David Toback

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Welcome 2021 – Let’s Move Forward With Love & Gratitude

Uncategorized

Welcome 2021!! Let’s Move Forward With Love & Gratitude

Friends,

As 2020 comes to a close we look back on the year that was, and while 2020 has been the worst year in generations we can, and need to, look back on all the good that came from it.

COVID has allowed the world to understand that we’re all flawed. We deal with so many of the same mental struggles that we keep locked up to “keep it together”.

I use this analogy:
The front of our mental houses were always perfectly manicured and looking great. Then COVID came and opened the curtains and everyone could see that everyone else’s houses are messy too!

COVID FORCED us to stop and take inventory of our lives, society, and what really matters in life. We started to prioritize self-care and self-love, gratitude, being present, realizing productivity doesn’t equal success or define your value as a human, and so many people took the reins and started something new or scary or daring. Adventures were taken, journeys were lived, memories were made.

Although 2020 has been horrible, the days we live are determined by our intention and what we make of them. The only day that truly exists is today, right now. If we live in the present moment, we can escape the fear and anxiety that comes with massive change.

So as 2021 greets us, take a look back at what you’re grateful for. What did you do that you’re proud of? What changes did you make to improve your life, business, career, relationships? Recognize your wins, no matter how small, and learn from your failures. And most importantly, close your eyes, take a deep breath and say, “I love myself, I am enough, I am whole, I am amazing, I am worthy, I am becoming the best version of myself for me and my loved ones”.

Take gratitude, confidence, empowerment, and determination into the New Year and know that it will be what you make of it. Let’s make 2021 the best year yet!!

Cheers to a New Year with new beginnings, health, happiness, gratitude and love.

Happy New Year!!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Death of Non-Union Commercial VO? Rates, Respect, & Knowing Your Worth

Industry Topics

Warning! This will be a VO rates rant, something I don’t do much of but, as one the Voiceover industry’s foremost rates experts, I feel compelled to do so.

More and more, we’ve seen Commercial VO rates plummet. The thought is that they’ve hit the bottom of the well, but just when we think that worse rates come.

We continually see the neglect and abuse of talent and their value from the very people who are supposed to be in our corner and fighting for us – agents and casting directors.

Let’s be clear, this doesn’t apply universally, but in the past couple of years, we all check castings to see how bad the rate is going to be. It’s disheartening, especially when it feels like certain casting companies have doubled down in this regard.

Frankly, I’m sick and tired of seeing insulting rates being offered so multi-billion-dollar corporations can use our talent to make millions of dollars.

I know, “then just don’t audition”. Well, that’s not the answer nor should it be suggested. The fact that the answer to trying to combat abusive rates and hold people’s feet to the fire is to ignore the issue and pretend it doesn’t exist, is aggravating. We saw how that worked this year…

This is why non-union Commercial VO is dying and why I don’t audition as much anymore. Is it really worth the time and effort just to support atrocious rates (more and more of in-perpituity), giving clients permission to continue the abuse? Talent have NO voice in this fight, and we rely on our agents and casting directors to hold up fair rates for our industry, and they’re failing us. Sending out jobs that come with abusive rates just supports those rates from continuing.

I understand these parties have difficult jobs and are in difficult positions balancing talent and clients, but at what long-term cost? As business owners, voice talent are taught to stand up for their value, learn to say no, and respect the craft. So why are we the only one’s doing so?

“Why don’t you just join the Union?”. If that were a realistic option for the overwhelming majority of voice actors, who are non-union, then sure. But it’s not. At least 80% of VO work is non-union and for many, joining the union doesn’t make sense for their business. And what if we all did? There wouldn’t be enough work to support us.

So, what’s the solution? Stand up, say no, tell your agents, tell casting directors, you refuse to audition for jobs that have predatory rates. If enough people stand up to this, changes will have to be made. We are THE BEST IN THE WORLD, and we should be paid fairly. Don’t be desperate to work, the work will come. Value your talent and worth more than the opportunity to work. Market your business, find your way into non-broadcast work where the money is good, and you can control your destiny. If the reasoning is “it’s an effect of supply and demand”, demand they find their supply somewhere else.

I know I may get some flak for writing this, but I don’t really care at this point. I want to work with people in this industry that stand with talent and support our right to fair rates. This may be an oversimplification, but from the talent perspective, this is what we see. I’ve offered to host a panel at VO ATL bringing in all parties; agents, casting directors, buyers, etc so talent can understand the factors that are going into budgets and why they keep going down but was rejected, twice.

I use this analogy all the time: If Coca-Cola didn’t know their cost for aluminum, they would be in trouble. We deserve to understand the reasons why our livelihood gets determined by people trying to make more profit and reduce costs to get bonuses.

This isn’t just about money. This is about respect, talent value, and the future of Commercial VO for voice talent.

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk

Filed Under: Industry Topics

Voiceover Rates

Industry Topics

Rates in the voiceover industry are somewhat of an enigma. In days of past, Union work was the only work, agents held the keys, drove the bus, and took care of everything. Talent went to their agent to audition, got direction, then went home, wiping their hands from the “business” aspect of their job.

Enter the internet…

Once the internet grabbed a hold of the industry, it changed dramatically. Now talent could audition and complete jobs from home, anywhere in the world, not needing to rely on agents and studios. No longer was work confined to the traditional methods and Non-Union work began to explode.

The internet also allowed an explosion of talent into the industry. Advancing technology meant that good, even professional, quality audio was available to even beginner talent and at a fraction of the cost in previous years.

To accommodate the increase in Non-Union work and connect buyers with this growing supply of voice talent, online casting sites were born. At first it seemed like these sites were great, they provided a source of auditions outside of agents and your own marketing efforts. But as we would come to learn, a downfall of this new business format would be the impact on rates.

Rates for voiceover are complex with so many different types of voiceover work, all commanding differing values based on genre, usage, recording time, recording amount, etc.

The traditional values for voiceover, held by agents and more traditional voiceover industry participants, was no longer the rule of the land. Now, a client’s budget dictated the rate, not the value of the service they were getting.

This created a large problem for the industry from the talent perspective. As the barriers to entry as a talent dropped, so did the amount of industry education of business norms and rates. New talent were flying blind and becoming a victim of the gig economy auditioning and accepting jobs for FAR below industry averages. It became the Wild Wild West.

While this rising problem grew, I happened to come across my own rates quandary and the help of my mentor, Cristina Milizia.

What happened next would change the Non-Union voiceover industry and propel my career in new and unbelievable ways…

Stay tuned for The GVAA Rate Guide & Me

Filed Under: Industry Topics

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  • Welcome 2021 – Let’s Move Forward With Love & Gratitude
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