Voiceover Industry

Many of you know that A.J. McKay is the Lead Audio Engineer for JMC Demos. He’s become a bit of a rockstar over the years, and deservedly so, but what many don’t realize is that A.J. leads a team of five world-class audio engineers who handle various aspects of production for JMC Demos. Today, I’d like to introduce you to John Krauss, who has been lending his engineering brilliance to JMC Demos clients for over two years.

John Krauss began sewing the seeds of his passion for audio production as a young musician in elementary school while studying the clarinet.  As a lover of music, he eventually began learning guitar and started recording/performing on a regular basis.  Through his experience as a musician in recording studios, he fell in love with records and recorded sound in general.  Thus, he wanted to learn about the process on the “other side of the glass.”  He taught himself audio engineering/record production from books, mentors, and countless hours intently listening to records.

In 2002 he began working at the famed Cue Recording Studios in the Washington, D.C. area.  While there, he quickly graduated from staff engineer to staff producer/composer, both writing and producing music for many clients.  In addition to many music projects, he also became the “go-to” guy for audiobook production.  With audiobook credits including Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s God Has A Dream, John Block’s weekly radio program Block Reports, and commercials by the late actor/congressman Fred Thompson, John has had to wear many different hats, often during the same day.  Versatility has been his strength.

In 2018, John received two nominations in the annual Voice Arts Awards, credited as Audio Engineer in the Outstanding Commercial Demo Reel category, and this year John has secured three nominations for his work on Commercial & TV Narration/Documentary demos for JMC Demos clients.

It’s been a privilege having John on the team, and I’m looking forward to even bigger and better things for him. Like A.J. McKay, John Krauss is an example of the commitment to quality the JMC Demos brand embodies, and we are thrilled he’s helped sustain and build that reputation.

Thanks, John!

Continuing my profile of some of the industry’s hardest-working talent, today I sit down for a chat with Susan Glow, mom and manager to the amazing Cassie and Sabrina, both multiple Voice Arts Awards nominees in 2019.

How did Cassie and Sabrina get interested in voice acting?

From the time the girls were very young, they were reading, acting out stories, putting on puppet shows, singing, and avidly watching animated movies. By chance when the girls were ages 4 and 6, our family was cast in a Disney commercial for the newly opened “Fantasyland” at the Magic Kingdom. We did a small amount of on-camera work thereafter and the girls took some local acting and improv classes for fun. But once they made the connection that an actor was bringing the characters they were watching in cartoons to life, and there was someone voicing the fun commercials they saw on TV, they wanted to give it a try!

Did you have any background in the industry that helped you become a VO mom?

I knew absolutely nothing about the voiceover industry before becoming a “VO Mom.” My undergraduate degree is in Accounting and my MBA degree is in Marketing. The girls wanted to do voiceover, so I became a VO Mom out of necessity to support their goals. As the girls’ career continued, my background did help me manage the behind-the-scenes logistics and growth of their business.

Describe the process you went through when launching their VO business. Has it been more difficult than you anticipated? Less?

Glow Girls Kid Voiceover was launched from the ground up. We live in Central Florida, which is not a major hub for voiceover work. The talent agencies in the Tampa/Orlando area focus primarily on the Print/Commercial markets and we didn’t know of any resources to help get us started. I did research, studied a lot, and joined discussion groups. I hired coaches to learn about various voiceover genres and the girls took private voiceover classes. I networked and made connections in the industry. We started out with various online casting sites, then moved to regional voiceover-specific talent agents, then eventually earned representation in the LA and NY markets.
Getting started in the voiceover business was more difficult than anticipated. I made a lot of mistakes. Fortunately I made a lot of good decisions too, and connected with a lot of great people. I actually created an online course for parents of aspiring voice talent called “Raising A Voice Actor” to help others navigate the process as they aim to get started in the child voiceover business as well.

What has been their most interesting/exciting role/s so far

The Girls have had the opportunity to work with so many incredible clients!

Cassie’s favorite role of all time was singing “The Socks Song” as “Henriyeti” for Sesame. Henriyeti was such a lovable unabashed character, and the song had such an important message about loving people’s differences told through a metaphor of mismatched socks. Cassie’s most mind-blowing role was her guest role on Disney Channel’s, “Tangled the Series.” On top being her favorite TV show, and on top of being on Disney, her character’s name was “Cassandra” and was referred to by Cassie’s same nickname, “Cass!”

Sabrina’s favorite role was voicing the sassy badger “Beatrice” for Nick Jr’s show “Becca’s Bunch.” Beatrice was sassy, obnoxious, conceited, scheming, and selfish – the opposite of Sabrina in real life and an absolute field day to portray in the booth. Another one of Sabrina’s favorite roles is being the lead voice of “Mila” for the popular YouTube preschool show “Morphle TV” which has now topped over 6.3 million subscribers. It’s so crazy to think that many kids all over the world are listening to her voice!

What type of work do the girls find themselves doing most frequently?

The Glow Girls’ top three voiceover genres include Animation, Singing, and Toy Commercials.

Where do you see their careers going from here?

I’m confident that there won’t be any point in their lives when Cassie and Sabrina won’t be doing voiceover in some capacity. They both love Animation and both aspire to do more Promo work too. Currently, in addition to their ongoing voiceover clients, Cassie and Sabrina are in the process of creating their own animated musical epic story. They are writing an original story, sketching characters, and composing and writing their own original music! The voiceover world has brought some really incredibly creative and generous clients into our lives who encourage and continually inspire the girls. Watching the girls’ creativity and storytelling evolve from their training and experience in the voiceover world has been surprising and wonderful.

For parents with young talent, leave them with one key piece of advice

Shock. Excitement. Stunned silence (which, for the Glow Girls is a rare occurrence) followed by lots of elated screaming! First we learned of Sabrina’s Commercial Demo nomination (screams!) then Cassie’s Toy nomination along with Everett Sundholm (more screams!) and then the girls’ shared nomination for Body of Work (huge screams!) The girls’ voiceover career has truly been a family affair over the years, so it was so special that the whole family was all together when we found out the incredible news. David and I are extremely proud!

For parents with young talent, leave them with one key piece of advice

My best advice for parents with young talent: Make sure your child LOVES voiceover! The voiceover business is fun and exciting. But it is also highly competitive and not something that offers quick rewards or achievement with only a fleeting effort. You hear “no” a lot more than you hear “yes” – that’s just part of the business. So it is important that your child truly loves doing voiceover as a creative pursuit itself, whether he/she books or not. Success in the voiceover world requires time, patience, financial investment, coaching, talent, and practice. Your child has to love it!

After a long hiatus, it’s time to bring back my Talent Profiles series, where I feature some of the everyday heroes of voiceover. Today, I talk with Washington, DC-area talent Brad Hyland about his ascension as a professional voice actor.

What Was Your Background Before Voice Acting?

I spent 34 years in the landscape business management business, which included 34 years of wishing I was a voice actor!  It’s amazing how long I waited until I pulled the trigger to become a full-time VO… but I believe things happen for a reason.

I had all the typical responsibilities after getting married which included a mortgage, children, orthodontia, school and college, etc, etc… All the typical things that keep people plugging away at their job… sometimes for a lifetime it seems.

My first training in Voice Over was nearly 30 years ago… but I try not to think negatively of the lost time in not chasing my dream earlier. My first career was a great provider and set the stage for my launch into being a full-time voice actor. I tell lots of newcomers to the business… “Find a way to fall in love with your job again, while you commit every waking hour to develop your new passion…Then when you are trained, ready and able, dive into the Voice Over world.

What got you interested in voice acting?

35 years ago I had a very good friend that told me I should be in Voice Over. At that time I didn’t even know what Voice Over was.

Also …that was way before laptops, the Internet, and home studios.

I was one of those funny guys in high school and college, always doing impersonations and joking around and using my voice in lots of different ways. I also did stand up comedy in college.

After two or three people suggested I look into it… I did just that and started my training.

Describe the process you went through when launching your VO business. Has it been more complicated than you anticipated? Less?

I trained vigorously for over a year with a very good coach and demo producer here in Maryland.

He is still thriving in his business but is now located in Florida. He’s 82 years old and we still stay in touch… and he follows my success closely.

Getting started properly wasn’t easy for me, even though I had all the training and thought I understood everything that was ahead of me. I had the pipes and basic skill set ….and the initial training, but not the appreciation of the overall business development that’s so important, and also didn’t really understand the technology required to be successful in a home studio environment.

There were many hours of paid coaching and training, as well as days and days of watching YouTube videos on how to do just about everything in the business. From learning how to create a quality home studio environment… to editing projects, I probably trained myself more in that first year than any year of my life.

I look back on my first six months and laugh about the things that had me so frustrated I could just about cry!

….also, the training and mentorship that you showed me, J Michael, has been the very best catalyst for my newfound success. Thanks very much for that!

What has been your most interesting/exciting role so far?

I have some amazing customers all around the globe now, with a very wide variety of work so far. I really enjoy commercial projects, both television and radio. I truly love becoming “the voice“ of a company.

My most interesting role so far is being the voice of Santa Claus for the great Christmas brand, Elf On The Shelf. My customer team is fabulous, and when they bring me to Atlanta to record in their studios … it turns into my best day of work ever… every time.

The new animated special “Fox Cubs” will be on TV all throughout the holidays, starting right after Thanksgiving.

What type of work do you find yourself doing most frequently?

Lately, I seem to be booking lots of the “big voice” type work… which I really love to do.

I also book lots of “softer“ versions of that big voice for narration, web usage, instructional video, and e-learning.

Where do you see your career going from here?

It seems that I still learn something new every day, and I’m sure that will continue as long as I stay in the business. I’m very excited to be at my age with a brand new career in front of me that is exciting and rewarding every single day.

I have no plans of retiring, and just want to continue to grow my business every single day.

Also, I don’t mind telling you that I plan to be the voice of some big national brands someday soon. Chevy…. here I come!

For those just starting out, leave them with one key piece of advice

That’s a tough question… Only one key piece of advice?  I need to answer in more than one way.

1. Don’t skimp on training when you begin. The worst thing you can do for your career is to move too quickly into a demo and then not be able to produce that quality read on your own in your own studio.
2. You have to be incredibly dedicated and work very hard. It will not just happen on its own, even if you have great talent and great demos… It takes many months and years to develop a voiceover business that will thrive.
3. Learn to accept rejection, and continuously evaluate your product to find ways to improve. If you don’t book a spot…get over it immediately and get on to the next opportunity. There are new ones every day.
4. Get very comfortable with marketing yourself. Find a great coach and learn how to be a business person right from the get-go
5. And finally, audition, audition, audition…. throw as many broadcast quality, perfectly performed, and produced auditions out there as you can every day…that’s what it takes to gain traction towards building a solid customer base.

Want to contact Brad Hyland for your next project, or for some friendly advice? Visit www.americanvoicepower.com

Is your voiceover business doing well at the moment? Good for you! It’s tempting to celebrate that success with big purchases, artery-clogging amounts of lobster, and maybe doubling down on your marketing expenditures. You might even feel so flush that you’re more likely to cut a client a deal than you might have been when money was tight.

Fight those instincts!

Large companies understand that business cycles never last forever. Have you ever wondered why, during times of plenty, companies seem to get stingy? Airlines devalue their frequent flier miles and benefits, credit cards offer tougher terms and fewer rewards, and hotels stop passing out free upgrades and complimentary fruit baskets. It’s because economic theory suggests that in good times customer acquisition is easier. Moreover, when the economy is doing well, buyers will pay more to receive less, because the psychology of plenty makes them less concerned with price.

Responsible Voiceover Business Strategies

If you are having a great year, or great five years, don’t assume your business is immune to shifts in the greater economy. Recessions happen. Even Great Recessions happen….and in a world more volatile than ever before, the next downturn could start tomorrow. If your business is booming, now is the time to cut costs, and charge as much as you can for every project. Reduce extraneous marketing spending, even, (can you believe I’m about to say this?) watch your coaching & demo budget a bit more closely. Save and invest your money, don’t spend it. Be responsible.

When the economy turns, you’ll need those funds to pour into marketing and other business-building expenses. You’ll be competing against hungrier talent and you will be forced to accept rates that are less than ideal in some cases. Are you prepared for lean days, and ready to spend to sustain your business when they come?

Small-business people are great at hustling to build their enterprises, but we don’t always think like CEOs. Put your executive hat on, and think about planning for a rainy day if you want to stay dry when the storm comes.

It’s a privilege to have the chance to attend numerous industry conferences throughout the year as a speaker and sponsor. From VO Atlanta to That’s Voiceover to WoVO Con, Voxy Ladies,  V.O. North, One Voice, and others, it is great to support the coming together of our industry. This week I’ll be embarking on a trip to speak at the latest addition to the conference lineup, VOcation in New York, founded by Carin Gilfry and Jamie Muffet.

I get excited about going to all of these conferences, but VOcation has me especially pumped this year. Why, you ask? Well, VOcation is the industry’s first conference focusing strictly on the business of the business. We all know performance matters, but we also know that quality performance is a prerequisite for success. What many don’t realize is that in 2019 and beyond, learning the business of the business is equally critical.

The days when you could count on others to build your career for you are over. In the modern voiceover economy, it’s up to you to make your own success. Carin & Jamie had the vision to understand that our industry was crying out for an event focused on training talent to think like business-people as much as creatives, and I’m thrilled they created one.

It is my honor to have been chosen as this conference’s first keynote speaker, and I’m looking forward to setting the tone for a weekend that will help over a hundred talent take their next steps on the path to success.

I hope to see you there!

The voice actor surveyed the wasteland before her. It had been some years since the robot voices had taken over. They arrived slowly…..seemingly harmless in their cylinders and cubes with cute names like Alexa, Cortana, and Siri. They may have been people once, even then, but in their disembodied form they became our friends, our companions, and for a time, our servants.

Only a few saw the revolution on the horizon. Lone voices in the wilderness warning of the devastation to come.

As she stepped over the debris-strewn terrain, our voice actor contemplated what had been lost. Southeast Asia succumbed first, surrendering hundreds of two-cent-per-word eLearning factories with hardly a fight. As the robots swept the Earth, ragged groups of survivors formed to attempt resistance. The Battle of Fiverr was legendary, with thousands upon thousands of gig economy VOs bravely making a last stand against the machines. The names of the martyrs are remembered to this day in the empty and dust-covered halls of get-rich-quick-in-VO social media groups where the high priests of thirty dollars a holler once sermonized their flocks.

Suddenly, she felt a crunch beneath her feet. It was what was left of a big red neon sign…..the wreckage of one of the great demo mills of yore. Beneath it, writhing in silent agony, was a once-mighty multi-level-marketing voiceover coach. The robots had taken his voice, just like all the rest.

She took one long final glance at the apocalyptic landscape, and then walked back inside her picturesque two-story lake house, admiring the lovely work the gardeners did this morning. She checked on her kids playing happily in their spacious bedrooms, her husband, whom she was proud to have helped retire at forty-five making breakfast in their Italian-marble-covered kitchen, and then strolled into her studio.

“Alexa,” she said, “How many jobs do I have this morning?” “You have eight new jobs this morning,” Alexa cheerfully replied. “I’ve added your highest-paying clients to the top of your queue. Those scripts are up first.”

She felt a pang of sorrow for collaborating with the robots. After all, they had killed off the entire low-budget voiceover industry, removing tens of thousands of aspiring talent from the game. With them, all those demo mills and snake oil salesmen lost everything as well, because all that were left were pros who could see right through their shiny sales pitches. Robots were the low end of the industry now.

The fleeting sadness came and went, however, as she turned her attention to the premium clients who needed her human voice that day. She recalled one of them joking, just after the invasion had begun and she had nervously asked if she would be fired. “Why would we replace you with AI?” the client asked. “We have standards. You do amazing work, and the best a robot can ever hope to be is almost as good as the real thing.”