Nowadays, you can hire supposedly professional speakers on the Internet at very low prices on fiverr and co. In the case of artistic services, quality is often difficult to assess, and sometimes it is not obvious to customers why some voice actors charge supposedly high fees while other artists offer themselves at very low prices.
Let’s take a look at three different groups of voice actors as examples to better understand the perspective from which voice actors or their managers approach price negotiations.
– Prices for voice actors
A well-booked voice actor is very busy with his work as a dubbing artist for fixed acting roles. Most German voice actors have several actors whose movies and series they dub. So a top voice actor can easily dub up to 5 or 20 actors from several countries. A good example of this is Manfred Lehmann, who lends his voice to Gérard Depardieu, Kurt Russell or Dolph Lundgren in addition to Bruce Willis. In addition, Manfred Lehmann is a sought-after voice actor for commercials, TV, documentaries and radio productions. So when it comes to negotiating the voiceover fee for an artist like Manfred Lehmann, there are a lot of influencing factors that go into the price calculation. We are talking about a voice that, in addition to its experience and flexibility, also brings a recognition value that can be transferred to brands or media productions. In addition, speakers from this category have an extremely busy schedule and sometimes have to turn down requests simply because of time constraints. It goes without saying that it is possible to hire top speakers via platforms such as Audiobird, but the premium price charged for this is justified in any case and cannot be easily compared with that of other speakers.
– Prices for professional speakers
Professional voice actors often have fascinating voices that are familiar from documentaries, trailers, radio or other media. Crystal clear or leggy, professional voices cover the full range of acting variance, and each voice is sometimes more or less flexible in terms of its artistic applications. Some of these artists are actors, others slipped into their role as professional speakers via the media business. In either case, professional voices have honed their skills through years of detailed artistic work and countless recording sessions, and can deliver on point in live sessions with agency clients, audio producers and experienced directors. Unlike voice actors, these professionals work for fixed, predictable fees and promise absolutely convincing results. These voices are usually based on the VDS voiceover fees.
– Prices for inexpensive voice actors
On Fiverr, you can book a voice for a 15-second radio spot, including studio use, from around €40. There are also voices on the market that offer their services at even lower prices. Often these are newcomers who want to gain experience or voice actors who do their work on the side. Here, too, you can be lucky and find a suitable voice for a project. Certainly with one or the other restriction in terms of professionalism, but in most cases still within a professional framework. Ask us, in many cases we can find a suitable voice even for budget-critical projects.
Conclusion:
Every voice has its price. And depending on your budget, you can find a voice that is up to the task. As is often the case, clients who want an absolute top-notch result and are looking for something special will have to dig deeper into their pockets, but compared to media budgets, the cost of top-notch premium voices is still comparatively inexpensive compared to what you can afford for a media project or brand. Especially for earned media projects, voices and premium concepts can make the difference and lead to films, podcasts and articles being perceived positively by recipients and spreading organically.
