The Biz

At the beginning of each new year, Voices.com presents a comprehensive overview of industry statistics that directly affect voice actors, including updates on broadcast television, radio, podcasting, video games, audiobooks, and other mediums and applications. Current trends are reported on and are diligently sourced for accuracy.

How to Use This Information

When reading this document, bear in mind that the need for voice over is directly related to the current status of each medium or application. For instance, you’ll note that because MP3 player, satellite radio, and cellular phone sales are up, the demand for voice acting in podcasts, radio advertisements, audiobooks and more will naturally increase as a result of the success of the respective technologies. The key players in the industry are outlined below for your convenience to identify the unique roles that are played within voice over as a profession.

Key Players

Voice Talent and Voice Actors
• A voice actor is the producer of the creative vocal work that is recorded and used for a variety of applications including commercials for radio, television, telephone, podcasts, audio books, video games and more.

Voice Over Coaches and Instructors
• A voice over coach is a person who is either a teacher of voice, instructor of voice acting, or has extensive practical experience working as a professional voice actor who applies their knowledge and methodology through the teaching of their craft.

Audio Engineers and Producers
• An audio engineer is a person who is highly skilled in the field of audio production, including recording, editing, mixing and mastering. As an audio engineer, this person is usually employed by a larger recording studio or can also be a freelance producer who works independently, running their own production studio.

Voice Over Agents and Talent Agencies
• A voice over agent is a person who promotes and represents a voice actor, presenting their voice over work for consideration when a job that the voice actor is suited for becomes available. An agent can be independent or part of a voice talent agency that operates similarly to a quintessential talent agency, meaning a company that employs several people as agents to build a brand and manage a variety of talent, not just voice actors.

Casting Directors
• A casting director, specifically a voice over casting director, is someone who has an ear for picking the best candidate for a particular job. It is the responsibility of the casting director to "cast" the right person in a role for a client who usually has little interest, ability, or lacks the confidence to "pick" the right voice to represent their company, project, or brand.

Unions
• A union is a governing body that regulates terms of employment for their customers. Unions may take action on the behalf of their clients in cases where agreements are breached. A voice actor pays union dues or fees to be affiliated with a union in order to receive particular services, benefits, or opportunities exclusive to the union. While some unions have an open door policy allowing anyone to join so long as they meet membership fee requirements, there are other unions that are "invitation only" or other criteria. Being part of the union is not mandatory and there are more non-union voice actors in the world than there are unionized
voice actors.

Online Marketplaces
• A voice over marketplace is a location, typically based online, where voice actors can feature their voices and audition for job opportunities to acquire voice over work. As the term "marketplace" implies, portals that perform this function connect buyers and sellers, for the purposes of this article, buyers and sellers of voice over services. Voice over marketplaces serve both the buyer and seller, and in some instances, facilitate communications and or transactions between the two. As a voice over marketplace consolidates both talent and job opportunities, it is an integral part of any voice actors marketing efforts as well as the most convenient and effective source for clients to find voice actors and buy their services.

Clients
• Clients who purchase voice over services can be from any industry, country, and speak a variety of languages. Since the need for audio production is universal as well as the need for voice overs, the global market of clients creates an enormous demand for voice actors who provide quality voice over recordings to represent their company, organization, or event.

Television

TV Ad Spending On The Rise
• TV ad spending in the U.S.A. totaled more than 64 billion dollars in 2005
Source: Advertising Age Magazine June 26 2006

Broadcasting 2007: Report on the Industry
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is the national industry association that represents Canada's private broadcasters - including private television and radio stations and networks, and specialty, pay and pay-per-view television services.
• 101 Television Stations
• 49 Analog Specialty Stations
• 13 Pay-Per-View Services
Source: Canadian Association of Broadcasters November 2007

Radio

Broadcasting 2007: Report on the Industry
In Canada, there are:
• 184 Private Commercial AM Stations
• 465 Private Commercial FM Stations
Source: Canadian Association of Broadcasters November 2007

Current History of Broadcasting in the US
• The number of FM stations passed the number of AM in 1983; in 1998 there were 6,179 commercial FM stations on the air, and 2,400 noncommercial stations.
• The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was established in 1968 as a not-for-profit, nongovernmental agency to finance the growth of noncommercial radio and television; by 2003 the PBS network served more than 200 television and nearly 800 radio stations.
Source: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

Radio Reaches 233 Million Listeners per Week
• Radio has strength and stability, reaching 233 million listeners over the course of the week according to the RADAR 95 December 2007 Radio Listening Estimates.
• The 7,200+ RADAR Network Affiliated stations reach 82 percent of all people aged 12 and over.
• Ninety-five percent of adults age 18-49 with a college degree and an annual household income of $50,000 or above, tune into radio over the course of a week.
• They also reach 85 percent of adults 25-54 in households with a college degree and an annual household income of $75,000 or above.
Source: Voice Over Times, Arbitron Inc. December 10, 2007

Internet Advertising in Canada
• The growth of spending on internet advertising has increased dramatically versus growth for television, and radio. Internet advertising revenues are increasing rapidly in Canada and in other countries around the world, including the UK and the US.
• In Canada, internet ad revenues increased from $176 million in 2002 to $1.0 billion in 2006, based on a compound annual growth rate of 55%. By comparison, television ad revenues have increased over the same period by 5.7%, while radio has increased by 6.5%.
Source: Canadian Association of Broadcasters November 2007

Podcasting

Podcast Market Research
• 6.6 Percent of adults downloaded audio podcasts within the last 30 days
• 37% of the US population has heard of podcasting (up from 22% in 2006)
• 13% of the US population has listened to a podcast (up from 11% in 2006)
• 11% of the US population has watched a video podcast (up from 10% in 2006)
• Podcast listeners in the US are nearly even between men and women with 51% being male and 49% being female in 2007
• 12.3 million U.S. households will be listening to podcasts by the end of the decade
Source: Forrester Research

Podcast Advertising
Ad spending on podcasts will reach $300 million, while social network ad spending is expected to rise to $2.5 billion worldwide by 2010, from just $350 million in 2006.
Source: eMarketer

Audiobooks

Audiobook Sales on the Rise Nationally
• This year’s survey showed a 6 percent increase over 2005 with audiobook sales now estimated at $923 million in North America.
• The Audio Publishers Association (APA) released the results of the 2007 APA Sales Survey, conducted to gather data and measure the growth of the audiobook industry. Independent research firm Lewis & Clark Research surveyed audiobook publishers during the summer of 2007, analyzing reported consumer sales data from 2006 and comparing current statistics against the previous year’s findings.
Source: Audio Publishers Association

Audiobook industry worth $2 Billion
• The audio book industry is a $2 billion dollar industry and growing. Sales within this industry grew by a huge 150% in just 1 year by the end of 2005.
Source: Audio Publishers' and CDs

Audiobooks: This Growing Market Is Great News For Voice Talent
• The demand for audiobooks is expected to skyrocket from today’s approximately 4,000 per year to a whopping 24,000 over the next four years.
Source: Blackstone Audio

Animation

Celebrity Voice Actors in the Animation Studio
• Competition. The trend of casting well-known actors in newly released animations is reducing demand for career voiceover actors.
• Qualifications? Career voice actors maintain that their specific training in mike techniques and vocal acting make them more qualified than their immensely famous counterparts.
• Commitment. Many animation fans criticize big name actors for not putting the same effort into their performance as they would in a ‘real life’ movie.
Source: Animation World Magazine

Videogames

Advertising in games is expected to rise to $800 million in 2009
• $266 Million, or more than one-third of advertising in games in 2009, will come from "advergaming," when advertisers create a game around a product rather than place their brands within a well-known title, according to Yankee Group senior analyst Mike Goodman at the Advertising In Games Forum.
• Mitch Davis, chief executive of video game ad network Massive Inc., told the audience video game advertising would top $1 billion in the United States by 2010, and approach $2.5 billion worldwide.
• 100 million game capable cell phones are currently in the marketplace. 65% of the population owns a cell phone. And the turn over or replacement rate of cell phones is every 16 months, reported Anita Frazier, Entertainment Industry Analyst, NPD Group, at the Advertising In Games Forum. Every cell phone being sold on the market today is game capable. So within 16 months all cell phones in the marketplace should be game capable.
Source: The Yankee Group 2007

Video Game Advertising: Getting to the Next Level, June 2007
• The use of video games as an advertising medium will grow substantially in the next five years. Worldwide spending on video game advertising will rise from $692 million in 2006 to $1.9 billion in 2011, with half of the spending occurring in the US.
• A number of factors are fueling interest in advertising on this medium. A widening audience, especially women and older gamers, the growth of games with online connectivity, and the need for game developers to offset escalating production costs will be the primary drivers of growth.
• As this shift in consumer behavior continues, advertisers are likely to begin tailoring their budgets to this new reality.
Source: eMarketer

Voice Over Industry Research

Online Job Postings at Voices.com

Voices.com is an online marketplace where businesses and voice talent connect. The chart above demonstrates the various types of voice-over work procured through the online service.
Source: Voices.com for the Period between January 1, 2007 and December 15, 2007

Vox Daily
Vox Daily is a blog that offers daily dose of voice acting news, articles, tutorials, interviews, intelligent conversation and business ideas.
• Vox Daily has been read 83,908 times
Source: FeedBurner, December 2007

Vox Talk
The voice acting entertainment podcast covering voice acting news, business tips, technology, and an assortment of voice actor contributions. This show is produced weekly.
• Vox Talk podcast has been downloaded 20,575 times
Source: FeedBurner, December 2007

Voice Over Experts
The educational podcast featuring renowned voice over coaches from US, Canada and abroad. Join us each week for pearls of wisdom and tricks of the trade to improve your voice over career.
• Voice Over Experts podcast has been downloaded 14,535 times
Source: FeedBurner, December 2007

Salaries
• High-paying contract jobs with residuals can range from $150,000 or $200,000 a year.
• Nonunion freelance jobs fall between $150 and $500.
Source: Goliath Business News

Outlook for 2008

Future is Bright for the Voice Over Industry
Voice acting is finally becoming part of the mainstream. The days when voice actors were referred to as “voice talkers” or asked, “So, what is it that you do?” are fading quickly into the history books as mass media embraces the art and profession of voice over. The combination of technological progress, public awareness and celebrity endorsement have elevated voice acting to a new plateau and social status within the broader entertainment industry.

Did you find this information useful?

If so, please add your comments below.

Remember, you can also download the report in full by clicking the image below.

Happy New Year!

David

Even with the best instruments, microphones and recording gear, the quality of your recordings depends greatly on your preamps.

Let's dive in and learn about the differences between hardware and software preamps, as well as how to choose the right preamplifier for your home recording studio.

Why Use a Preamp?

Most audio engineers would assert that a microphone preamp affects the sound quality of a recording just as much as the microphone itself. Treating your signal path to the right preamp is important to attaining the sound your voice-over calls for.

Hardware Preamps

Many mixing boards or desks have microphone preamps built in. There are also a plethora of external preamps from which to choose, which is great for adding the exact tone and feature set you need for your setup.

As an example, the TubePRE is the highest quality vacuum tube preamp in its class. Loaded with PreSonus award winning dual servo preamplifier, the TubePre affordably delivers low noise tube warmth for vocals, guitars, bass guitars, synths and sound modules. The TubePre noticeably outperforms preamps in low cost mixers and recording interfaces making it an easy choice for anyone desiring to enhance their recordings with the magic of tubes.

Software Preamps

Many USB microphones come bundled with preamplifier software that provider additional control and gain adjustment to the signal being recorded. Software preamps are purely digital, therefore do not amplify the voltage of the microphone. The software simulates an increase to the audio signal and therefore doesn't offer nearly the quality or characteristics of a traditional analog microphone preamplifier.

USB microphones will work without the software using the standard drivers included in your computer's operating system. However if you would like added functionality of the preamp software (Input Level Meter, Volume control, High-pass filter and Phase Switch), ensure your computer meets the minimum system requirements of your microphone's manufacturer.

How To Select a Microphone Preamp

As with most pieces of audio equipment, price and performance are the two criteria you should consider when selecting a microphone preamp in your home recording studio.

Microphone preamps come in many shapes and sizes, and vary greatly in price from a few dollars to many thousands of dollars. Many mixing boards or desks have microphone preamps built in.

Summary

Remember that the preamplifier is a critical part of your signal chain and will significantly increase the quality of your audio recordings. If you're looking to add on to your home studio, the preamplifier is a good place to start.

The India research lab of Google Inc., the company that runs the world’s most popular search engine, is developing a voice-based search feature that allow callers to ask for information on neighborhood restaurants, services and local entertainment.

“For nearly 35% of the population who may never have access to a computer, this (telephone) may be the only way for accessing information,” Prasad Ram, head of Google’s research and development in India, stated at the Computer Society of India conference last week.

Recently, Google launched GOOG-411, a voice-activated service that let's you find nearby businesses by saying where you are and what you're looking for. You can access GOOG-411 from any phone (mobile or land line), in any location, at any time. For free.

The Mint reports that "Previous attempts at building local voice response systems by firms such as HP Labs India, the Bangalore-based research unit of Hewlett-Packard Co., have had limited success. HP Labs tested a voice response system it developed for Indian Railways that allowed callers in cities such as Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata to ask for train arrival and departure timings."

The challenge for Google is that a regular web search produces thousands of matching results, and while most users only scan the first page ( the top 10 results ), an appropriate solution is found easily and quickly.

Voice-based search differs significantly as information relayed back to the user will have to be presented in a more consumable format, such as just page titles being read back to the caller, or perhaps a voting system whereby after a result was selected, the user would be prompted to hit #1 for a "thumbs up" or #2 for "thumbs down".

A voting system would give power to the caller to identify is the results and let Google refine the most popular voice-based search queries.

Can you see performing searches by calling Google?

How would you like the results presented to you?

Add your comments below...

A microphone, sometimes referred to as a mike or mic captures the sound of your voice and converts that sound into an electrical signal.

All modern microphones are designed to accomplish the same thing. A microphone takes varying pressure waves in the air and convert them into varying electrical signals.

There are five different technologies commonly used to accomplish this conversion:

Carbon Microphones

The oldest and simplest microphone uses carbon dust. This is the technology used in the first telephones and is still used in some telephones today. The carbon dust has a thin metal or plastic diaphragm on one side. As sound waves hit the diaphragm, they compress the carbon dust, which changes its resistance. By running a current through the carbon, the changing resistance changes the amount of current that flows.

Dynamic Microphones

A dynamic microphone takes advantage of electromagnet effects. When a magnet moves past a wire (or coil of wire), the magnet induces current to flow in the wire. In a dynamic microphone, the diaphragm moves either a magnet or a coil when sound waves hit the diaphragm, and the movement creates a small current.

Condenser Microphones

A condenser microphone is essentially a capacitor, with one plate of the capacitor moving in response to sound waves. The movement changes the capacitance of the capacitor, and these changes are amplified to create a measurable signal. Condenser microphones usually need a small battery to provide a voltage across the capacitor, Phantom Power or USB power from a computer. At Voices.com, we've chosen the Samson USB Condenser CO1U microphone for recording the Vox Talk podcast and the new Voice Casting podcast.

Ribbon Microphones

In a ribbon microphone, a thin ribbon is suspended in a magnetic field. Sound waves move the ribbon which changes the current flowing through it. You can read a review of the Samson VR88 ribbon microphone at eMusician.

Crystal Microphones

Certain crystals change their electrical properties as they change shape (see How Quartz Watches Work for one example of this phenomenon). By attaching a diaphragm to a crystal, the crystal will create a signal when sound waves hit the diaphragm.

Which Microphones Do You Use?

As you know, many studio owners and voice-over talent have a number of microphones for different applications.

Share which microphones you have and why you like them.

Add your comments below.

Source: Wikipedia, HowStuffWorks, OIART.

Over the next few articles, we'll be discussing "The Signal Chain", audio engineer speak for the steps that a sound takes during the recording process.

The decisive factor for judging the sound quality of an audio production is subjective and influenced by current trends.

Having said that, knowing and optimizing the signal chain in your recording studio will ensure the best possible sound with the equipment readily available to you. It is important for you to understand what each component in the signal chain requires to perform at its optimum state, and that's precisely what this series aims to teach you.

Let's dive in...

First, let's look at the three types of sound sources.

Acoustic Sources

Most commonly, the signal chain starts with an acoustic source. During music recording sessions, this source could be an instrument such as an acoustic guitar, bass, drums, piano, violin, harp and so on. The human voice is also considered an acoustic source, and since this website is all about voice overs, we'll be using the voice as the starting point in the signal chain.

Electric Sources

These sources have audio outputs that can be plugged directly into a pre amplifier or recording device. Examples include a bass guitar amplifier, electric keyword, synthesizer, drum machine etc...

Digital Sources

The third and final source is what I call digital sources. These sounds are computer based such as software used to produce sounds or sound effects that are pre-recorded. Some examples include Reason, Fruity Loops and Apple even has Jam Packs available for sale.

Summary

Now that you have an overview of the three sources of sound, we'll be moving forward in the series of tutorials with a focus on the recording of voice-overs.