ABSTRACT
Setting Your Talent Fee The first, and most important thing you need to know about setting and negotiating your fee is that you have value. You can do something your client cannot. You have something to offer that is of value to your client, and your client needs what you have to offer. There is something about you that the producer believes is right for his or her project. It could be the way you interpret the copy; it could be a quality in your voice; it could be anything. You are the chosen one! Congratulations! If your client didn’t want what you have to offer, they would be talking to someone else. You’ve got the job! All that’s necessary now is to work out the details. Because you have value, you should be fairly compensated for your work. At first glance you may think that a client’s proposed budget for voice talent is very reasonable. But be careful not to rush into accepting voiceover work simply based on what the client is offering without first doing a little research. When the script arrives, you may be unpleasantly surprised by the amount of work you really need to do, and as a result, how low your compensation really is. The details of your work need to be clearly defined before you agree to the job. The second thing you need to know about setting or negotiating your talent fee is that your time is valuable. You’ve made a considerable investment of time and energy to get to a place where you are ready to market yourself as a professional voice actor. If you expect to ever see a return on your investment, you need to give serious consideration to how you will set your talent fees and how you will work with clients. You need to think like a business person.
