The million dollar question. How much should I charge as a voice actor? It’s important to understand how rates are determined. Typically usage drives rates in vo. This means that WHERE the voice over will be heard and HOW LONG IT WILL AIR…matters.
Now, I realize that in today’s pay-to-play world…..meaning websites where you PAY for the opportunity to audition…this model is happening less and less. On these kinds of sites, potential clients will provide the rate range they are willing to pay…without telling you anything about how it’s going to be used. This isn’t a great thing and it’s not the way rates should be determined.
The correct way to determine rates ….is to look at WHERE and HOW LONG the usage will be. So, for example…WHERE….if the voice over is INDUSTRIAL in usage….such as an internal training or elearning…the rate will be LOWER than if it is a COMMERCIAL project that’s being used in a broadcast fashion such as on tv or in radio…HOW LONG…describes the length the voice over will run. So, going back to the commercial example….the rate will be less if it runs for, say, 4 mo’s verses perpetuity…Perpetuity means forever or as long as the client chooses to air the voice over you’ve recorded.
To wrap….To determine rates…figure out the usage of WHERE and HOW LONG the voice over will run. Then, you can determine quote a rate that’s a win-win for both you and your client.