VOPlanet Blog

There are many questions and misconceptions about how casting on pay-to-play (P2P) sites work. The client side of pay-to-play is a mystery to many voice actors. Before becoming a partner at the all new VOPlanet.com, I cast more than a thousand voice over jobs. Many were posted on pay-to-play sites. That makes me what the industry calls a “client” or “voice buyer.” I have bee­­­n casting on various platforms for fourteen years. I would like to share my knowledge of how things look on the voice buyer’s side of a pay-to-play site and answer some of the most common questions asked by voice actors. Let’s dive in.

When the pandemic hit a lot of people were a bit intimidated by the prospect of working from home and the long days without a break from kids and partners. Who could possibly handle all of this “togetherness?” Enter voice acting power couple Heather Dietz and Josh Mead. Not only are they balancing the work from home/life/kids thing, Heather and Josh are old pros at being together all the time. Both are full time work-from-home professional voice actors, raising two young children while building their voice over careers.

These days, there’s a podcast for everything. Voice over is no exception. Who loves to talk about talking more than voice actors? Plus, we already have all the cool gear to make a podcast! With so many voice actors cranking out podcasts, it's tough to know which ones are worth your time. As always, VOPlanet is here to make things easy. Here are seven voice over podcasts that we highly recommend.

Can voice actors work from home? Absolutely! Voice acting is very much a home-based business these days. Today’s voice actors not only work from home, they build full-blown professional recording studios in their homes. These are beautiful studios that rival the best that LA or NYC has to offer. Like you, we at VOPlanet geek out over gear, especially when it is set up in such amazing spaces. So, we chatted with the expert: George “The Tech” Whittam, who gave us a peek behind the mic of two of his custom built voice over studios.

Becoming a voice actor can be lucrative. Plus, you can work from home and you become a member of the vibrant voice over community. While there are many benefits to voice acting, starting a career in voice overs requires careful consideration. Read on for straightforward, actionable steps for starting a career in voice acting.

The creative industry moves at lightning speed and so should your voice over casting. You no longer have to book a voice over through an agent, schedule an in-person session in an LA studio and then wait days for your voice over to be recorded. Online voice casting has made it possible to quickly and easily tap into a worldwide network of freelance voice actors from the comfort of any device and get professional voice overs in minutes. Let’s take a look at how casting voice overs online can save you time and money and take your creative to the next level.

If you have a project that requires a voice over, it's best to hire a professional voice actor. A professional voice over can help you win and keep accounts, increase the effectiveness of your eLearning courses and give your project a professional edge. Read more to find out why you should you hire a professional voice talent instead trusting your creative to your co-worker Jerry with the "nice voice."

Nathan Lowe: Voice actor. Musician. Studio owner. Beardist. Yes, Nathan Lowe is a man of many talents and interests, and an esteemed member of the VOPlanet VO Team. Nathan took time to chat with us about his voice over journey and gave us insight into his storied career. Sit back, relax and wrap your mind around all things Nathan Lowe.

“I would never join a pay-to-play.” We hear it every day. Some voice actors have a negative opinion about pay-to-play voice over casting sites. While there are a few sites that deserve to be looked down on, the negative view of P2P sites in general, is largely based on misconceptions. And there is a particular set of voice actors who like to position themselves as too cool to join a P2P VO site. Face it, bashing P2P is popular. Everyone loves to jump on Facebook and post the latest P2P outrage. While there are actual issues on some sites, that does not hold true for all pay-to-play sites. And the idea that the only way to properly market your voice over business is by contacting clients directly simply isn’t true.

Are you frustrated that you keep getting auditions from the same voice actors when you cast a voice over? Do you know that you may be paying voice over sites thousands of dollars in unnecessary fees and commissions? Let's talk about why it's hard to find fresh voice talent on the corporate voice casting sites and what kinds of fees and commissions can affect your voice over budget. If you use a voice over casting site to find and hire voice actors, here are a few insights that might surprise you.