How much does a voice actor earn?
Working as a voice actor, a freelance speaker, or using one’s voice for roles such as a narrator, the latter of which is becoming a truly rare commodity even after all these years, it must be said that things have changed, but unfortunately not for the better in the artistic category. Roughly speaking, the rates have remained unchanged.
The life of a voice actor, using a broad term, is becoming increasingly challenging in these years: ruthless downward competition, the significant confusion that has arisen with the advent of the Internet, which appears more powerful as a dissemination channel compared to traditional TV, but still isn’t considered as powerful a channel as it is in reality. Consequently, the once valuable rights or usage fees that used to constitute a professional’s income in this sector are now increasingly dwindling, if not even completely eliminated.
Another aspect that has put this sector in crisis is what I define as “approximation,” meaning that professionalism is giving way to superficiality. We see this superficiality in the numerous advertisements aired even on national television channels, where there is a noticeable lack of professional training, such as pronunciation and interpretation.
These are tough times even for those who are already established and find themselves forced to contend with rates that are continuously plummeting.
This decline is further fueled by improvisation on one side and the superficiality of those commissioning the work on the other.
Behind every professional voice, there are years of study, not only in pronunciation but also in interpretation and voice control. These topics will be addressed in upcoming articles if the opportunity arises.
In conclusion, a voice actor doesn’t earn millions because they work on a piece-rate basis – the more jobs, the more earnings – and they find themselves struggling against superficiality.
We are artisans, and like all other categories, we fight to maintain a high level of quality and professionalism.
Today, one can become a speaker or a voice actor and achieve a truly high professional level without leaving home, by following various specialized courses that many agencies, including speakeraggio.com, offer to aspiring voice artisans.
