Trends Archives - Rebecca Haugh

The State of Voiceover Fortunes in Pajamas: 2021

So many people were jealous of remote workers – working from home – in PJs no less!! That’s the silly concept anyway. Maybe that’s true for some people. For me, I do like to get dressed for my day. Comfy clothes – that’s a story for another blog!

Pajamas aside… Can you make a fortune as a voice actor?

Back in 2017, there was public information about the global voiceover market, touting it to be $4.4 billion USD with $800 million of that in North America. This was based on 2015 data and includes the full scope of money put into voiceover spending, not all of which lands in the voice actor’s bank due to production companies, managers, talent agents, etc.

What’s some real workforce data about being a voice actor?

Voice actors independently choose their path and, even if we know our own statistics, how do we compare to a larger swath of voice actors? We already know that the big money is in animated TV and film and that some of us may get there. We also know that corporate videos, advertising, audiobooks and eLearning are where most of the work is, overall.

Voice actors do chatter about not having data, in social media groups and amongst ourselves at conferences. But it’s all anecdotal. And as we turn the corner into the 2020s, technology is growing up and disrupting some of the human work of voiceover. So probably there have been lots of changes since 2015 data. Personally I can buy current voiceover market data as it was presented in 2017, but I would have to pay at least $3000 for research data access. Not gonna happen.

A group of voice actors conducted a survey to get real, present-day overall statistics of the voiceover acting workforce.

It’s a beginning, and it’s exciting. The data was gathered Jan-Feb 2021 regarding activity in 2020. Mid-2021, their first free, public report about “the state of voiceover” was released. I want to give a roaring shout-out to the folks at Voice Actors of NYC and their associates who showed excellent initiative and created this framework as an extraordinary view into our individually stitched-together world.

Being the first assessment of its nature that I’m aware of, I think they started with the correct fundamental approach and topics about the voice actor profession. Additionally, the data collected seems good. Here’s what they said about the data collection process: “The most encouraging trend we saw in the data collection process was that the results stayed roughly the same after we reached 250 responses. From the 250th response to the 1244th response, the data was nearly unchanged. This tells us we have a fairly representative sample of voice actors.”

I’ve highlighted these key results here: Annual Income, Expertise Level, Genre of work, Union impact, Covid19 impact, Locations, Auditions, Talent Agent impact.

Gross Income of All in 2020

The majority of respondents, 48%, earn $8K or less, with less than 2% earning over $350K. (K=thousand)

37% earn between $8-40K
10.3% earn between $40-75K
9% earn between $75-150K
5.6% earn over $150K with 1.9% earning over $350K

graph of overall income in voiceover — Overall Income, courtesy Voiceover Survey

Gross 2020 Income by Experience Level

You have to be a professional level to earn at least living wage, overall.

$8K or less per year: 94% Beginner, 72% Intermediate, 20% Pro
$75K+ per year: 0 Beginners, 0.8% Intermediate, 27.4% Pro

Experience Level & Union Status

The majority of respondents are non-union.

52% Pro. Of these, 49% non-union
32% Intermediate. Of these, 81% non-union
16% Beginner. Of these, 89% non-union

Type of genres voiced most often

Commercials
Narration
E-Learning
Explainers

Union Work

75% full union earned $75K or less
15% tried to convert work to union, more than half of these found it challenging and confusing

Covid19 Impact

41% of voice actors had increased income in 2020 vs 2019, regardless of Union status. By experience level, Intermediate and Pro also saw the majority of income growth.
74% already had a home studio.

Voice actor locations

Los Angeles area (17%)
New York City area (30%)
53% live outside either area

How many auditions typically submitted per day?

70% do zero to four auditions
Only 3% do 15+

Note: By experience level, Pros generally do more auditions on a daily basis.

Overall daily:

Percent Income from Talent Agents

41% respondents receive 0% income from Agents
18% receive 1-10%
7% receive 100%

Note: 64% have Talent Agency representation; of these, 56% have more than one agent. A majority of Pros have agents, whereas only a quarter of Beginners have agents.

So, can you make a fortune in your pajamas by being a voice actor?

Pajamas? Easy. Fortune? Define that. Can you earn “a very large sum of money”? Can you be rich? According to this survey, less than 2% earned $350K+ in 2020. The majority earned $8-40K. The median household income in the USA for 2020 was $67.5K (statista).

Of course, you can make a fortune – somebody is! But can you make a fortune too? The odds are: no!

According to TheRichest and CelebrityNetWorth websites, the top 10 voice actors, who are uber-talented Hollywood level actors from top TV animated shows, have a net worth between $6 million going up to $500 million. Only if you’re in the top percent, maybe top 0.001%, can you earn a ‘fortune’.

A better question: Can you earn a decent living as a voice actor?

Yes. And, not so many people are even doing this. The majority of respondents in this 2020 data earned from $8K-40K, which is less than the median household income for the USA in 2020.

What is a decent living? That depends where you live, if you are also sharing a life with others, have dependents…. Again, define that and then look at the data. Yes, working from home is lovely and has it’s perks and drawbacks.

I think the most important thing is to look at the priorities of life, and how you want to live it. Can you run your own business by putting in the time and energy to develop your skills while you do what you can to build a clientele?

Feel free to contact me with specific questions or thoughts. I look forward to it.

You can find all the data from the survey here: https://www.voiceoversurvey.com/. Many thanks for the graphical images courtesy of this survey.

Voiceover is part of many creative elements within a project serving a business need. It could be for internal onboarding or training of employees. It can be direct consumer advertising campaigns or part of a marketing mix. It’s sometimes embedded within products for sale, from audiobooks and podcasts to film. And that spans from Alexa to Disney, from Yahoo to the old ‘Got Milk’ campaign. Even with simple or sophisticated phone systems, the voice is still a part of the experience within the brand.

As content marketing expands in all markets, in multiple channels, the opportunities for branding also multiply. Will the opportunities for voiceover bloom, as well?

There are exciting new trends in how audio is created or used in marketing and to enhance the client experience. It’s a new way of considering business, impacting audio and, yes, even voiceover.

Have you heard about sonic branding?

A strong trend to consider – sonic branding is a unique sound of your brand or company or even a specific product. We’re not talking about the ‘jingle’, although I’d say that fits under this umbrella. From what I understand, sonic branding considers not only the elements like music, effects, voice and theme but additionally who is the audience, what pleases them and draws them in.

You create a unique sound that is always included in a specific experience. I suppose it’s similar to using a company logo for any media. Insert the sonic brand wherever the audio fits, just like you would your logo. I’m hearing of multiple audio-only agencies sprouting up to assist companies with creating and managing their sonic brand. One, in particular, MassiveBass, created a new data-driven sonic branding tool using brand archetypes and values matched to music, to create unique sonic branding strategies. And recently one well-known brand, MasterCard, launched its own sound for all ads and purchase moments.

As the big companies embrace sonic branding, will your team as well?

Other exciting new audio trends…

There’s a whole new platform in audio-only called Clubhouse. An exclusive audio-only invite-only social app, gaining huge traction since launch March 2020. It features spontaneous and scheduled voice-only conversations centered around specific topics. Companies are sponsoring events here, so I’m told. As membership grows, and you get invited, invite me! Although I’m hesitant to add more social media, I’m very curious and would love to ‘get a hear’!

Podcasts are not so new, however, are rising in popularity for businesses. Podcasts with branded original content targeting B2B, B2C and internal audiences are growing. It seems to have taken a while for businesses to figure out how to embrace them beneficially. I’m noticing how podcasts are targeted to support onboarding, employee development, product usage and probably more. Some companies have invited me to voice specific product line trainings distributed via podcast, using other voices for different product lines. Another client is using my voice with internal business podcast intro/outros, matched with script and music to uniquely identify the specific sales topic. This company uses star performers’ voices, as well.

These are the biggest trends I see that also seem to have longevity built-in. Although I’m less sure about Clubhouse, unsure about the ‘trendy’ part of sonic branding, and quite sure about podcasts. Let’s check in after another year!

REBECCA HAUGH Female Voice Actor

Make a Fortune in your Pajamas?