Voice-Overs.com - A discussion forum for the voice-over industry - View Single Post - So much for V123 understanding our complaints about ratings

AlexisAdair · 08-23-2007, 02:29 PM

That "Frank Frederick" comment read like paid shill if ever there were one. I wonder how many years' free subscription he got for that plug. Checked out his profile, his demos are good, he claims to have trademarked "The Voice", though apparently not registered the trademark. Registered trademarks/service marks for "The Voice" belong to a Christian magazine, a retirement living TV station, Billy Moore productions, and Micro-Users Software Exchange.

The quote is simply too perfect in terms of Voice123's own propaganda and exactly what they want people to believe their service provides. Frank claims you get "feedback from clients" which helps you discern what they really want. But that 1 to 5 rating system does no such thing. You have no idea whether you just didn't fit that project but were otherwise good, whether you gave a good or bad read, whether you quoted too high... You get less than no guidance from the ratings, and you can't possibly make changes to what you're doing based on them. He also claims he's getting *more* and *higher paying* leads. I haven't heard from *anyone* on the boards that they're getting either of those things. I'm certainly not. It looks like I'm getting lots of leads, but the fact is that well over half, maybe even 2/3 to 3/4, are closed before I even see them. Even if I got to answer *all* the leads I'm theoretically getting, it still isn't more than before the switch. V123 isn't getting in any more leads overall than they did before the switch, at least not beyond the average steady upward trend they've been seeing over the past couple years. So by all practical measures, I got a lot more leads before the switch than I do now. And the quality or pay level hasn't changed any either. There are just as many, if not more, lowballers as there were before the switch.

So either Frank is flat-out lying, or he has some special service level the rest of us don't have. Maybe he's getting a free trial of the "higher" subscription level Alex talked about... In exchange for shilling for the service.

And they keep hyping that "higher audition to booking ratio" thing. Honestly, do they have any *proof* of that? They haven't offered any evidence yet that it's true, and it still doesn't affect the fact that it's a completely meaningless statistic! As I've said before, there are TONS of ways in which you can improve your audition-to-booking ratio, but LOSE JOBS and LOSE MONEY. It's a statistic that is completely meaningless to a voiceover talent's bottom line.

Argghhhh. I don't get anything other than p'd off when I think about the whole mess, so for the most part I try to avoid the topic, though obviously I felt compelled to jump in on this one. That e-mail was beyond a joke, and really a bit insulting, to boot.

In case it's not already abundantly clear, for any newcomers, I STRONGLY recommend AGAINST joining V123. Ever. (Unless they completely obliterate SmartCast and go back to the old system, which ain't gonna happen.) STAY AWAY!!!

08-23-2007, 02:29 PM	#16 (permalink)
AlexisAdair User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 45	Yeah, got that e-mail That "Frank Frederick" comment read like paid shill if ever there were one. I wonder how many years' free subscription he got for that plug. Checked out his profile, his demos are good, he claims to have trademarked "The Voice", though apparently not registered the trademark. Registered trademarks/service marks for "The Voice" belong to a Christian magazine, a retirement living TV station, Billy Moore productions, and Micro-Users Software Exchange. The quote is simply too perfect in terms of Voice123's own propaganda and exactly what they want people to believe their service provides. Frank claims you get "feedback from clients" which helps you discern what they really want. But that 1 to 5 rating system does no such thing. You have no idea whether you just didn't fit that project but were otherwise good, whether you gave a good or bad read, whether you quoted too high... You get less than no guidance from the ratings, and you can't possibly make changes to what you're doing based on them. He also claims he's getting more and higher paying leads. I haven't heard from anyone on the boards that they're getting either of those things. I'm certainly not. It looks like I'm getting lots of leads, but the fact is that well over half, maybe even 2/3 to 3/4, are closed before I even see them. Even if I got to answer all the leads I'm theoretically getting, it still isn't more than before the switch. V123 isn't getting in any more leads overall than they did before the switch, at least not beyond the average steady upward trend they've been seeing over the past couple years. So by all practical measures, I got a lot more leads before the switch than I do now. And the quality or pay level hasn't changed any either. There are just as many, if not more, lowballers as there were before the switch. So either Frank is flat-out lying, or he has some special service level the rest of us don't have. Maybe he's getting a free trial of the "higher" subscription level Alex talked about... In exchange for shilling for the service. And they keep hyping that "higher audition to booking ratio" thing. Honestly, do they have any proof of that? They haven't offered any evidence yet that it's true, and it still doesn't affect the fact that it's a completely meaningless statistic! As I've said before, there are TONS of ways in which you can improve your audition-to-booking ratio, but LOSE JOBS and LOSE MONEY. It's a statistic that is completely meaningless to a voiceover talent's bottom line. Argghhhh. I don't get anything other than p'd off when I think about the whole mess, so for the most part I try to avoid the topic, though obviously I felt compelled to jump in on this one. That e-mail was beyond a joke, and really a bit insulting, to boot. In case it's not already abundantly clear, for any newcomers, I STRONGLY recommend AGAINST joining V123. Ever. (Unless they completely obliterate SmartCast and go back to the old system, which ain't gonna happen.) STAY AWAY!!!