Is Voice 123 a fake?

[donaldo]

Hello,

I've done commercials, an audiobook, animation and films. Recently a friend gave me a membership in Voice 123. Actually, she transferred the remainder of her membership to me after giving up in disgust. She sent off 50-some auditions and got zero responses. My tally now is five auditions, no responses, and I'm wondering if I should keep on keeping on with Voice 123. If it's a scam I don't want to waste my time sending off audition after audition.

I'd rather waste my time some other way.

Thanks!
Donaldo
PS: my name is Donaldo, not Donaleo. That "e" was a typo on my part when I registered and now I guess I'm stuck with it!

[Colin Campbell]

Send a message to the mods to get your name fixed.

Voice123 is real for the most part but you have to auditon hundreds of times to expect one job. Some of the leads might be fake as well, someone screwing around. After all anyone can post a job for free but then people have found a repeat client or two. No response is the norm but once in a while you might get a surprise. Try to guage the seriousness of the lead and only "waiste your time" on leads that are up your alley.

[donaldo]

Thanks Colin.

That's pretty much what I thought. A great many auditions and few or no responses. I've had much better luck ratio-wise with craigslist. I will keep on with 123, following your suggestion that I reply only to ads that are very specific to my voice.

Thanks again for your response.
Donaldo

[LindZ]

Voice123 is good, but you have to really keep at it. I've been using them about 4 or 5 months now and I've liked what I've gotten out of it. I've booked 7 jobs from there, but I make sure to only audition for leads that I really think I have a shot at, or that are even worth my time. Just remember that if you get good feedback, it doesn't necessarily mean you got the gig. I've had plenty of auditions with "Likely Hiring" as the feedback that didn't go anywhere. More often than not, the client doesn't leave any feedback, and will just contact you directly.

[donaldo]

LindZ,

Thanks for your response. Okay, I'm sold. I'll keep at it. And if I get a halfway decent gig it would be worthwhile renewing my (freebie) membership.

Donaldo

[Mike Sommer]

The VO bizz is like dating, which is all about numbers. Unless your superman you'll face many rejections before you get a hit.

[donaldo]

Mike,

Well, I failed miserably on the dating part of it, never really got out of the starting gate, but hopefully I'll do better with the auditions. I'll bombard Voice 123 and see what happens.

Thanks!
Donaldo

[JoeActor]

Hi Donaldo,

Your mileage may vary, but it usually takes many more than 50 to land a gig. The odds are high on online sites.

I for one prefer voices.com to voice123.com for a number of reasons.

Please take a look at this thread in our reviews are for many more opinions:
http://www.voice-overs.com/forum/review-online-services/2-review-voice123.html

Cheers,
Joe J Thomas
www.JoeActor.com (http://www.JoeActor.com)
www.SoundsGoodToYou.com (http://www.SoundsGoodToYou.com)

[jsgilbert]

I was one of the early clients for Voice 123. Far from perfect, I can assure you that there are many, many, many talent who get a good price and book quite well (not one out of hundreds). Of course this depends alot upon who you are and what you can do.

My guess is that the booking percentage for soeone doing voicemail will be a lot worse than for someone asked to read in the style of Morgan Freeman or Donald Sutherland.(for example) Mor people qualified to do the v oice mail perhaps.

[Si Hill]

It's not fake because I had to use my real money to get a membership!

[John Zadikian]

Donaldo...

You seriously get VO gigs from craiglist?? I subscribe to V123 and Voices, and while both have their faults, I must say they blow craigslist away when it comes to leads. If I'm missing something or I misinterpreted what you said, please let me know.

As for the VO/dating comparison...as I've said in another thread on this board: VO is like dating - you're paying to be rejected.

Rock on...

[donaldo]

John,

Yes on craigslist. Most of them have been in LA and I'm local. And although I rarely go to a studio (mostly send mp3s) I think that may have some bearing on it. Latest gig was a documentary shot in Iran. Good luck and thanks for your response.

Donaldo

[donaldo]

Joe,

Thanks for the link. Thanks also for fixing my name. You must really have some pull. I thought computers ruled everywhere!

Donaldo

[donaldo]

jsgilbert,

Yes, I'm trying to be as specific as possible, auditioning only for ones that really fit my style.

Thanks,
Donaldo

[John Zadikian]

Donaldo...

If you're local to LA, then yes, that does make sense. Best of luck!

[jsgilbert]

Sorry,
What I meant Donaldo is that different genres will bring out different levels of competition. For example, auditions that ask for women who can sound like kids will probably get far fewer really qualified auditions than a request for someone to read a straight 10 second tag.

There seem to be a ton of folks on Voice 123 with strong radio backgrounds and the serious deep piped delivery that often goes along with the territory. From my past experiences casting people from Voice 123, any audition that remotely involkes a need for this type of talent will get lots of responses, and many of them will be quite acceptable for the type of job being offered. This would mean that talent who often audition for this type of work may not experience a very high booking return.

so, not just reading for the stuff you are most suited for, but whether what you are most suited for has lots of competition or only a little.

I have also found that some of the auditions that state the fee is to be determined (I did say some) are there to play the pricing game and this can affect booking ratios too.

[donaldo]

Yes, I think there are a great many radio school voices out there, so I try to stay away from the jobs I think they'll go for. My voice is billed as velvet-and-gravel, and I don't think there are all that many gravel voices around which means that I may be able to find a niche. Accordingly I look for jobs that feature cowboys, master sergeants, bad guys and soft-hearted tough guys. In person I'm very much the Clark Kent type, but when I get behind a mic I can cowboy with the best of 'em!

Best,
Donaldo

[bobbin beam]

Donaldo,
Like all things in life, the same applies to a career in voiceover; you'll get out of it what you put into it. V123 is part of the mix, and should not be your only lead source. Best of luck!

[Nikita]

She sent off 50-some auditions and got zero responses. My tally now is five auditions, no responses, and I'm wondering if I should keep on keeping on with Voice 123. If it's a scam I don't want to waste my time sending off audition after audition.

What's the use of making and sending auditions? It seems to be wasting of time and efforts. I never send any at all. I just send my demos. I believe it's quite enough.

[jsgilbert]

Well Nikita,
I'm guessing life is a little different where you come from. I'm assuming that much of your work is in localization. I used to hire quite a few talent for localization and very rarely did we need an audition either. We would simply say "like the third piee on your demo" However, recently I have seen that about 1/4 of the time, even the foreign language talents doing localization are being asked to audition.

I suspect however that we may be comparing apples to borscht however.

[Colin Campbell]

Yes, I think there are a great many radio school voices out there, so I try to stay away from the jobs I think they'll go for. My voice is billed as velvet-and-gravel, and I don't think there are all that many gravel voices around which means that I may be able to find a niche. Accordingly I look for jobs that feature cowboys, master sergeants, bad guys and soft-hearted tough guys. In person I'm very much the Clark Kent type, but when I get behind a mic I can cowboy with the best of 'em!

Best,
Donaldo

I hesitate to say this but there are more of those type of voices (velvet and gravel) than any other. That describes the "radio voice."

[Paul Plack]

What's the use of making and sending auditions? It seems to be wasting of time and efforts. I never send any at all. I just send my demos. I believe it's quite enough.

Nikita, it may depend on the size of the field of competitors. On voices.com, I'm told the average job posting draws 100 - 125 responses. I personalize each response somehow, even if it's just saying hello to the contact at the start of the recording. If I can show that little bit of attention to the client, I feel it sets me apart from the generic demos.

I also try to personalize the written quote, and somehow relate my personal background and qualifications to the client's needs. It doesn't have to be long, but I feel its important to make it personal.

There are also clients who state upfront that no submissions without a custom audition will be considered.

[Matthew Compton]

I've just signed up for free acounts on both voices123 and voices.com. I haven't even really filled out a profile yet, but yesterday I got something like 15 emails from voices123 for things I should be audtitioning for. Is this normal? How many of you actually attempt auditions for all of these recommendations?

I'd love to try auditioning for a few of these things, at least for the experience, but it looks like you have to pay to actually be able to do this. Is the general feeling that it's not really worth it, especially for someone like myself with no experience? If you guys aren't landing gigs I seriously doubt I would get a return on the investment right now.

[SeptemberDay]

Matthew,

I think one of the best things for newbies about V123 is the lower-priced projects that no pro would go after. I pass on the things I don't think are worth my time. Things that I would have been thrilled to land 3 years ago :smiley:. So, in that sense, I think newbies do benefit from the P2P sites. Of course, you could always land some of the bigger stuff as well, who knows?

[JoeActor]

I've just signed up for free acounts on both voices123 and voices.com. I haven't even really filled out a profile yet, but yesterday I got something like 15 emails from voices123 for things I should be audtitioning for. Is this normal? How many of you actually attempt auditions for all of these recommendations?

I'd love to try auditioning for a few of these things, at least for the experience, but it looks like you have to pay to actually be able to do this. Is the general feeling that it's not really worth it, especially for someone like myself with no experience? If you guys aren't landing gigs I seriously doubt I would get a return on the investment right now.

Word to the wise: beware the beast known as "SmartCast"!
On V123, as a free member you get to see all the audition notices.
Once you pay, however, the rules change.
SmartCast doles out auditions to those who it deems worthy.
It's an automated system designed to limit the number of auditions a given job gets before it closes.
This also means that even when you get a notice, if you wait too long it may be closed due to reaching its limit.
Oh, and if you audition too much, it gives you fewer auditions.
Make sense to you? Yeah. Me either.

Voices.com is a more straight forward system, IMHO.
You see an audition that matches your profile, and you can submit for it.
Right up to the deadline. Of course it's best to get in line early, but that's true for all on-line services.

Read more about the two services in our reviews area ;-)

The more you know,
Joe J Thomas
www.JoeActor.com (http://www.JoeActor.com)
www.SoundsGoodToYou.com (http://www.SoundsGoodToYou.com)

[Matthew Compton]

Thanks for pointing out the review sections...I guess I missed them the first time since they're so far down.

So it looks like voice123 is definitely a no-go for me, but I'm pretty interested in voices.com. I think I may pay for one month to see how it goes. I have a question though...on the breakdown of features between the Preferred and Premium accounts it shows that premium members can be hired directly by clients while preferred cannot. What exactly does this mean? Does the client have to find some other means of contacting you? I'd like to try Preferred first if not for this one thing.

[SeptemberDay]

I'll also toss out there that I feel that Voices is more skewed to middle ages voices while V123 sees a LOT more young adult/ older teen jobs. Once my voice gets more securely into the middle age range, I'll be renewing my Voices.com membership!

[Matthew Compton]

Off topic, but major props for your signature quote Ember. I assume you're a DMB fan?

[Paul Plack]

I've just signed up for free acounts on both voices123 and voices.com...How many of you actually attempt auditions for all of these recommendations?

I'd love to try auditioning for a few of these things, at least for the experience, but it looks like you have to pay to actually be able to do this...

Matt,

I'm not on V123, so I'll let others address that. The free "guest" account on voices.com will get you e-mail notifications, but no way to answer postings with auditions until you pay. I spent a month just looking at the e-mails to get a feel for what kinds of work comes along, then upgraded when I wanted to actually start auditioning.

I'm not sure what "hired directly by client" means in the voices.com system. I have only the Preferred membership, but my profile has a button at the bottom of the page labeled "Request a Quote," and one client did use it to invite me to audition.

Ideally, you'll eventually want your own, independent website, way to get paid, etc., so you can maintain direct relationships with established clients.