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It’s that time again!

That’s right…..my yearly ponderings and prognostications about the future of both the voiceover industry and…drumbeat….THE WORLD! Mwahahahaha!

We’ll dive into my crystal ball in just a moment, but first, let’s review 2025’s predictions to see just how badly you’ll be wasting your time reading the rest of this.

 

GOT IT RIGHT/PRETTY CLOSE

This feels right down the middle, especially the last couple of points: ” Work volume grew in 2024 and we’ll continue to see that in 2025, with the interesting added dimension of a return to parity among demographic groups. The pivot to more assertive reads that I suggested in my previous blog looks like it has staying power, and in 2025 I don’t think we’ll see the same, “this type of voice is hot,” vibe that we’ve experienced over the past decade. I believe the market will settle into a place where everybody who has chops has action, and you’ll see some surprising casting choices with unexpected sounds on unexpected brands.”

2025 was the most open and egalitarian year I can recall in VO, where casting often came down to who just put a little more of their spirit into the read and brought the performance to life in unexpected ways. No voice was the “it” voice, and the pendulum swung hard towards “best actor wins,” with few other considerations. Everybody was in play, and man were there in fact some truly wild casting choices.

Oooh…the “world” predictions…..I’ll take a Kreskin trophy on the majority of these. While Trump’s attempts to reduce government spending and bureaucracy instead turned into an absolute shi*show of open corruption and amateurism, and the world hardly feels more stable, we’re close to a deal no one will love on Ukraine, and a tenuous peace holds in Gaza, though achieved differently than predicted. The attack on Iran came true, and while the regime still reigns, its time is short.

Sadly, this couldn’t have been more accurate, “On the other hand, Trump’s immigration crackdown will produce horrifying visuals, and scandals will quickly emerge over the enrichment of private detention companies and their abuse of deportees.”

The stock market hasn’t crashed yet, but I sure wouldn’t count on that lasting, and unemployment is certainly growing rapidly.

The Democrats taking back the mantel of populism and the lack of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan were both on the money.

This feels spot on: “The talent who have been hearing, “we have too many of you,” from agents over the past few years will hear that less in 2025, as long as their skill set and package for representation is impeccable, as the previously predicted market equilibrium grows. On the other hand, the 25-35 demographic might start hearing that more than they have in the past, as agents have been collecting youth for awhile now and are reaching a saturation point. The pendulum always swings.”

This feels closer: “While some will dispute the findings, scientists will reveal convincing evidence of the existence (past or present) of an alien civilization in 2025.”

Also taking a win on this one: “You’ll hear Southern voices/accents in very unexpected placements. Write it down.”

 

BLEW IT/WTF WERE YOU THINKING?

On the other hand, I don’t think anyone feels 2025 was a “banner year for voiceover.” While many established talent still saw growth, and the number of rather rapid new talent success stories seemed higher than usual, the great middle of the industry took it on the chin a bit, primarily as a result of pressure on mid-tier buyer budgets due to a fast-changing and unpredictable media landscape that had many corporations in bootstrap mode. AI erosion gets lots of hype, but there’s scant evidence of much AI VO content where human talent were once used, as opposed to a more general hesitancy to spend on creative in any context for mid-tier projects. So I’ll take a fail on this part of the prediction.

Oh those Super Bowl picks….every year, LOL. Instead of the “rematch America wants,” between the Lions & Bills, we got the rematch nobody wanted between the Chiefs and Eagles, with prime seats dropping as low as $4K, roughly a fifth of their normal price as no one really wanted to go. Though the throttling of the Chiefs was a catharsis for many, even if it made for a sleepy game. Not even close on my bonus NFC Championship Game pick, but on the bright side I actually got to attend the real one, watching my football ex-girlfriend the Commanders get slaughtered in Philly, and getting clowned in real time in the 4th quarter by stadium announcer Bill Larson.

Commercial work grew as predicted in 2025, but was hardly a flood, and advertisers still seem utterly confused about how to target spend, so I’ll take a fail on this one too.

Not sad about no bird flu, but the season is hardly over and the unexpected H3N2 strain is a nasty one. But, let’s take a happy “I was wrong” here.

Another happy “I was wrong…..” no big agency mergers in 2025. Indeed, the bigger agents were more active, visible, and competitive over talent than in recent memory. A happy swing and a miss on that one!

 

OKAY, LET’S LOOK AHEAD TO 2026!

 

INDUSTRY: I expect 2026 to be a turning point in the fight against AI creative in general, not just in VO. The blowback against artificial intelligence in any form of art or advertising is not some Luddite fever dream or wishful thinking. Large majorities of consumers see AI creative as slop, and another symptom of the enshittification of so many things, right up there with fast food restaurants asking for tips, thousand dollar conference tickets, resort fees on your hotel bill, and airlines charging you for everything but emergency oxygen. Moreover, while AI voice is probably a little bit better than a lot of other AI creative, it is all still just not fit for purpose, and barely achieving “good enough.”

Two things will determine whether AI seriously erodes voiceover work going forward: 1.) Will the drumbeat of consumer resistance continue to increase to a critical mass? 2.) When will the AI stock valuation bubble burst?

I suspect the answer to #1 is yes. The AI oligarchy made two critical mistakes…..assuming this generation of young people, who value authenticity over all else, would be enamored with the technology, (grandma likes it….the kids, not so much,) and the absolutely grotesque force-feeding of it down the throats of consumers in every possible context in order to justify unjustifiable investments. Those two critical errors will likely cause something verging on a rebellion against AI in any context other than that which genuinely will improve society. As to the stock market bubble, very simply, the math doesn’t math. Few if any AI companies are profitable, they operate on hated SAAS models, (did you know that most halfway decent AI voiceover services cost $1K+/year for access to any professional-grade features?,) and the vast majority of AI-centric companies are operating on funds borrowed from chip makers like NVIDIA in a ponzi-style scheme that has echoes of the 2008 housing bubble and the dotcom bubble all rolled into one. A major correction is inevitable. A massive collapse is possible. And what will be left is a population embittered by all of the items above AS WELL AS the ruins of their 401k’s, all stuck with only a few viable services left who will be charging more than ever for their wares based on their market dominance and need to recover enormous losses. While organizations like NAVA and SAG-AFTRA continue to fight on behalf of VOs, in the end, the market will have a greater say over the AI endgame than legislation, and I believe the judgement of the market will be harsher than any lawmaker.

 

WORLD: Mark this down as possibly the most important prediction I’ve ever made: Luigi Mangione will go free.

The chances of a Manhattan jury convicting Mangione, regardless of his self-evident guilt, are zero. You WILL NOT find twelve people in Manhattan to populate a jury without one or more intent on making a political statement by voting to acquit. He will either be acquitted in his first trial, or will wind up with a hung jury, be retried, and the result will be the same. After two bites at the apple, there are few judges who would allow a third trial. Any secondary prosecutions will end the same way, and attempts to prosecute him over and over may lead to unrest. It may take a year or three, but he will walk, and when he does America will face a reckoning like it never has before, because in defiance of the law, yet through the legal process, the people will have declared open season on C-Suite figures whose obscene wealth and corruption have destroyed the middle class. It will be, in essence, the first shot in a new American Revolution…..not against political parties or ideologies, but against the nascent oligarchy rising in the United States. Terrified executives and a government that has seen its prosecutorial power neutered by runaway juries will have to decide between massive concessions to rebuild the middle class and offer the average American more security, or severe repression, and the possible backlash thereto. Mark my words….when Mangione goes free, American society will change massively.

 

INDUSTRY: It may seem cliche, but more so than ever in 2026 the talent who do the work will rise. The market is less saturated than it was a year or two ago, but with buyers becoming pickier than ever, and looking for that “special something,” even that which has been tried and true money for years for many VO’s might not be enough in 2026. Your reads will have to be consistently inspired, not just good, and your mix of work sources and hustle among each will have to be more diverse and intense than ever. For quite awhile there has been a cadre of “solid but unspectacular” talent who have been able to make a steady living across multiple genres. That’s not gonna fly in ’26. Actual work volume will continue to grow. Media is ever-growing and the constancy of growth in VO work will always follow, (according to Google…..” The professional voiceover and voice acting industry is a multi-billion dollar market, driven by massive demand from advertising, e-learning, audiobooks (a $4.1B industry), podcasts, and corporate narration, with global revenue estimated in the billions and growing, offering significant earning potential for skilled actors.”) But that “skilled actors” part is the rub. With AI an option, even if its use is overstated, only two types of voice actors will thrive in 2026….the great, and the exceptional. Get your skills in order. Don’t skimp on training. And always be leveling-up, because there are fewer of us than a few years ago, but there are more of the great and the exceptional than ever.

 

WORLD: Okay, let’s do that Super Bowl pick. The Patriots have always been my #2 team, through my years as a Washington fan and still after my conversion to the sadness of Bengals-ism. (I’m a glutton for punishment.) I’d love to see them land a seventh Lombardi, and a first in the post-Brady era. But in a year where Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and Patrick Mahomes will watch the playoffs from their couches, I think greatness prevails and the Bills go on a tear in the AFC playoffs to punch their ticket to the big dance. The NFC is as wide-open as it has ever been, with every team save for the AFC South champion almost evenly matched skill-wise. I’ll ride with experience, and similar to last year’s Chiefs, after sleepwalking through the regular season I think the Eagles turn it on in the playoffs and get a date with Buffalo in California. That, however, is as far as their luck will carry them, with the Bills defeating the Eagles in Super Bowl LX by a comfortable two-touchdown margin, with Josh Allen finally raising the Lombardi Trophy and garnering Super Bowl MVP honors.

 

Some Quick Hitters:

INDUSTRY: It will be another good year for hungry talent looking for quality representation, but just as in 2025, most success stories will come from making impressions in settings where you can show off your skills. More than ever, agents want to get a sense of who you are as a person as much as who you are as a talent. One thing that has stuck with me over the past year is how often I’ve asked an agent, “Why this person and not that one,” and when all else is equal, (or even close,) the answer I so frequently get is, “I think they’ll work hard for us.” Your demo will show your skill, but your vibe matters too.

 

WORLD: No, seriously, securities are gonna get creamed in 2026, (this blog is my opinion only and not investment advice.)

 

INDUSTRY: Further to the above, if you’re playing footsie with the industry and deciding whether to jump in, do it sooner rather than later. When the economy gets slammed, newcomers flood the VO market. The pandemic was an extreme example, but if there is a 2008 or worse-level recession/major unemployment, it’ll be noob-city once again. Getting traction between 2020-2022 was brutally hard for new talent because of the sheer volume of entry-level competition. If you’re considering getting into the business, there’s a good chance the first half of 2026 will be a better time than the second half.

 

WORLD: 60/40 chance the Republican Party pushes Donald Trump out of the Oval Office before this time next year, whether it’s a Vance-led MAGA putsch, or the return of the moderates working with Democrats to install a non-MAGA President after some precipitating event. Also, the Gavin Newsom boom starts to fade by the end of 2026, with more “real” feeling Democrats like Pete Buttigieg and AOC taking the leading position among the moderate and populist wings of the party, respectively. And, if the Trump administration actually prosecutes Mark Kelly, he’ll be leading all the polls by the end of the year.

 

INDUSTRY: Hot genres for 2026: Commercial (always), Gaming, Corporate Narration (always growing), Political (here we go again,) Audiobooks (always growing,) and an honorable mention for an E-Learning resurgence.

 

WORLD: 2026 will be a year of instability, but the world avoids a cataclysmic event, and the Ukraine war will end with an ugly peace, Taiwan will remain free, and we’ll all be back here next year to laugh at this blog once again!

 

Happy New Year, everyone! May you find prosperity and success in 2026!

 

Voiceover industry events always have a way of leaving me in a state of reflection, combined with the buzz of seeing near and dear colleagues and friends. This year’s NAVA Gala, the 3rd iteration of the only occasion in the business dedicated purely to charity, not profit, was no exception.

As always, it was a night of camaraderie, togetherness, and determination to rise in the face of all challenges. Heroes of the business were recognized, bad actors put on notice, and tens of thousands of dollars were raised to help NAVA fight the good fight against insidious techbros and industry scammers.

All of these things, of course, were expected. They have become part and parcel of this event that now dominates the fall part of the VO calendar.

One takeaway that was new for me, however, is something that has been true for a long time, but which I’ve never quite put my finger on until now. There’s something unique about the voice over – voice acting business, and it’s not the usual pablum about how we lift each other up or are more familial than most parts of the entertainment industry…..true as that may be.

No, the thing that struck me rather suddenly after the event is something that crosses all events and many other forums in this business, and which is quite unique: We are an industry where leaders rise from the bottom up, and where labor controls the conversation.

As I watched every major agency and casting player in LA, many from out of town, managers, directors, luminaries and other powerful people circulate throughout the night, what dawned on me is that whatever event or platform we look at, from NAVA to VO Atlanta, to the One Voice Conferences, to MAVO, to Facebook groups and other online forums, it’s the talent leading the conversation and setting the rules of the game. Whether through formal organizations like SAG – AFTRA, WoVO, NAVA and its affiliates, and other advocacy groups, or initiatives like Building Doors, Project Be Brave, industry diversity organizations, conferences, or social media, our industry is led from its ranks, not from above.

Over the years, various players have tried to “take over the voiceover world.” Private equity and big finance thought they could commoditize us all through online platforms. Silicon Valley thinks that they can do one better and replace us with soulless robots. But just as they have failed before, they will fail again. And they will do so for one reason: In this business, WE make the rules.

Collectively, together, we unite and fight and scratch and claw until anyone who attacks our way of life retreats licking their wounds and regrets trying. We’re protective of each other, our agents, our friends on the other side of the glass, and the entire ecosystem that makes it possible to make a living in a way so many dream of. Leaders rise from the ranks, instead of being imposed on us by big business. And we hold each other accountable, while respecting the game.

How many other industries can say the same? How many societies, for that matter?

I do get a bit reflective, even prosaic after these events. But how blessed are we to inhabit such a rare world?

And how fortunate will we all be to meet the next group of thought leaders and change makers who are rising through the ranks as we speak?

I for one, am eager to see what the future of VO holds, because together, we are unstoppable.

The EURO VO Retreat just completed its thirteenth iteration, and its first in beautiful Florence, Italy, where we were blessed with a perfect week of cloudless skies and 70+ degree days.

But it was the attendees who did most of the shining throughout the week.

Graced with the incisive insights of agents Wes Stevens of VOX and Jonathan Saul of Stewart, Casting Directors Denise Patierno, Carroll Kimble and Randall Ryan, brilliant Director Jeff Howell, legendary Promo Superstar Joe Cipriano, a large bald shellfish lover, and three attendee-led sessions, the group rose to the occasion and showed off their skills, culminating in the always-exciting Audition Contest won this time around by Nadia Marshall with an exceptional gaming character performance.

The brilliance of the group, however, was not unexpected. From its inception in Barcelona in 2017, to its current format, the EURO VO Retreat has turned into a veritable Chautauqua of learning and growth amongst attendees who are largely already strongly established in the industry and looking for that next edge over the masses. Possibly our most accomplished group to date, this set of attendees were constantly darting from our session content to room 118, which was dedicated to the use of our communal Tri-Booth, assembled by the expert hands of super-tech Patrick Kirchner. Indeed, this retreat probably set a record for the most real-world bookings recorded onsite, with the booth occupied by our pros almost non-stop throughout the week.

This wasn’t lost on our presenters, who quickly picked up on the fact that they were working with a set of premium pro talent who weren’t desperate for a break, but rather excited to see what heights were still available to them to ascend.

And that was my biggest takeaway from the week. Seeing in action the truth that real working pros continue to live every day, and which we have experienced for decades…….that despite whatever fussing the social media algorithms may feed you, dedicated voice actors are still building careers of abundance, where the scarcity mindset has been left in the rear-view mirror through careful and considerate career curation and selectivity that places control in the hands of the actor.

This place where mission-oriented voiceover artists gather to rise to the next peak may seem elitist to some, but such is the mindset of scarcity. To those with the mindset of abundance, the chance to learn from and feed off the brilliance of a select group of masterful pros who still understand that there is always room for growth is aspirational. And it is the mindset that stares mediocrity in the face and says, “you shall not enter here.”

From P2P to Fiverr to AI to whatever the next bogeyman of VO may be, this industry has always defiantly persevered and grown in spite of the chaos of any given era. And it remains, and shall remain, a place where anyone with the true skill and deep dedication to do so can dream of a career that will not just pay the bills, but will allow them to experience abundance, sometimes even in the Tuscan sunshine.

The One Voice Conference. The One Voice Awards. A staple event and celebration of our industry packed into one. And the 2025 edition might have been the best yet, more or less seamless from start to finish with deep camaraderie that was much needed.

Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles Stadium Announcer Bill Larson gave a rousing keynote address to open the event, the presenters were on their games, friends were made, and relationships were built or cemented.

And there were important things accomplished. A town hall on sexual harassment in the industry spearheaded by NAVA brought needed and cathartic discussion of a problem that affects far too many voice actors, and led to immediate results with multiple victims who had previously remained quiet speaking out both publicly and seeking help privately. Plus, Carin Gilfry brought pizza.

The One Voice Awards were perhaps the best iteration yet, moving at a good pace and without technical difficulties…..the beef was nice, the cheesecake gluttonous…..and dozens of the best in the business were recognized for their accomplishments.

The closing Sunday ended with usual fanfare and fun, and folks packed their bags and went their separate ways.

And then, I was hit by a two by four to the soul. Upon returning home, I received an email from an agent informing me that Bryan Carmody, the man you see in the picture here, suddenly passed away. I later spoke by email with his wife who confirmed it was a likely heart attack. Completely unexpected. Far too young.

I lost the better part of that day to the shock. Bryan was a good friend, one of my favorite coaching students, a heavy-hitting booker, (national voice of Harbor Freight among many others,) and had just signed with a major agent after putting in lots of hard work to get there. He was immensely talented, someone I wouldn’t want to go up against in a trailer/promo/imaging contest, and was a thoughtful and kind man who put others first and was grateful for all the industry had done for him. I spent dozens of hours with him online, and at workshops in New York and Chicago, VO Atlanta, and OVC USA. I just always assumed I would see him again soon. 

Bryan was a grinder like me. Sure, he got his fair share of big wins, and was a serious earner…..but he did it the blue collar way….racking up hundreds of loyal mid-tier clients in between the splashy nationals. Spending way more than 40 hours a week in his studio. Always asking, “what’s next.” And enjoying his life. He was warm, genuine, and thoughtful, and even when it was about him, it was never “about him.”

I’d worked with Bryan for about two years trying to help him catch the attention of a heavy-hitting agent. We did numerous demos, had lots of strategy talks, and got him in a lot of rooms. I watched him have a not great day in one where he was hoping for a result….suck it up, and get back on the horse during our next meeting. I watched him get close with his pick of LA agents, but fell just short of closing the deal–too many guys like him on the roster. Took it in stride. Kept trucking. Kept booking. And then, just this July, in Chicago, he got another shot in another room. And Bryan had a very good day, which led to him being signed by that agent just a couple weeks later.

And now he’s gone.

I’ve had Alanis Morissette running through my head for a week and a half now. Life has a funny way…..

And yet, the world has a way of helping all of us heal, sometimes in the most unexpected ways.

A few days ago I was on a call with JMC Voiceover Brands Creative Director Kayla Jackson……one of my dearest friends in the industry who I have watched emerge as a new talent almost a decade ago, burst like a supernova onto the industry scene, make the rather questionable decision to sign on first as my personal assistant and now co-directing at my workshops, repped by the best of the best, leading conference panels and running a copy workout so good at OVC that one of the top agents in the industry left the room saying Kayla needs to start teaching commercial on her own.

Kayla was in the room in Chicago when Bryan had his big day. Kayla directed him that morning, and brought every bit as much out of him as I did, getting him ready to blow that agent’s mind in the afternoon.

And during our call, just days after we were both stunned by Bryan’s passing….Kayla told me what she’s now revealed to the world….that next May, her family would be getting a little bigger.

New life.

We will mourn Bryan’s passing, and hold memories of him close. And next year, the industry gets to celebrate one of the very best humans among us welcoming a new human into her family, (and no doubt, all of ours eventually.)

Darkness. Light. Life.

May we all hold each other close, and remember that beyond all the personalities and brands and success stories and failures…….this community is just people. It’s just us. And we must enjoy every day we get with the ones we care about. In the end, that’s all that matters.

 

Let’s get something straight upfront: Anyone who says AI isn’t good enough to replicate most voiceover tasks doesn’t understand, or hasn’t heard, the technology.

It’s pretty flipping good, and can maintain quality longer than it could before, (though still not with enough consistency to be on even footing with good pro voice actors.)

But, it’s a workable technology that many are integrating into their business flow, which terrifies voice over artists.

It shouldn’t.

Let’s trot out the common arguments first: AI can never be BETTER than a voice actor, only AS GOOD, and when it comes to top tier performances it still isn’t even close to being capable of offering the options and range of a great human VO, and falls way behind in trying to do so in the same period of time a well-directed person can.

It requires detailed and precise prompting that is challenging to get right and even more difficult to get right over long stretches, meaning a buyer must spend on a skilled prompter to make the thing work well at all, (when they could cut out the extra step by simply hiring human.)

It is environmentally unsustainable in its current form. This isn’t some bleeding-heart save-the-whales Greta Thunberg statement. It is LITERALLY unsustainable. It takes between one and three GALLONS of water for ChatGPT to generate a SINGLE IMAGE. It consumes unfathomable amounts of energy for simple tasks. The techbros who preach its inevitability better find a few new oceans at this rate, or AI anything will be a very short-lived proposition once people have to choose between hydration, showering, and protecting their homes from fire versus workflow simplification.

To say nothing of the legitimate concerns of many of AI’s very creators that it may, in fact, lead to the end of human civilization.

From our remote little corner of the economy, however, comes solace. AI voiceover, specifically, has two massive flaws, one which may ultimately prove its undoing when it comes to making a business case for its use.

The first flaw, as backed up by recent discussions with leadership in the online voiceover casting site space, is substantial data that now shows that even when presented with quality AI voiceover at marked-down rates right alongside humans at higher rates on the same platform, uptake of AI voices is NEAR ZERO over YEARS of testing, with substantial feedback offered that once the buyer KNOWS the voice is artificial, they no longer want it, no matter how good it may be. This dovetails with much of our own reaction to the technology in everyday life. AI-generated research papers are considered frauds or cheating. You can’t turn in AI homework. And even Google’s new Veo 3 AI video generator, while impressive, still lives firmly in the uncanny valley. I’m looking at my watch and waiting for the first fully-AI hit movie or TV series. Think I’ll be here for awhile.

More importantly for voiceover, however, is that the AI voiceover business model ONLY works financially for the companies offering these products as a software-as-a-service model, generally based on buying credits or subscriptions that increase in price as the buyer wants more functionality or variety. And THIS is the fatal flaw. Have a look through the comments on the social media channels of major AI voice companies. They are a litany of complaints about having to buy more credits, auto-renewing subscriptions, upgrade fees, and gatekeeping. The BUYERS are not happy because the entire model is built on bait-and-switch sales tactics to extract more and more rent from the user. Yet, without this deeply frustrating model, one we can all relate to in other parts of our lives and which makes us hate the corporations who employ it, these firms, (which are almost universally still losing money and have uncertain hopes for profitability,) have zero possibility of satisfying the demands of their investors. And they are already starting to fail.

Ultimately, WE are the easy solution. Not the robots. And more and more buyers are starting to realize this, which is why there has been continued growth in the voiceover industry at large, and far less erosion in certain segments than expected.

AI voiceover is unlikely to simply disappear. It’s a reality. But buyers of human voices are consistently rejecting it, (the buyers of AI voice are turning out to be a parallel industry, not our existing client base,) and even those who gravitate to AI voice first are starting to encounter its fatal flaws.

AI voiceover companies and major corporations want voice actors scared, divided, and willing to make bad deals for personal security. But they are the ones with the clock ticking on their viability. Not us.

With the winds of change blowing briskly in terms of delivery preferences on the part of buyers, and socio-psychologically more broadly, now is a critical moment to be taking a cold-eyed look at what may be missing from several of your most important demos in the face of rapid evolution of client taste.

Here are three reels you need to evaluate:

1.) COMMERCIAL

With the era of quirk starting to go the way of the dodo, it’s time to evaluate whether parts of your reel are too cute for your own good. While heavily-written comedic scripts still have a lot of room for play, if your performances are too precious overall it might be time to axe certain spots.

Also, make sure your serious reads aren’t leaning too far into out-trending broken converastionalism or over-milked empathy/vulnerability. As assertiveness and ownership take center stage it’s time to make sure you have at least one signature spot on your commercial reel that leaves no doubt who’s in charge.

Finally, consider the vibe shift when you evaluate your reel as a whole, especially if you have an in-between voice age-wise. Now’s the time to sound like a woman, not a girl, and a man, not a boy. If you have an in-between voice you may want to consider revising a few spots to present just a bit more mature if your current real leans into youth too heavily. In turbulent times, reassuring maturity rules the day.

 

2.) CORPORATE NARRATION

This one might surprise you, but a lot of industry pros have been training & producing towards lighter, youthful, and quirky on Corporate reels as well. I’ve never fully subscribed to the idea that this genre was pivoting in that direction as much as Commercial has over the past decade, as many older and more presentational voices still thrive in Corporate Narration. Now, however, any movement in the direction of less-is-more overthought/overacted relatability is being quickly halted in this space.

As the era of work-from-home begins to end with more corporations requiring physical presence on the part of their employees, the tenor of corporate material is shifting back toward its longtime baseline of credibility, gravitas, and authority. That’s not to say that your Corporate demo shouldn’t still have at least one spot that leads with personality, it’s just to say that corporate culture is reverting to a more suit-and-tie direction, and buyer trends are already starting to reflect more appetite for polished reads in this space.

 

3.) POLITICAL

Okay, third rail right now, but nevertheless……..whether you voice for one side or both, the ENTIRE ISSUE SPECTRUM has changed as a result of the November election. Had the result been different, most existing political demos would likely have remained relevant for at least the next 12-18 months. Now, very simply, most are not. The issues at the top of voters minds in both parties are not what they were six months ago, and the messaging of both parties is rapidly shifting to reflect the new reality. Positioning for the midterms will start in just a few months, and as it does voice actors who do political spots will need to keep up with demo content that is fresh and relevant.

 

Now, keep in mind that most top producers offer demo refresh rates, so in many cases there’s no need to throw the baby out with the bath water. Across all these genres your reel likely has multiple spots that are still strong, current, and relevant. But now’s the time to take a hard look at any that aren’t, and to make the necessary changes to thrive in what has started off as a very strong year for most corners of the industry.