Recently, we shared our plans for 2021, including our upcoming brand refresh as well as our plans to become an audio services marketplace. For a better understanding of why we’ve made these changes, please visit this blog post from David Ciccarelli, our founder and CEO.
We’ve tried our best to anticipate some questions you might have. Here we go!
In this article
- Since adding more services to the site, does this mean that you’re moving away from voice over?
- If I only offer voice over, why am I paying full price for Voices Premium while only taking advantage of one of the four services you offer?
- Will I have to purchase a separate membership for each service I offer?
- Will the platform fee be changing depending on the job the service is posted for?
- Will the price of Voices Premium or Voices Platinum be changing depending on how many Services I offer?
- Do I have to offer these new services?
- Will I be able to upload demos for these new services and skills?
- Previously, voice over jobs were posted by clients who may have held the assumption audio production and editing would be included in the delivery of the final files. With audio production being its own category, does that mean I should stop offering audio production and editing as an included offering in future voice over jobs?
- What if I don’t offer any of these additional services? Will I lose out on future opportunities?
- How will these changes and the changes to profiles impact my eligibility or for private invitations?
- Will talent be able to post jobs in these Services? For example, if a talent completes a voice over job, and the client requests some backing audio, can the talent post a Music job?
- Will Platinum Talent still have access to unlimited jobs that match their profile?
- Will Platinum and Premium Talent still have priority search?
- Will this impact VoiceMatchTM?
Since adding more services to the site, does this mean that you’re moving away from voice over?
Voice over will always be at our core. It’s what we started with, it’s what we know best and it is what the majority of our community provides.
If I only offer voice over, why am I paying full price for Voices Premium while only taking advantage of one of the four services you offer?
We have a simple guiding principle: one Premium membership gives you access to all services. That said, voice over has features such as the Top 100, statistics in addition to a comprehensive collection of resources tailored to helping develop the careers of voice talent. Most importantly, your Premium membership provides you with access to all of the services. You will be able to showcase a portfolio of work in any of the services now and in the future.
Will I have to purchase a separate membership for each service I offer?
No. A Voices Premium or Voices Platinum membership unlocks the ability to add any service and skill to your profile (and eventually, be matched to jobs posted in each service) that you have experience in.
Will the platform fee be changing depending on the job the service is posted for?
No. There are no plans to change the platform fee.
Will the price of Voices Premium or Voices Platinum be changing depending on how many Services I offer?
No. We’re not offering a different price for the Premium or Platinum membership depending on how many services you offer. As mentioned above, one Premium membership gives you access to all services and skills.
Do I have to offer these new services?
No. The decision to add these services and skills to your profile and offer them to clients in the future is entirely up to you. If you feel as though you possess the necessary skills to offer them at a competitive level of quality (with the relevant samples to demonstrate that level of quality), then we’d encourage you to do that so you can be matched to jobs in the future. As always, we trust you to represent your talent and capabilities as best you can.
Will I be able to upload demos for these new services and skills?
Yes. For each skill you add to your profile, you will be asked to upload a portfolio sample. For audio production and music, these can be MP3 files. For translation, these can be PDFs and JPEGs. Just like with voice over, a portfolio sample must be uploaded in order for you to be matched to jobs and appear in search results.
Previously, voice over jobs were posted by clients who may have held the assumption audio production and editing would be included in the delivery of the final files. With audio production being its own category, does that mean I should stop offering audio production and editing as an included offering in future voice over jobs?
Because most clients will continue to hold that assumption (as it’s been the case for years), we would encourage talent to continue to provide clients with finished audio files that are at the level of quality (in terms of performance and production) that they have come to expect from talent on Voices. However, if a client posts a job that requires audio production and editing work that goes above and beyond what would reasonably be expected, you should adjust your quote or ask for an additional payment when approached.
What if I don’t offer any of these additional services? Will I lose out on future opportunities?
Once clients can post jobs for these new services in the back half of this year, they will only be able to post for one specific service at a time. In other words, clients will not be able to post one job requesting both translation and voice over. Instead, they would need to post two different jobs, one for each of the services being requested. What that means for talent, is that VoiceMatch will only consider the specifics of the job posting against the single service as it is listed on the talent’s profile. That means that if a client posts a voice over job, VoiceMatchTM will not consider whether or not a talent also has additional services beyond voice over.
As of today, when talent who are matched to the job respond to it, clients will only see if they offer multiple skills by clicking on the talent name and viewing their full profile (however, this plan and execution could change). Since most clients make hiring decisions based on the quality of the response (i.e. the proposal, the quote and the audition), it’s unlikely (although not impossible) that a client would be aware that some talent offered additional skills and others didn’t when making a hiring decision. Now, that’s not to say it won’t happen, however, it’s likely that clients are more inclined to make a hiring decision on the attractiveness of the response than they are based on whether or not the talent offers additional services and skills. Where that might not be the case is in the event that a client decides to privately invite talent they’ve pre-vetted (via the talent profile) to a job that may require services and skills beyond the service they choose to post for.
Until clients can post jobs for the new services specifically, your eligibility for voice over exclusive jobs will not change. However, if a client posts a voice over job and requests that additional services are included (and the budget reflects that additional request), and you are unable to offer those services, your competitiveness for the job may be impacted. However, this was already the case prior to these changes, so you shouldn’t notice an immediate impact. Moving forward, if you’re not capable of offering these new services and skills, then you would not be considered competitive for job opportunities posted for those new services.
How will these changes and the changes to profiles impact my eligibility or for private invitations?
In the event that a client decides to privately invite talent they’ve pre-vetted (via the talent profile) to a job that may require services and skills beyond the service they choose to post for, if you do not offer the services and skills they are looking for, you may not be invited to respond.
Will talent be able to post jobs in these Services? For example, if a talent completes a voice over job, and the client requests some backing audio, can the talent post a Music job?
If the client chooses to not post a Music job themself, then a talent would need to create a client account and post the Music job themself. At the time of launch, talent will not be able to have a talent account and a client account using the same login information i.e. one login, two accounts.
Will Platinum Talent still have access to unlimited jobs that match their profile?
Yes, the changes to Talent Profiles will not impact unlimited job accessibility or any of the existing features and benefits currently available and offered to existing Voices Platinum talent.
Will Platinum and Premium Talent still have priority search?
Yes, the changes to Talent Profiles will not impact priority search or any of the existing features and benefits currently available and offered to existing Voices Premium and Voices Platinum talent.
Will this impact VoiceMatchTM?
For time being, adding these new Services and Skills will not impact your VoiceMatchTM score. Only changes to your Voice Over Service will. When we enable clients to post jobs for these new Services in the new year, we will update VoiceMatchTM at the same time to ensure you are still being matched to the right jobs based on your unique set of Services and Skills.
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