VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

vox1 · Contributor IV Joined: 14 Nov 2004 Posts: 126

A guy I used to work with at a top-10 mkt TV affiliate where i was promo voice, called with an offer. He's promo/prod. director in a much smaller tv DMA - (let's say #70-something). Offer: How'd i like to be the station production voice.

Budget?

'Well...corporate is scaling back - it's 200/month.'

(gasp! for 'unlimited copy' ? Not "per week" but "Per Month!" ??)

Ahh, but it's typically "just a few scripts a week"

Yeah. that's also still 50 bucks a week. My paperboy makes more.

So I inquire further.. I learn that they want to keep the guy they've been using, but just for Promos... (he's been doing both promo/production for 400/month). Hence the 'opportunity' for the
lucrative production voice role.

Naturally curious as I am, I also learn that this talent has client stations in NYC....and a range of top-10 and top-20 markets as well.. surely not at this rate.. with a cumulative total of well over fifty stations.

Humbug. This generates some pangs of disgust for me - to know that a talent is willing to.. uhh.. prostitute, themselves out at absurd extremes on the low end - lowering the standards to ridiculously unmatchable levels for lesser-volume-client talents --"because they can.." - while commanding competitive industry-standard rates in larger markets.

Is it need...or is it Greed?

With all due respect, I submit tis the latter. I welcome opposing - or
encouraging viewpoints.

Happy Holidays,

MikeE
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bobsouer · Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:02 pm Post subject:

Mike,

I don't do much TV imaging, mostly radio; but I can tell you that it's very common for radio image voice talents to take clients in a variety of market sizes and to scale rates accordingly.
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Bailey · Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:27 pm Post subject:

If the $200/month comes with a contract... 6 months... 12 months... renewal increase after 6 or 12 months... it sounds fine. I like the old "bird in the hand" type of work.
Assuming you already have a day job, any VO work you do just adds to the monthly income. I'd suggest taking it on a contractual basis... and request consideration of a 10% - 20% increase after 12 months.
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Fifty stations at $200 a month is $10,000 a month. Not bad bank.

Diane Maggipinto · Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 8:31 am Post subject:

I'm willing to wager mine is not the only tale to be told. A friend working in a very small market wanted to use me as a station voice, and split the monthly budgeted coin two ways--between me and a male voice. The contract for the voice being used was up for renewal and--bless the Ninja

's heart--he wanted to give me a chance. So he sent me a promo (five different sized fonts, btw!) and asked me to read the largest font. It was lots of lines, as was the part for the male voice, and the Ninja

was to read the intro/outro. Not only did the Ninja

want me to do it a few times, and then again!, but it took quite a bit of time and effort for this one project...at something like $122/mo. The male talent blew it off completely, I got the job done, the Ninja

got p.o.'d, and renewed the talent he'd been using already. "Moral" of story: boy, was I happy that potential job fell through. Not only is the Ninja

a friend of mine and someone with whom I'd worked in the past, but he had a skewed idea of what to demand and expect of a station voice. Not that I don't want that kind of gig; I just didn't want the pennies tossed my way to be the result of a lot more work than deemed fair (by me or generally voice talent/station voices).
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Deirdre · Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 8:35 am Post subject:

Diane, your post is populated with Ninjas. You might want to click the "disasble smilies" box under the message window.

Smile

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Diane Maggipinto · Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 8:38 am Post subject:

The ninja is the new P D. So when I previewed my post, it said, well, you'll see when I write Hobo Laughing

3x.

Can you see that? Hobos laughing...(From my laptop I'm using IE but use Firefox from the office down the hall where the pc is located)

BTW, I'm partial to the ninjas of the turtle variety!!
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Philip Banks · Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:32 am Post subject:

What's interesting about these "Top station voice" doing baby station work stories is the fact that if you total the number of Top Voices working for Top Stations you always run out of Top Stations long before you ever run out of Top Voices.

A producer friend told me about a voice who worked for a particular TV station and I asked if it was a new gig for this person.

"Oh he's been doing it for years!"

At the end of the ISDN session my friend asked what was next in the diary. I thought I knew but apparently I was wrong! Time for a dignified silence.

Diane Maggipinto · Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:51 am Post subject:

Touche!

vox1 · Contributor IV Joined: 14 Nov 2004 Posts: 126

Jowillie · Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 4:20 pm Post subject:

vox1 · Contributor IV Joined: 14 Nov 2004 Posts: 126

well By George you're right bud! If enough people start doing Unlimited Copy for 10 bucks a day.. we'll ALL be Millionaires in no time!

Yep, you're right, after decades of experience, it's time for a national talent to say; ENOUGH with this Dignity B.S... Of COURSE I 'll work for ANY thing!

Hey wait, maybe i could do trade and get paid in WalMart gift cards!
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Saying something since 1970-
something

Jowillie · Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 2:34 am Post subject: Don't get me started...again!

I have a media manager buddy that hired a well known voice to do the imagining for a radio station. This voice charges between $300 to $400 per month. He says he won't take on more than 25 stations because it wouldn't be fair to not be able to give proper service to his existing clients.
True, this isn't "unlimited" production and he probably has his "system" down as far as efficient production workflow.
Let's see.....25 times say, $325 equals, what, 97.5K year?

$200 for unlimited full production may be a little tight, especially if you are warming up mic and board tubes for just a few clients.
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