Is Voice123 all it's cracked up to be???

Bethany Paterson · **Voice Talent** Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Posts: 2

My name is Bethany Paterson, and I currently have a standard (free) membership to Voice123.com. I'm hoping to hear from any number of you as to whether I ought to give serious consideration to the $195 / year fee for the Premium Membership... Are the leads legitimate? Is the return worth the investment?

Please Please Please e-mail me your thoughts and your personal experiences with Voice 123. I want to make an informed decision.

Thank you.
Bethany Paterson
bethanypaterson@comcast.net

Jack Richardson · **Voice Talent** Joined: 27 Jul 2006 Posts: 3

Hi Bethany, Tricky. I'm interested too. My own personal experience is that of one who has won nothing from V123 - I've submitted around 50 auditions, with no responses & at around 30hrs studio time it has been pretty poor. Maybe it's my voice over talent...

One thing that I have noticed is that when submitting a demo (mp3) after uploading it & checking it on V123 it sounds very tinny & echos a little - I always put a caveat in my responses to the effect of the finished article being of a somewhat higher quality to that of V123 demo download.

Apart from that, it woudl seem that the leads are genuine - certainly teh UK companies are genuine names & what they are requesting seems in-tune with what that organisation does.

Heaps of luck Bethany!
Jack

http://www.jacksvoice.co.uk

Scott Pollak · Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006, 23:42 (GMT) Post subject:

I became a premium member earlier this year and quickly made my investment back. I've been fortunate to garner perhaps 4 jobs or so out of responding to maybe 200 leads. If you're NOT a paid member here you'll never get ANY leads at all.

Jack, I listened to part of your demo and you have a great voice and a good demo. Your problem simply may be your accent. I have the slightest Southern accent and sometimes that works against me. Seems like the VAST majority of leads I see come thru here want a neutral accent.

But the bottom line is that this is no different than auditioning for ANY kind of entertainment gig. Voice123 is just an agency where clients come to post leads, just like any talent agency. It's up to the talent whether they wish to participate in the audition, and from there it's a combination of luck and mostly talent. You WILL be competing against a LOT of very talented people, just like with any talent agency, and you'll either have what the talent is looking for or you won't. But you won't ever know if you don't try. And you can NOT be weak-of-heart or easily discouraged. If so, don't even get into the biz, cuz it'll break you. You have to be open to criticism, continue to learn and improve, and relentlessly pursue every lead you can. If you have the talent, it'll slowly and eventually turn into something for you. But it takes time and HARD WORK!

My best to you both!

Jack Richardson · **Voice Talent** Joined: 27 Jul 2006 Posts: 3

Hi Scott,

Interesting feedback. You are right, perseverence is the key. Thanks for the critique on my voice - intrigued to know what accent I do have though.

All the very best

Jack

http://www.jacksvoice.co.uk

Maureen (moe) Egan · Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006, 01:28 (GMT) Post subject:

Hi Bethany and all.

First of all a note to Bethany...we females have the advantage on V123 because the men outnumber us 3 to 1... I've been doing voice work full time for the past three years; V123 is a huge part of why I'm able to work from my home studio in NH - yea -I live in New Hampshire and I do voice work FULL TIME!

and to Scott and Jack...You hit the nail on the head regarding perseverence! I actually have a quote from Billy West (one of my ALL TIME FAV voice talents- I've followed his career since the 1970's when he did character bits on WBCN in Boston) He's been the voice of Ren AND Stimpy, and Doug on Nick, the Red M and M..and too many more to mention. He's one of the reasons I ever thought about doing voice work. Laughing

Here it is according to Billy West:

Q: What does it take to be a voice over artist?
A: Perseverance.

Cheers!
moe

Louis Tristan · **Voice Talent** Joined: 07 Jul 2005 Posts: 266

It will cost you just as much to get headshots that will sit in pile somewhere in your flat. Here at voice123 one can an audition for a roll without ever leaving their home or having to use sick days at work just to stand in line for 3 hours to read 5 lines and never get called.

I know some actors and actresses who go for about 5 - 6 auditions a week on location and never get a break. You just have to keep plugging away and one day when the talent seeker hears the sound they’ve been looking for they’ll call you. Don’t get discouraged.

Is the return worth the investment? Well like I’ve said before the biggest reward is creating the finished production even better if you get paid for it. Like: sculpting, painting or photography it may cost a bit to get started but one finds the pass time rewarding.

Go for the Premium Membership!

Bethany Paterson · **Voice Talent** Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Posts: 2

Thanks to each of you! I appreciate your taking the time to share your experiences and insights...

JJ Wright · Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006, 22:45 (GMT) Post subject:

The 'positive' side of the Premium membership, is that you have the opportunity to post 10 different demos at any given time, to show off your versatility and styles. Not to mention being able to update or change them at will.

Another positive is, a web site that you can market and promote in any way that you want. And yes your page DOES show up in search engines, and if you are familiar with keywords and SEO, that helps as well. What you write in your profile, etc, it JUST as important, if not more so, as your demo(s).

With the membership you do get tons of leads, and even if you don't land jobs from them, you do amase a pretty good collection of all sorts of scripts. And constantly responding and working those scripts can only aide in perfecting your technique, style and/or niche.

It also may be a little less frustrating, if you discipline yourself to be a bit more selective in the leads you answer. I mean if client has a ten page narration and a budget of $100, why bother?

Scott Nicolino · **Voice Talent** Joined: 23 Oct 2006 Posts: 50

Just keep pluggin away, my goal was to make the fee back within a years time and I just made it back plus some by landing my second gig in just under a month! So, keep working at it, keep polishing, and most of all keep doing what you love! It's hard not to get discouraged sometimes, but if you love it, make it work!!!

Todd Ellis · Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006, 02:26 (GMT) Post subject:

Hi guys. I'm coming up on my 1-year anniversary as a paying member. I could not be happier. I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet - but V123 is an important part of a nutritious breakfast - which is to say you need toast and juice to balance everything out.

If you were starting a plumbing business would you go out and buy a flight of spots on the radio and call it a day, marketing wise? Not if you were a smart plumber. You'd look into local television, newspaper, networking groups, the chamber of commerce et. al.

V123 is a PART of how we should market ourselves. It's a great part, and frankly, an easy part (and by easy I mean the leads come to your computer - you decide if you want to respond - then cut an audition) of the business plan - but should not be the whole plan. If you send your check then sit back and wait for your bank account to grow you'll be waiting longer than Michael Richards for his NAACP membership card.

You can get some nice jobs from V123 - jobs that turn into regular gigs well beyond the $195 buy-in.

I'm happy I became a paying member and I'll re-up when it's time.

Did anybody mention perseverance? It's like the little kitty cat says - "Hang in there Baby".

Nikki Saco · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Aug 2006 Posts: 465

I agree with everyone here, Todd in particular. In addition to any marketing I do, seeing leads come to my computer is a nice balance. I did make my fee back quickly after becoming a premium member. Maybe I'd feel less optimistic about V123 if I hadn't been lucky enough to get jobs; but I honestly think I'd still be a fan because of the many opportunities V123 provides for auditioning. That's a huge benefit, a great way to gain more experience and hone skills.

Yeah, I think it's worth it to sign on. I didn't know there were fewer women than men on V123, so if Moe is right, I'd say it's even more worth it for women to sign on. Of course that assumes there are as many job postings for women as for men. It would be interesting to know the numbers and types of jobs that are posted here. I don't imagine it would help V123 or the other voice marketplace to make that public, but it would be fun to know what types of voice over services are most in demand, or least populated with talent.

Hmmm, something to research on the net I guess. schockiert

Robert Jadah · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 2627

Bethany:
Here's what I would suggest to your quandary:
Listen carefully to 3 dozen V123 demos, including 25 women.
Listen first to the voice. Chances are you have the chops to match, unless you happen to sound like a Fran Deschler/foghorn mix.
Now listen to the delivery...the nuance.
If at that point you are at all uncertain, save your money.
But if you feel you can do it, buy the upgrade. You may be wrong - although I hope not - but at least you have the vital creative confidence to step into the ring.
Then be prepared to go six hurtful months and maybe 300 auditions without a nibble.
If all of that is not daunting, then it will pay off.
Voice On!
Robert Jadah

Nikki Saco · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Aug 2006 Posts: 465

I visited your member site. You've got a lovely singing voice and can definitely include that in a VO demo, but you might want to prepare a demo and post it in the forum for comment so that you can have a great demo before you pay for your annual subscription. I think you're ahead of the game because you've had theater training. That really helps. You may also want to take advantage of your other training and do some children's narration and tutorials. It's helpful if you've got some sound engineering background because most VO talent do their own recordings. There's a lot of good info in the Geek section of this forum on setting up a home studio.

Robert's advice about listening to other demos is great. That's something most of us do regularly to improve our own skills. Although many people here suggest getting a professional demo, you probably have a good ear and will easily pick up what's good or bad about a demo by listening to others and can then incorporate the best qualities into your own. Anyway, best of luck. If you're teaching or intend to go into teaching, music or another subject, VO work is a great way to supplement your salary.

Jeanine Yamanaka · **Voice Talent** Joined: 15 May 2005 Posts: 28

Well, I upgraded my membership around a month or so ago and so far...nothing. So if you do join and get off to a slow start...I'm right there with you. *snif*