If you’ve never worked with a voiceover artist before, you may be wondering how to find and hire a VO. Below are three easy ways to work with a new voiceover artist:
1. Voiceover Agency
If you have a specific project with a healthy budget, you could approach a voice agency and ask if they have any suitable artists on their books. Prices will tend to be a bit higher than hiring voiceover talent directly – but there are several advantages.
- Voice artists will be pre-vetted
- You will be able to connect with trained actors for character work
- Many agents have celebrity voices
- The agency will deal with all negotiations and payments
Best for: An agency is great if you have a major project requiring multiple voices, a project for a househld name, or if you are looking for something very specific or unusual.
2. Direct hire
The second way is to search for Voice Artists directly via their websites or LinkedIn – this can take a bit of time but has the advantage of dealing directly with a talent that you’ve hand selected, and allows some room for negotiation
- You can negotiate fees with the artist directly
- You wont have to pay an agency fee/commission
- You will have a direct link to the artist in case you wish to use them again in future
Best for: When you have time to research artist websites and read testimonials, and you know the type of voice that will suit your project
3. Online Casting sites
The third way is to request auditions via voice casting sites. There are dozens of sites which allow you to post an audition script and quickly receive dozens of auditions in your chosen age. gender and accent. Quality control is variable as many of these sites are over-subscribed. It can also be difficult to get back in touch with the same voice artist if you need additional work from them in future. Advantages include:
- No obligation to buy if you don’t like any of the auditions
- Some sites have fixed rates, others allow you to input a budget and receive quotes
- Usually free for the client (voice artists pay a fee to receive auditions from the site)
Best for: When you want to receive lots of auditions of your script but haven’t got time to research artists yourself, and for projects a low rate is more important than high quality.
British Female Voiceover Artist 