VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[Deirdre]

That was Melissa, not me, but she's right unless you are intent on splitting hairs.

With a union VO job you become an employee for that episode of work. It doesn't matter what you call yourself outside of that single instance.

The notion of IC & labor law is not a hurdle anyone needs to jump in this biz. Being a Sole Proprietor simply requires you to say that's what you are.

If you want to keep more of your money with self-negotiated union work, you can become an LLC or S-Corp which requires a report to the state once a year.

And Bob Bergen is right about some of the union perks. The medical insurance is mighty fine. I'd wager that's what makes most of us work so hard to meet the financial requirements of membership, and spend our own money to make the work fit the pretzel of union-covered work.
And residuals are fab on broadcast work, no doubt about it. But those are a tiny bit of the equation for most of the VO's I know. They're more like a party favor than a way to keep oil in the furnace.
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DBCooperVO.com

[Frank F]

Sorry DB.

Melissa I still have a bone to pick, but will not air the issue online. I have just been to an IRS court to prove Independent Contractor status. I won, they lost - this time.

You cannot be hired as an employee and work the same job as an independent contractor -- period. You can be an employee and work a second position as an IC however.

FF
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

[ballenberg]

Alas, alas poor Rena!

She could not have possibly known that asking this is far worse than opening a can of worms.

No, no..this is more akin to being in the old Abbott & Costello vaudeville sketch and saying Niagara Falls !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr6VBg1SiYI

S-l-o-w-l-y I turned!!

[Rena]

I am sorry, guys!

http://www.twoviewsbeyond.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Can-of-Worms-by-Jason-Crislip-jpeg1.jpg

I will say, even though I seem to have awakened an argument, each response has been helpful to me. It is good for me to see both sides of the issue. No matter what I choose, ethics are important to me.
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Rena
I am officially Rena for good.

[melissa eX]

DB said

[Rena]

I am loving all the sharing of personal experiences. You all make good arguments. Is it wrong for me to say that I still have no idea what I am going to do???
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Rena
I am officially Rena for good.

[Deirdre]

Nope. Just don't jump into union membership too quickly. Remember Icarus.
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DBCooperVO.com

[melissa eX]

Yes.

Join when you have to join. You'll know when that time comes. Make sure you tell everyone - agents, casting directors etc. you're eligible and are able join immediately. Meanwhile, with your VO career start getting used to charging rates that will allow you to convert your work in the future - when you DO join.

[Rena]

[Deirdre]

You won't get those gigs without experience, either.
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DBCooperVO.com

[Yonie]

You won't even get to sniff those gigs without experience. The gatekeepers will stop you, throw you back to jail, and not let you collect money. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

[Bob Bergen]

Just know that the agents and buyers are only impressed with impressive experience.

Bottom line is, you need to decide if you want a career as an actor or if you just want to work. If you want a career, it takes training, timing, knowing the players, strategy. Yes, you need to be Union. But you need to be ready. You need to study. Do theater. You need to know everyone and everyone needs to know you. You have to have something to offer. You need to be hungry. You need to want it more and do more than everyone else. You need to love the art and the work of acting, not the work acting gets you. You need day and night jobs. You need to embrace the power and leverage of the word "no." It won't be overnight. And the moment you feel like you've made it, that's when the hardest work begins. Never coast. Never stop studyng. Broadway actors are in voice and dance classes during the day so they are always prepared for that evening's show. My friend Lily Tomlin and her co star Jane Fonda work with acting coaches while shooting their new TV series. All working actors study. Never feel you are above study. And never go into this for the money. You will never feel like a success because it will never feel like enough. The thrill you get when your acting is honest and authentic trumps any feeling you get with a big paycheck. And if it doesn't, do something else. Something easier. Something else that fulfills you more than just acting. Not being paid to act. But the acting itself.

[Rick Riley]

I haven’t read every word of every reply, so if I’m bringing up the obvious, or if things have changed, shoot me.

When I enquired, I couldn’t join the union if I wanted to. I had to wait until I booked a union job. Then when I did, I Taft-Hartley’d. After I booked a second one I was forced to join if I wanted to do the gig. But just ‘wanting’ to, from what I know, kind of makes the question superfluous. Has this been not been discussed or am I going to get shot?
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Never do anything you wouldn't want to explain to the Paramedics

www.rickrileyvoice.com

[Philip Banks]

No it hasn't and it's a very god point.

I have done many (US) Union jobs and I can't join for obvious reasons. When a company wants to use me they simply use me even though every other person involved is on Union terms including the free Tolpuddle Martyr tri-corner hat.

[Lee Gordon]