voices, Voices.com, AI, ai voices Comments

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

The VO Pro Blog