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What It’s All About

I didn’t want to go downstairs. It was my privilege to attend Val Kelly’s Mid Atlantic Voiceover Conference, MAVO, this weekend. Best part for me? Not my event. I had exactly ONE breakout session, on political VO, on my schedule to present. I showed up at the venue around noon on Friday and by 3PM I was somewhere I almost never visit during a conference…..the hotel bar. My good friends Brad Hyland, Patrick Kirchner, and Cliff Zellman joined as we threw back a few cold ones and cut up like the knuckleheads we are. We met a married couple there for a hotel date. The guy was a new retiree and aspiring podcaster. Great conversation, and pure relaxation.

Things progressed to the hotel restaurant where a pack of VO goombahs including Yours Truly, MAVO Keynote Marc Graue, Cliff again, Brad again, Tom Dheere, Johnny Heller, Uncle Roy, and Scott Parkin had a boisterous and very rushed dinner before the speaker introduction session. At one point Parkin threatened the life of an infant with a set of cutlery. There was more beer.

Speaker intros were wild. Great energy, fun room, all of the insanity of the aforementioned dinner bunch with an Elley Ray hand grenade thrown on top. And congrats to her on the MAVO Muse Award for all her contributions to the industry. After intros a number of us went to, let’s just say, a private room, where more libations flowed freely and conversations were on the unfiltered side. It was nice.

Downstairs, a bit later, a radio play had commenced on the main stage, engineered by Uncle Roy and Holly Adams. Now, most of the time, at conferences, that’s where I would have been. I’m generally not one to disappear to the private parties. I like being with the masses and meeting my fellow VOs. I thrive on the energy of these events.

But not this time. This time I wanted to do exactly what I was doing. Sitting in a comfy chair in a rowdy room with a few good friends and now well-into a bottle of Glenfiddich, (Parkin again.) Mellow. Relaxed. Slightly inebriated.

After a time, the ever-responsible and always-thoughtful Johnny Heller suggested we should make an appearance downstairs at the radio play. I resisted. By which I mean I suggested he was out of his gourd and that we were best situated exactly where we were. Did I mention the Glenfiddich? I thought I had won the room, but slowly the party people headed downstairs. I didn’t want to go downstairs.

But, I did.

What awaited us back on the main stage was something genuinely special. Four people I know well, Carman Wilson, Jason Thomsen, Pat Kennedy, and Jim Fronk, all coaching and demo clients at one point or another, (Carman Wilson has a One Voice Award for her effort,) and a fifth guy called Greg whom I don’t know as well but who was doing a helluva job getting into his role as a detective…..were putting on a straight-up show. Five voice actors at various points in their journey, but who in that moment owned the stage in front of a collection of some of the biggest names in the business. For half an hour I watched as they got laugh after laugh from the crowd, with impeccable comic timing, not once fumbling a line despite being on a big stage under bright lights in front of their peers. They were brilliant. They were funny. And they represented everything that’s right with this business.

At a time where there’s more acrimony in our industry than most of us care to see, watching this group onstage helped me put things in perspective.

There may be more arguments in our industry than there used to be. Is AI a nothingburger or the VOpocalypse? Do you love VO award shows or hate them? Are those preaching work/life balance right, or are the hustle-and-grind advocates on the correct track? Are P2P sites the devil or just a tool in a toolbox?

Who cares.

What matters in this industry are Carman Wilson, Jim Fronk, Jason Thomsen, Pat Kennedy, and Greg the Detective. They’re living it. They’re breathing it. They are pouring every ounce of their heart and soul into making themselves the best at this craft as they can be. Will they all make this into the dream career so many want it to be? Maybe, maybe not. But I wouldn’t bet against any of them, and I wouldn’t bet against this industry continuing to thrive and grow because of people like these.

I’m glad I came downstairs.

The Why of the EURO VO Retreat

by J. Michael Collins 7 Comments

Last night featured the opening celebration dinner of the 8th EURO VO Retreat.

As always, it was an evening of laughter, fun, indulgence, and the joy of the finer things in life, as we prepare to embark on another week of intensive small-group learning, this time on the banks of Lake Lucerne in lovely Vitznau, Switzerland.

Paul Strikwerda recently wrote an article on the retreats, (https://www.nethervoice.com/jmcs-euro-vo-retreats-extravagant-or-priceless/) in which he rhetorically asked if an event with a price point over $5,000 that limits attendance to a dozen or so jet-setting voice actors is elitist. Fair question, and to some surely the answer will be yes.

But however lavish a EURO VO Retreat may be, it’s the “why” behind their existence that I haven’t discussed often enough.

Lessons Learned at the EURO VO Retreat

Being comprised of thousands of solopreneurs, all largely isolated in padded rooms and social media bubbles, it is very easy to allow a scarcity mindset to creep into what we do. Being self-employed is inherently terrifying, with a sense of insecurity being a defining feature for many. However good things may happen one day, there’s no corporate paycheck to fall back on if they slow down the next. We are our own safety net, and that net can feel thin at times.

This insecurity leads to gravitation towards compromising our value, lowering our expectations for pay, long-term security, personal happiness and pleasure, and the play we all deserve as a reward for our hard work. It makes many feel that they are not entitled to the same quality of life that their friends who work in the corporate world may have and causes them to buy into the mentality that we are just gig economy worker bees who should be happy that we get paid to talk.

The EURO VO Retreats are the opposite of that. They are lessons not just in growing one’s skill set and camaraderie but also in creating a mindset of abundance. They showcase that with hard work, extraordinary talent, and exceptional business acumen, this Wild West industry we have chosen to devote our lives to can be harnessed and channeled into a security-creating stream of reliable income that can render normal what once seemed extravagant. These retreats demonstrate what people in our industry can have when they take themselves seriously and embody a professional role in the classical sense, no different than the dedication exhibited by lawyers, architects, and hedge fund managers.

Those of us who have worked in this field for decades understand that there is, always has been, and most likely always will be more work than there is quality talent to do it. Regardless of the advances of AI, or the growth of newer, micro-budget parts of the marketplace, there will always be a strong and steady pool of buyers looking for exceptional talent and willing-to-pay rates that reflect their appreciation for quality. And we understand that voiceover doesn’t have to be a hand-to-mouth, hoping for the next job, hustle-and-grind lifestyle, but rather one where we can decide what work we do, how much we get paid for it, and when we want to be on call……or not.

What is the why of the EURO VO Retreats? The why is simply to show what can be…..and how what can be might be far more than you ever imagined.

I’m Going “Verified Human.” Should You?

by J. Michael Collins 9 Comments

The herd mentality in voiceover today is all about figuring out how to incorporate AI, voice models, and voice clones into your business plan. Who will be the first movers to get ahead of the AI voiceover trend and capitalize on it? Who will be harmed? Not me. On both counts.

I’ve spent my career trying to see where the herd is moving and then either getting ahead of the next move (or, more often,) moving in the opposite direction. This philosophy has helped me build a voiceover business and voiceover-adjacent businesses that have thrived for almost three decades. It has also served me well in financial planning and investing. Scared of the markets right now? I’m not. Warren Buffett once said it is wise for investors to be “fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.” I’m buying market dips right now in multiple sectors while most people are selling. If the market crashes, guess what? I’ll still be a buyer. In the long run, the growth will be there.

AI Voiceover vs. Authentic Human Voices

Recently, I encountered a fascinating Twitter thread (https://bit.ly/3qxAe9f) by content marketing writer Rob Lennon, who has self-published 45 titles on Amazon and is highly familiar with the freelance writing industry. The freelance writing industry has similarities to voiceover, though it is not directly analogous. However, Lennon’s article struck a chord. Lennon predicts that “Entry-level freelance writing jobs will be decimated w/in five years and replaced by AI wranglers.” This is similar to my prediction of the imminent demise of entry-level voiceover jobs at the hands of AI voice models. The sub-$100 voiceover space will likely cease to exist for human voice actors in the next five years. The $100-$250 space could see up to 80% of jobs replaced by robots. And the $250-$500 space may see as many as 20% of jobs lost to AI. Above the $500 line, where quality and nuance trump price, there is likely to be minor, if any, erosion.

Lennon posits that “A chain reaction occurs. Fewer entry-level business writing jobs are available. Years go by. Fewer writers getting better at their craft. Fewer writers writing about writing. Thus begins the gap.” Voiceover will likely experience a similar phenomenon. Fewer low-end jobs available. Fewer new entrants into the industry. Eventually, buyers are left with a stark choice between human, or robot, as the available talent pool thins over time.

A market will emerge for what Lennon calls “strict human verification.” High-end buyers will demand authentic human voices. Consumers will demand them. And the most discriminating may choose to work only with those voice actors who can guarantee that their voice does not exist in an artificial form.

If you are licensing your voice in AI form now, it will be very challenging to assure future buyers that someone else won’t be able to use a model of your voice to recreate the deliverable you provide them. It may dilute your value in a market that starts to prize verifiably human voices. We don’t know what the future looks like. This is one of many possible outcomes. But one thing I’ve yet to see from AI modelers is a use case for how voice actors make more than pizza money from voice clones. Show me how we get to 5-figures monthly with an AI model, and you’ll have my interest. Until then? Going forward, J. Michael Collins voiceovers are Verified Human, and I’ll proudly display a badge declaring the same on my homepage in the near future.

Of course, I’m also buying stock in Veritone. So we’ll see.

*This blog is the writer’s personal opinion only and does not constitute financial advice.

Why “Best Demo” Awards Are Good for the Voiceover Industry

by J. Michael Collins 4 Comments

Recently there’s been a lot of discussion about the value of awards like Voice Arts Awards and One Voice Best Demo Awards in various categories. Skeptics have pointed out that being nominated for or winning an award for your demo reel is not in and of itself a sign of success. Ultimately, they say, only your booked work matters.

This perspective often comes from wanting to help talent focus on the meaningful things that will increase their bottom line, and I’m sure it is, at its core, well-intentioned. There’s a valid argument that a voice actor’s daily efforts should be expended primarily on tasks that generate work directly, such as auditioning and marketing. However, dismissing the value of awards for demo reels misses two critical points, one of which is directly salient to the bottom line of voice actors competing for these awards.

Best Demo Awards Provide Opportunities

First and foremost, one must consider the opportunity provided to a voiceover artist simply by submitting for a Voice Arts Award or One Voice Award. These competitions are judged by dozens of the industry’s most prominent talent agents, managers, and casting directors. Agents from the biggest LA and NYC agencies have participated, as have casting directors from all of the significant casting companies and even Disney, as well as representatives from the most sought-after and selective management companies.

When a voice actor submits their demo to one of these award programs, they have the opportunity to be heard by the key players capable of helping them access the highest-level work. And, while there is certainly no guarantee or promise that this will lead to direct opportunities, having the chance to have their reel listened to, often in its entirety in this setting, gives voice actors a chance to make a front-and-center impression that simply submitting for representation through the usual channels might not. It’s a rare opportunity to have the most impactful people in casting as a captive audience.

There is another benefit to these awards as well, though more indirect.

Improving the Demo Production Game

Since the Voice Arts Awards launched almost a decade ago, the industry’s best demo producers have been forced to up their game. The chance for an award should not be the primary decision point one relies on in selecting a demo producer. Still, it can play a factor in some voiceover talents’ deciding whom to work with. This has led to friendly competition among top producers and required us to pay more attention to the finest details of scripting, direction, and production.

Undoubtedly, the quality of demos produced by the top ten demo producers is considerably higher today than it was ten years ago. This is essentially a result of industry awards creating a more competitive landscape. This means that more talent is getting top-level competitive demos, and these superior-quality reels ultimately lead to more and better work.

Certainly, talent should be focused on immediate revenue generation. No one can argue that. But awards for demos or anything else in VO aren’t just a dog and pony show. They are a way of gaining the attention of the most connected people in the industry, and those impressions can help create channels of access that may not have existed for a voice actor before. The value is clear.

3 Things About the Voiceover Industry

by J. Michael Collins Leave a Comment

This week marks the return of my “3-Things” segments, where I drop a few shorter thoughts about the voiceover industry than my usual stemwinders. Here we go!

#1 About Voiceover At-Bats

It’s all about at-bats. When you strip all the noise away, the only thing that matters in this business is at-bats. Talent and technical ability are prerequisites. If you don’t have those, you won’t even get to first base. But assuming you do, it’s all about the number of people who hear you each day.

Even the best voice actors have batting averages that are rarely better than .100, or one in ten. You’ll never get the hits you need to build a sustainable career if you don’t get enough at-bats. What’s the magic number? For some, it’s ten a day. For others, 20. For more than you might think, 30 or 40.

At bats are auditions or active marketing touches. This means people are either hearing your audition or your demo. If this happens less than 10-20 times a day, regardless of where you source your work, you likely will not get a lot of traction in voiceover, no matter how good you are.

#2 Playing by the Rules

Occasionally, we all have to swallow our pride to move our careers forward. If you get your back up every time someone patronizes you or makes you feel small but is still offering a seat at the table, you’ll lose out on chances to leapfrog the very person who may not be treating you all that fairly. Don’t accept insults or abuse, but understand that if you want to be alpha dog someday, you have to accept that sometimes just getting into the castle is worth the trouble of playing by someone else’s rules for a bit.

#3 About Voiceover Audio

Have a pro check your damn audio. And I don’t mean me. I mean George Whittam, Dan Lenard, Uncle Roy, Tim Tippets, Frank Verderosa, and various others…..(yes, all guys….drop some killer female engineers in the comments, please!) I’ve been casting a fair bit recently, and some of you who are pretty hot stuff as talent don’t realize that you are sending in B-minus audio or stuff that’s been edited to the point that I’m hearing pops between lines. It’s often a deal-breaker and almost always a tiebreaker.

Scott Brick Joins the JMC Demos Team as Director of New Audiobooks Division

by J. Michael Collins Leave a Comment

With great pleasure, I can announce the expansion of the JMC Demos brand into Audiobooks, led by our new Audiobooks Division Director Scott Brick.

As a demo producer, I’m a firm believer in the adage that to create a quality reel, the producer needs to play in the genre being produced, whether as a VO, behind the glass, or both. JMC Demos has long counted on the expertise of A.J. McKay to lead the Radio Imaging demo process. For years, JMC Demos did not produce Animation demos, Video Game demos, or Audiobook demos because these are three areas in which I don’t regularly work, nor do I seek to.

A few years ago, because of frequent requests to produce character reels, I brought on the fantastic tag team of Matt Curtis and Chris Sharpes to head the JMC Demos Character Division. We began producing Animation and Video Game demos. Their hard work culminated in a 2021 Voice Arts Award win for Daniel Ross’s Animation demo and has helped numerous other Vo’s book work in these challenging genres.

Scott Brick and Audiobook Demo Requests

Before the pandemic, we also expanded into Spanish-language demos under the leadership of Juan Carlos Hernandez-Babic. Recently, we’ve been fielding tons of requests to produce Audiobook demos from our existing JMC Demos clients and others. Ultimately, I decided it was time to take another look at a genre that is so popular among voice actors and consumers alike.

This led me to Scott.

Scott Brick is not only a good friend, but as most of you are aware, he is arguably the most accomplished audiobook narrator in the genre’s history. Scott has narrated almost 900 audiobooks, including titles such as Jurassic Park, the Jack Reacher series, Alexander Hamilton, the Hunt For Red October, The Passage trilogy, In Cold Blood, the Bourne trilogy, Atlas Shrugged, Helter Skelter, Fahrenheit 451, and the Dune series.

Having just celebrated his 20th Audioversary, Brick’s venture into audiobooks is now considered legendary. To date, he’s won over 60 Earphones Awards for his narrating skills, five Audie Awards, five SOVAS Awards for voiceover, and a Grammy nomination for the multi-cast recording of The Mark of Zorro (2011). After recording 250 titles in his first five years, AUDIOFILE MAGAZINE named Brick “one of the fastest-rising stars in the audiobook galaxy” and proclaimed him a Golden Voice. Still, the WALL STREET JOURNAL sealed the moniker with a front-page article in November 2004. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY then honored Brick as Narrator of the Year in both 2007 and 2011. That honor was followed up with another feature in the WSJ in 2019 and a recent appearance on the CBS Sunday Morning news show. And the ultimate distinction – being inducted into the Audible Narrator’s Hall of Fame in 2018.

Taking the Lead

As the new Director of the JMC Demos Audiobook Division, Scott will take the lead in scripting and directing the Audiobook reels of our demo clients and coaching perspective demo clients when appropriate. Scott will also collaborate with the JMC Demos engineering team to ensure that production meets industry standards for this particular genre, ensuring that the final product isn’t just a showpiece but a tool to book work and advance the voice actor’s career.

On behalf of the JMC Demos team, I am thrilled to welcome Scott as part of the family, and can’t wait to see the results of this collaboration!