VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[LauraS]

Hi

Here's a question for you non-Brits. You see, here in London, you have an agent. Just the one or they get annoyed. They send you in for work where you turn up in person, or if you're very lucky and the ad agency are "radical-thinkers", they might just allow you to connect via ISDN...

But that's it. You can get on the books of other production companies who might recommend you to their clients, and your proper agent - if they're decent and understand the home studio thing - will allow you to go about your business without any bother.

However across the pond it seems a bit different. I presume you guys have the local agent that sends you to studios in your town and such. But then I hear some of you have agents who are miles away as well. Surely they can't expect you to turn up at their local studios? I'm guessing they are submitting you for work which you do via ISDN or Source Connect or whatever. Is that right?

In which case - are there different types of agents - those who need you in person and those whose clients accept ISDN? Do the big well-known agents have artists that work this way, or only in person? What's the etiquette? If you apply to one of the big guys, will they consider you if you are too far to audition or even record in person? And have I asked too many questions in one post?

Cheers
Laura

[bobsouer]

Laura,

I have agents in 4 cities, none of which is the city in which I live. Indeed, my closest agent is an 8 hour drive from me. For each of them, when I receive an audition, I email back an MP3 file. They assemble the MP3 files, as they come in from various talent, into a package which is in turn delivered to the client for final decision.

Bookings are, in the main, via ISDN (or more rarely Source Connect) with some done as phone patches and in those cases I use either the client's FTP server or my own to deliver the raw audio tracks.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

[LauraS]

Hmm... interesting. So you don't have one main agent? And you don't have to turn up at the studios to do the work?

Do all agents in the US/Canada work in this way or are there only some that do, and some that demand your actual presence?

(If I wasn't able to make the studios in Soho with 24 hours notice I doubt my agent would represent me, and in my experience it's the same for the other main London agents.)

Cheers
Laura

[bobsouer]

Laura,

I'm sure there are lots of others here who can chime in with their own experiences, but no I don't have one "main" agent. And no, physical appearance in office or studio is not required. Now, several years ago, it was like that...and to some extent I know it still is especially in New York City. But, for many of us living in other parts of the country, not anymore.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

[CarynClark]

Hi there,

I have five agents, none of which are in the town I live... not even close. Just like Bob, I submit my auditions via emailed mp3 and if I book, we do an ISDN session. I have my own studio with ISDN. And actually, most agents won't consider repping you unless you have your own studio with ISDN (not all, but I found in my quest for agents, it was true for most).

The closest I've come to meeting my agent was during the interview process (a couple of them had me audition for them via the phone before signing me), or in speaking with them on the phone when I've booked.

Hope this helps! Caryn
_________________
Caryn Clark... The Hip Chick Voice!

"A positive mental attitude and having faith in your ability is quite different from being irresponsible and downright stupid." - Dave

[ConnieTerwilliger]

New York, LA, Chicago and most of the major cities still have studios working all day long with talent coming in to record. But if you want to make a living going into someone else's studio to record, you need to A) be in one of the major cities, have a great agent, C) have a truly unique signature sound and D) be landing the national accounts.

I have about 5 agents across the country - one in my home town (a large city, but not NY, LA or Chicago) - who books me out to the local studios occasionally. If I tried to live on those jobs, I'd be homeless.

The rest do what has been mentioned before. But things are evolving so quickly that you may see the tide changing on your side of the pond. (Philip is in Scotland and does most of his work ISDN - am I putting words in your mouth Mr. Banks?)

I actually had a direct lead through V123 where I didn't have to audition. They cast me off my generic commercial demo. It was for a regional radio spot for a national drug store chain. Union - ISDN - with my local agent involved in the paperwork. Crossing fingers they liked it enough to make it a regular thing for a while.
_________________
Playing for a living...
www.voiceover-talent.com
YouTube Channel: http://youtube.com/connieterwilliger

[Pam]

The thing with agents in the US is they are licensed by each state as they are technically employment agencies which fall under state oversight. Their ability to get you work, for the most part, ends at the state line. I'm not clear how cross state contracts are done as I've only ever been employed by the 2 states I currently have agents in. So you could have an agent in each state if you wanted and had the energy to pursue. A lot of us have home studios and mp3 auditions in and then deliver the way Bob suggests.
_________________
Pam Tierney
www.pamtierneyvo.com
imdb profile http://imdb.com/name/nm1941932/

Now what did I come in here for?

[ConnieTerwilliger]

Here's my latest convoluted booking. Ad Agency in Florida, Talent Agent in San Diego, Talent Payment company in Cleveland.
_________________
Playing for a living...
www.voiceover-talent.com
YouTube Channel: http://youtube.com/connieterwilliger

[Philip Banks]

[bobsouer]

[ConnieTerwilliger]

What, Bob! Are you nuts!? I'd love to have Philip in my studio! Have you seen the pictues of my sweetie - looks a lot like Philip - in fact his name is Philip - even though he goes by Carter. Hmmm - I just now made that connection again.


_________________
Playing for a living...
www.voiceover-talent.com
YouTube Channel: http://youtube.com/connieterwilliger

[Pam]

[LauraS]

Well that's very interesting, and very different from my agent experiences!

In the UK I don't think there is anything that particularly differentiates one agency from another - like the the AFTRA license thing you guys have. The only way to tell if one agent is better than another is if you recognise their artists as being frequently employed voices.

But the UK/London is a much smaller pool and it's relatively easy identifying the big players in the voiceover world here (beyond the celebrities). With you it must be much trickier because you have so many different "markets" - how do you know which agent is any good if you don't live in that market?

Laura

[CarynClark]

THAT is a great question!!

Much like you do... by seeing who else of note is rep'd by that agent.

However, my experience with agents is, unless you're rep'd by a top end agent (I'm talking the William Morris, Atlas, TGMD type), then it's a crapshoot. But, that's just me...

Oh, and I too gracefully accept the compliment... thought I too am decoratively challenged. You should see my house.
_________________
Caryn Clark... The Hip Chick Voice!

"A positive mental attitude and having faith in your ability is quite different from being irresponsible and downright stupid." - Dave

[Moe Egan]

For the sake of adding a different perspective - I have no agent.
I do voice work full time - about 85% from home. I hunt and track my own clients and I make a very nice living doing so all my my lonesome.
_________________
Moe Egan
i want to be the voice in your head.
~~~~~