VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[SoundsGreat-Elaine Singer]

I'm curious to know how many of you depend on voiceover work as your sole source of income. I sure don't, although I'd like to.
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Elaine
The Youthful Mature Voice (Emeritus)
Senectitude is not for the faint of heart.

[allensco]

I don't either. I do 911 dispatching for my fulltime job and I'm still on the air at a local radio station.

[Frank F]

VO is not my ONLY source of income, however, it could support me in the fashion I desire. I own several other businesses including Video Production, Audio Recording Studios, VOIP Telecommunication, Mobile L.E.D. Video Displays, and others.

Voice Overs have supported me, and funded my other endeavors. I owe it all to the Voice Over business. If I dropped all of the other things I have going, I could fund my existance on just VO work.

Frank F

[Philip Banks]

VO is my only source of income although I have been known to do a bit of acting (on-camera). The main reason for the latter was that I was asked.

If you were wondering ......Yes, I count my blessings every day.

[Simon Fellows]

VO is my primary source of income, but I have a small business I run with a friend. Nothing fancy - just the 2 of us doing a bit of data processing/marketing work from our homes - but it helps me get through the quiet months (I'm hoping to get to a point where I only have one quiet month a year, but I haven't made it there yet!). It also gives me the flexibility to concentrate on VO when the work comes in, so I guess I'm lucky in that respect. It can be a little crazy though, when both get busy at the same time :shock:
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Simon Fellows
http://www.simonfellows.com

[Deirdre]

Well, I suppose I talk for a living. It's not all recorded voice stuff, though. I'm a traffic reporter for Metro Networks, Boston-- that's my "day job" although it's not even slightly a "day" since I handle only afternoon drive.
I'm a hired gun for WBZ in Boston: staff commercial announcer. Those are both wage jobs.
I've got the myriad other ongoing and occasional projects we all have: corporate narrations with a couple of key clients and one-offs, IVR and call-center stuff, TV and other radio commercial stuff, voice for interactive internet apps. Radio station imaging is great fun. I also coach occasionally when asked.
I've been out of the on-camera world for a number of years-- I hit the dreaded no-woman's land of "40-something" and, as I expected, the phone stopped ringing. What the hell. I'm doing more goofball movie and TV stuff-- like background work. It's not bad if you're SAG-- the other night I drove down to Rhode Island so I could drive my little car in the Showtime Drama The Brotherhood.
Normal people wonder what I do on the "weekends".
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DBCooperVO.com

[Mike]

Most of my income now is from VO. I also use my studio to produce VO demos for local talent which is a nice additional income stream. I have been known to do some on-camera work which is occasionally fun, but rarely financially rewarding.

I'm now also directing voice actors for video games which involves spending a painful amount of time on the wrong side of the glass. It has some benefits though. One is the cheque at the end. The other is having the power to cast yourself in a minor, but juicy role. Bad guy, of course.

Maiku
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www.michaelrhys.com

"If grass could run, cows would look like tigers."
Murray Wiggle

[Deirdre]

[Bruce]

I've been full time VO for several years now, and perform some related activities such as writing commercials and producing and directing radio ads, narrations, and such. Normally, I'm in my home studio 30 to 50 hours a week and go out to do something at another studio maybe 2 times a month.

I still get to do something on camera from time to time. I did a national Realty Executives spot a few months ago and I acted in three independent films and a TV pilot over the past two years. I used to do a lot more on-camera work and theater, but VO pay-per-hour is so much better, that I don't push for them any more.

Keeping fingers crossed and always pursuing new clients through marketing and networking has kept me going.

Bruce

[kgenus]

It's not my main source of income yet but it's beyond the planned timeline I created two years ago. I spend 4-6 hours of my day in the studio. Like others, I've got additional irons in the fire, a production company and an information technology firm. I use to work in broadcast while sitting through my early days of C programming courses.... I'm not spending the income from the studio on household expenses, all those funds are placed in a budget to meet specific needs (equipment or building expenses for the new studio), but that's about two years out.

Kevin
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Genus

[johnbailey]

Nope, although I'd like to think I could if I only had more time to send out demos.

[Deirdre]

[Andy]

Nope. By day, night, weekends, when I'm sleeping, trying to get drunk, etc. I'm a TV news director. Phone's always ringing with some BS issue or ego problem to resolve.
Been playing in VO for a year and doing okay with it. Doing better than I thought, not as good as I'd like....but then I'm never happy.

[audio'connell]

If it is true as has been posted elsewhere that about 10% of the world's voiceovers do it full time, looking at the board we're about there.

About 1/2 of my work week involves VO, the other half involves sales and marketing efforts for a couple of clients who serve the US.

Money is money and I'll take it almost any (legal) way I can get it.

Regards,
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- Peter
audioconnell Voice Over Talent
Your friendly, neighborhood voice over talent

[kitstern]

I'm full time as of a few months ago, and I've been paying my bills. It's been slow the last month or so, but now it's starting to pick up.

Sure beats the hell out of being an investment advisor, which is the job I did to make money while doing VO part time.
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Enjoy life, this is not a rehearsal.

http://www.kitziestern.com/