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Why I’m Not the Right Voiceover Coach or Demo Producer for You

Strange title, right? Maybe, but it could very well be true, and if so you need to know why I may not be the right voiceover coach or demo producer. Everyone learns and communicates differently, and sometimes styles of communication and learning aren’t the most compatible. Just like love, opposites attract, but they can also repel and lead to unsatisfactory relationships. Before you choose a coach or demo producer, you need to learn more about their process and style.

Broadly speaking, coaches and demo producers fall into three distinct categories:

1.) The Didact

The didactic coach or producer is extremely detail-oriented. Often very type-A on a personal level, the didact will have you thumbing through workbooks as frequently as you are on-mic, will deconstruct scripts by diagramming sentences and infusing every word with meaning, and will expect you to be attentive, studious, and every bit as engaged with minute points of voiceover academia and philosophy as they are.

The didact is a teacher at heart, as are most coaches, but they aren’t afraid to rap your knuckles with a ruler when they deem it appropriate, and what is intended as constructive feedback can often seem harsh or cold to those who aren’t prepared to be held to rigid account for each decision and choice they make.

Didacts work very well with people who have backgrounds in academics, science, logistics, and senior-level corporate management. They sometimes struggle to connect with talent who are more right-brained and artistic. Didacts are efficient, effective, good at what they do, and they know it. They have little time for those who can’t keep up.

Didacts rarely let people into their inner sanctum, but once you have been allowed beyond their outer armor they can be a champion for life.

2.) The Technician

Technicians teach from an analytical perspective that incorporates the, “why,” of a piece of copy as much as the, “how.” Technically-minded coaches expect you to learn how to intuit what a scriptwriter was thinking as they crafted their work, how the buyer or client anticipates the audience receiving the piece, and how to adapt your read to that intent.

Technicians tend to be patient but will expect you to understand the fundamentals of grammar and broader industry trends, as well as the tastes and peculiarities of various target demographics.

Technicians work well with people who enjoy the adventure of learning and the thrill of the light-bulb going on when they start to, “see the Matrix,” as the messaging and purpose of scripts become apparent to them.

Technicians tend to work well with most talent as they blend elements of detail with creativity, but may struggle with talent who are rigidly on either extreme of the left-brain/right-brain divide.

3.) The Creative

The creative coach is all about the more ethereal and spiritual elements of a performance. They are far less concerned about the details than they are about your personal connection to the copy. Are you authentic? Are you real? Are you feeling the truth of your performance or that of your character? That’s what speaks to the creative coach or demo producer.

Creative coaches and producers tend to be very extroverted, extremely patient even with talent who are frequently late for sessions or somewhat disorganized and will be much more willing to hand-hold than Didacts and even Technicians, while still peppering their feedback and advice with a dose of reality, important truth about what the industry will expect from you, and the rare stern correction if needed.

Creative coaches and producers tend to work very well with right-brained artistic types who think in abstract and non-linear ways and sometimes struggle with Type-A personalities and rigid left-brain talent who expect them to sweat every single detail.

When choosing your coach or demo producer, you first need to do some self-analysis. Are you strongly right-brained, left-brained….somewhere in between? Are you super Type-A and sensitive to the slightest sibilance or click in your audio, or do you trust your performance to carry you through and focus on the art first? Then, do your research on the coaches and producers you want to work with. How would their students describe their style and methods? And you can always ask us directly as well.

Me? I think I’m a hybrid somewhere between a Creative and a Technician. To me, details and analysis have their place and inform the fundamentals of voiceover, but the thing that books is how connected your soul is to your performance.

Does that mean I’m the right coach or demo producer for you? Maybe….but also, maybe not.

Revenge of the Boomers: How Voiceover Casting is Shifting in 2020

by J. Michael Collins 8 Comments

Young. Fresh. Hip. Current. Real. Gen Y. Gen Z. Millennial. If you’ve been around the voiceover industry for more than a week you’ve probably learned those terms by heart. They are the adjectives that have dominated voiceover casting for the past five years, as buyers have flocked to youthful talent with the sound of the 18-34 generation that is so heavily targeted, especially in advertising.

Indeed, many middle-aged and senior talent who have entered the market in the past decade with golden voices and enunciation to spare have been shocked to find demand for their dulcet tones on the wane, and have struggled to understand why experience and gravitas no longer seemed to fit the majority of casting specs.

The world has been tumultuous for a while, but with an economy that was generally doing well, low unemployment, and few large-scale concerns other than daily grumbles about politics or corporate greed, the order of the day for the better part of the twenty-teens was chill, casual, and relaxed. Less-is-more dominated the voice casting zeitgeist, and the fresher and less intentional your reads the better. Talent under 30 owned castings in broadcast genres, and made strong inroads into even traditionally weighty fields like Corporate Narration, e-Learning, and Medical Narration.

Sadly, 2020 happened. With one terrifying headline after another emerging from early in the year, the voiceover industry hit an inflection point, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Indeed, for a period of time in March, as the COVID pandemic was new and beyond frightening, demand for younger talent came to very nearly a screeching halt. Suddenly every spec was 35-65, warm, reassuring, calming, and authoritative. Zoomers got ghosted by buyers across the genre spectrum. Under-30s were sitting in front of their 416s waiting for calls from agents that just weren’t coming. It was like a switch had flipped.

Since the dark early days of the crisis the industry has pivoted back to a middle ground, but one trend remains clear: Older talent is more in demand right now than at any time in the past decade. The average voiceover casting brief I see currently is 35-45, whereas just six months ago it was heavily 18-30. There are more jobs looking for 40-65+ talent than at any time in recent memory. Fortunately for younger talent, fatigue with the haunting tone of so many crisis spots has shifted a good deal of work back in the direction of the younger set, but there is a new balance that I expect will last for some time.

If your sound is 40+, this is your moment. The market is calling. Are you prepared to answer?

As for you youngsters…..us middle-aged folks are happy to see you booking again, but please…..stay the hell off of our lawn.

Desperate Decisions are Bad Decisions: Don’t Invest Your Last Dime in VO

by J. Michael Collins 8 Comments

The last couple of months have changed the world, and in most cases not for the better. Health issues aside, the economy is suffering its greatest tribulation since the 1930s, and as usual, people at the less privileged end of the socioeconomic ladder are being hit the hardest and the most at risk for making bad decisions.

And the wolves are drooling.

A friend of mine who is connected to people in the internet marketing and multi-level marketing world told me recently that the crisis would be the best thing to happen to that industry in its history. As the desperate and near-destitute grasp for quick fixes to their economic problems, many a hand will be outstretched offering help, if only you’ll place your last dollar or thousand in its care.

Even in good times people desperate for a last resort way to earn a living try to enter the VO world. It almost never works out. They cut corners, are in a hurry, and often wind up in the hands of “schools” offering a slick pitch and promises of fast success.

In hard times, the phenomenon multiplies.

A good candidate to succeed in voiceover usually has one of two financial profiles:

1.) Existing financial security to the extent that investing in the uncertainty of a voiceover career can be considered risk capital.

2.) Has saved and planned for how to move forward with coaching and eventually pro demos after doing considerable research, and is well aware that even the best talent often don’t see a return on their investment for many months. This group understands that they should not expect to make a living from voiceover in the short term and that such a result will only be accomplished with a combination of hard work, smart business planning, and a confluence of other factors coming together to help them succeed.

Before you decide it’s time to launch your voiceover career, take a hard look at whether you can handle an investment that will often run as high as ten thousand dollars in equipment, coaching, demos, building a website, or casting site memberships if appropriate, and other ancillary expenses.

If you are relying on your stimulus check or PPP money or other unemployment funds to make it happen, please……don’t.

Not only are there no guarantees, but if you tell a story of being out of work and “needing” to make this happen most honest coaches will say no. It’s not that we don’t want to work with you, or that there’s zero chance you might beat the odds and be a success story….but rather our experience watching desperate new entrants into the industry crash on the rocks of unrealistic expectations.

If you are worried about feeding your family as you train, or on demo day, or with every audition you do, it will come through in your reads. It will also come through and manifest itself in ignoring advice not to pursue agency rep or management too early, in hard-sell marketing that will turn off buyers, and finally in last-resort rate cutting that will guarantee you are mired in pizza-money jobs while undercutting the industry at large.

Please, don’t make this mistake. Times are tough, and it’s tempting to want to jump into an industry that somehow seems to weather the worst economic storms. And yes, it’s easy to give this advice from a place of privilege and abundance.

But I’ve seen this story too many times, and I know how it ends. Find stability first, as much as you can, and if this is really your passion, your dream, and you are suitably talented, wait to begin until the time comes when you can do so without putting your well-being and that of your family at risk. We’ll be here to help you when you get there.

COVID-19 and Voiceover: How to Protect Your Business

by J. Michael Collins 14 Comments

The world today faces its greatest challenge in perhaps many generations. The virus known as COVID-19 has shut down public life across the globe, and will have untold impacts on every facet of society. Lives will be lost. Loved ones will be mourned. For many, much will change.

I am not a doctor, a nurse, an EMT, a home healthcare worker, a staffer at a nursing home, or any of the other millions of heroes who are about to emerge from this tragic fight. These people, including my sister, an MD in Sydney, Australia, will be waging the war on our behalf. They will see things that we will be spared. They will suffer in ways we will not. And, more than likely, they will fall victim to this scourge more than any of us comfortably sheltered in whatever place we find ourselves.

We can all find ways to help them, volunteer in support roles when called upon, and consider the needs of the many over the needs of the few. For the moment, when it comes to COVID-19 and voiceover, the best thing we can do is to listen to the scientists who know best and follow their advice.

As a voice actor, even one with a platform from which to speak, I cannot do much to help. But, in this uncertain and frightful time, I find myself unable to sit still and do nothing. So the best I can offer is guidance for my colleagues on how to protect your business from the imminent changes to come.

Over the years I have always talked about the importance of thinking ahead, usually by a period of some years. Right now, the coming months are a critical time for most of us who pursue this profession. Humanity will prevail over this disease. Life will return to normal. Yet for a while, it will not.

In the next several months, there will still be money spent on voiceover. Our profession, at its core, is not at risk. However, if you do not anticipate the coming changes, your personal voiceover business may be.

COVID-19 and Voiceover

For perhaps as long as the rest of 2020, all learning will be E-Learning. Academic. Corporate. Institutional. Governmental. Some classes and seminars will be held online, but many will be shifted to classic E-Learning models. E-learning companies, already part of a rapidly growing industry, will see unprecedented growth. E-Learning voiceover will follow.

Medical Narration, which informs both educational and corporate, will witness demand on a previously inconceivable level. Every public and private entity in the entire world will be creating content regarding the outbreak, whether to educate, inform, promote products and innovations, avoid liability, or for countless other reasons. Medical narrators will be the most in-demand voice actors for the next year.

Commercial voiceover will change. Those of you who have been patiently waiting for the return of the middle-aged, polished, authoritative, and reassuring read; This is your moment. Whether advertising contactless delivery services or other creations of the COVID-19 world, the dawn of a new age of products requiring warm mature voices is upon us.

Corporate and Industrial Narration may take a temporary hit, but as companies find their footing they will be developing new processes and platforms for navigating a changing social and business dynamic, and they too will continue to need us.

Politics, sadly, will remain contentious, and even now commercials invoking the crisis are in production, filled with the standard styles of political VO.

If you rely on a sector of the industry likely to be heavily impacted by interruptions to on-camera work, live events, and places where people congregate, RIGHT NOW is the time to pivot to where the work will be going.

Our industry is as old as the first recorded audio. It never disappears. It never dies. It simply adapts, changes, and moves on.

Our heroes are out there, protecting us. Now it is time for us to protect our families and our livelihoods. Look ahead. See what is coming regarding COVID-19 and voiceover. And you will continue to thrive.

May we all stay safe, healthy, and united as we move forward into this new era.

Introducing Juan Carlos Hernandez-Babic, JMC Demos Director of Spanish Production

by J. Michael Collins Leave a Comment

As the founder of the JMC Demos brand, one of my missions is to bring our industry-leading quality to as many corners of the voiceover industry as possible. JMC Demos director is committed to being an inclusive and diverse brand that lifts the careers of talent across the spectrum of this business we cherish so deeply.

As part of that commitment, over the past two years, we have begun to reach out to the Spanish-speaking community and establish an offering in Spanish demo production that holds true to our motto, “When Quality Matters.” During her time at JMC Demos, Sophia Cruz was instrumental in helping both the overall development of the brand and also beginning the process of introducing our services to the Spanish-speaking VO industry. While she has moved on to bigger and better things, her work in this capacity helped to demonstrate that JMC Demos can offer professional Spanish-language demo production to the highest standard. If you’re looking for a top-notch voiceover in both English and Spanish, a performance or business coach, or an agent for the Spanish VO industry, check her out at https://www.sophiacruzvo.com/

Today, I’m proud to announce that Juan Carlos Hernandez Babic, a brilliant talent, producer, copywriter, and director, has officially joined the JMC Demos team as Director of Spanish Production.

Juan Carlos helped to write and direct two Voice Arts Awards-nominated demos in 2019, Jo Rubio’s Commercial Demo, and Camila Peroni’s Network Promo Demo. While I still personally supervise all aspects of the demo creation process and attend each recording session to co-direct, it’s Juan Carlos’s fantastic ear and skill set that takes the final product to the next level.

Here’s more about Juan Carlos in his own words, to which I will simply add: Welcome aboard, my friend!

Juan Carlos es Locutor, Productor de Demos, Director de casting, VO Coach y Publicista, nacido en Bogotá, Colombia. Su pasión por la creatividad lo llevó a tener una entrevista en los Estados Unidos, donde en 1998 fue contratado como redactor por una agencia de publicidad hispana con sede en Dallas, Texas, donde trabajó por muchos años para muchas marcas nacionales hispanas de los Estados Unidos.

Luego desarrolló una gran pasión por la locución, la cual ha sido una carrera exitosa durante más de 20 años, prestando su voz para muchas campañas nacionales, incluido un comercial reciente del Super Bowl.

Actualmente es la voz de marcas como Aguacates de México, TXU Energy, Disney, Supercross, Texas Lottery, Monster Jam, Bud Light, Homevestor, Eyeglass
World, Dunkin Donuts, Goya y NTTA entre otros. Se mudó recientemente a Madrid, España con su familia para vivir una experiencia cultural diferente. También comenzó a trabajar con J. Michael Collins en JMC Demos como Director de Demos en Español, y el año pasado fue nominado como Director de Demos para 2 Premios Sovas en Los Ángeles.

Juan Carlos continúa con su carrera de Locución, Producción de Demos, Dirección de casting y Coaching, además de su otro negocio en el mundo de la publicidad como Director Creativo freelance.

Getting Started in VO: Is There Really a Right Path and Wrong Path?

by J. Michael Collins 18 Comments

Okay, I know what you’re thinking: “Do we really need another ‘getting started in VO’ blog post?” There are hundreds of these out there, penned by every VO expert and thought leader you can think of. Add to that the almost daily posts on VO social media asking for and receiving advice, and it would seem that this horse is long overdue for the glue factory.

Yet, depending on where you turn for advice, it can sometimes be contradictory. Many of us consistently repeat the mantra that there are no shortcuts, with success in voiceover usually arriving as the end result of a methodical, studied approach that is not rushed and requires a substantial upfront investment in coaching, demo production, branding, and marketing.

Others suggest that this is all nonsense. Just jump on Fiverr with low-budget gear and fake it until you make it. Learn on the job, and let the chips fall where they may.

In between are folks who are dubious of both arguments, who believe diving in as an amateur on a beer-money site with no clear plan is foolish, but unable to grasp the value in spending thousands of dollars and many months or even years on training and preparation before throwing their hat into the ring.

Who’s right?

Here’s where you probably expect me to reflexively return to the mantra of doing it the “right way,” right?

Not so fast.

Here’s the thing; The folks advocating quick returns on Fiverr and VoiceBunny and the like are actually right. You can go on those sites with zero training, no professional demos, and average gear, and if you’ve got a nice sound and some natural ability you will book work. They are right about something else, too; People do make a respectable living from sites like Fiverr and VoiceBunny. I know of at least two talents that I can personally confirm earn over $100,000/year doing voiceovers on those platforms. That’s two out of tens of thousands, but it’s not impossible. Many hundreds if not thousands of others are supplementing their income or earning a living of $20, $50, $75 at a time on these kinds of sites. If you’re coming from a retail or service industry job, that can look like a hell of a step up.

There’s a low-end in every business. Voiceover is no different. The vast majority of buyers on low-budget platforms would NEVER consider paying fair market rates to well-trained professional talent. Some companies will commission a team and spend six or even seven figures market testing the right logo for their brand and pay handsomely for a professional firm or artist to do the design. Others just want something decent for fifty bucks. That’s economics.

We’ve thrown a lot of shade over the years at people hyping Fiverr and similar sites as a great opportunity for voice talent. Some of these people have a slimy feel and try to trap you into spending hundreds or more to learn things that you could discover for free with some research, but others mean well and are sharing what they see as their path to a better life. Scammers and hucksters deserve shame, but those saying, “Hey, this worked for me, and here’s how,” don’t.

Folks in the middle, those who aren’t big fans of the low-budget platforms and the wildcat cowboy approach to just diving into a new business, but who feel comfortable that a little bit of coaching and perhaps a single demo is enough to get them started both on more professional online platforms and with their own marketing, often find themselves torn between both worlds. They suspect that they have the inherent talent to compete for higher-end market-rate professional work, but they may have a pressing income need that dictates a streamlined approach. Often they will start out on platforms like Voice123 and Voices dot com after a handful of coaching sessions. Most successful pros would counsel against this approach, but the truth is that it serves a purpose for some people. I’ve seen many talents find themselves booking a handful of well-paying jobs per month after following this road. There are many in the industry who will tell aspiring VOs that if you are doing this for the money, or if that is your primary motivation, you are setting yourself up for failure. There’s a lot of validity to that, but it’s easy to proclaim high principles from the top of the mountain. People have debts, and obligations, and need to feed their families. The judgment heaped upon them for not following orthodox paths has a way of making my skin crawl.

Of course, most of us preach a patient and well-considered approach for a reason. The question is, what do you want out of this business? If you are looking for a quick buck, the down and dirty or halfway methods might actually be right for you. However, if you are looking to make a career of this, they most definitely are not your best option.

Why?

Here’s what the people selling the short road either aren’t telling you or haven’t figured out for themselves: Yes, it can yield some income, but it comes at the expense of slowing down the long-term arc of your earning potential and career path.

What do I mean by that?

A middling or mediocre talent working on a beer money site is probably in the right place. You might think that a high-booking talent on Fiverr should focus on moving up the food chain, but in truth, most of the top bookers on sites like Fiverr have found their lane. They know the system like a pro, but talent-wise they are at their ceiling. Yes, you can hear a few great VOs on Fiverr, but once you start digging past a select few these are folks whom abundant coaching and unlimited demos wouldn’t make much difference for. They are unlikely to ever be competitive on more professional online sites and would be DOA if presented to an agent or manager. People buying a Smart Car are not interested in the same things as people buying an Aston Martin or a Mercedes. These talents have found their market.

The ones who do have the chops, however, are costing themselves far more than they know. Are they booking? You bet! $10, $30, $75 at a time, all day every day. It adds up, and they are CONSTANTLY working. That’s the problem. Strong talent spending all day actually working micro-budget jobs are not developing their marketing, their branding, their skill set, or building a business that will sustain regular income without massive effort output on a daily basis. They can’t take vacations, they can’t get sick, and eventually, all that work for not much pay will lead to massive burnout. It’s not sustainable, and even if they are earning $75,000/year working 60-80 hour weeks, if they actually have the fundamental ability they are preventing themselves from living a future where they can earn that much and more working 20-40 hours per week, with more time to rest, recover, and live. It’s short-term thinking. If it covers an immediate need, it’s understandable, but it is a dismal long-term strategy for quality talent.

The same applies to middle-of-the-roaders. Yes, one can earn with less effort and training than a lot of experts would like you to believe, but these talents are missing the plot. If you can book consistently on near-market-rate platforms like Voice123, Voices, Voiceovers.com, bodalgo, VO Planet, etc….you are good enough to build your career the way you want. Competition on these sites is heavy at the high end, and if the market is validating your auditions you have something the market wants. That said if these sites represent the totality of your strategy, and you don’t reinvest in training and the tools to grow your business, this is where you will live. That can be a respectable living, but once more you are leaving money and career growth on the table.

When you pay a top coach $150-$300/hour for coaching…….when you spend $1500-$3500 with a top demo producer……when you invest in the latest training with someone like Marc Scott on how to market yourself effectively and directly…..when you work with a branding expert or dedicated talent manager……you are declaring that YOU WANT MORE. One of my missions in this industry over the past decade, in particular, has been to reverse the trend of small-think that has infected the business. I have dozens of friends and colleagues in this industry earning healthy six-figure and even a few seven-figure incomes. None of them are on the micro-budget sites. Many of them are on the more professional sites, but very few of them earn more than 25% of their substantial incomes from those platforms. They have elite agents, management, well-established marketing processes, community engagement, and great SEO on their websites. They have diversified VO income streams, because they have spent the time and money needed to not just be good, to not just be a booker, to not just make a living, but to be ELITE.

The question is simple: What do you want your VO business to be? A quick buck? There are people who can help you with that. Steady but unspectacular? That can be done, too. Or do you choose to be elite?

There’s lots of advice out there about how to make money in VO. The advice you take dictates the results you’ll see.

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2.) The Technician

3.) The Creative

COVID-19 and Voiceover

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