Is voice123 a scam, or misleading people?

Heather Cooper · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 472

Hail,

I would seriously urge you to re-read all of the posts made by the talented people on this thread, then read it again.

Did you really sign up and expect to start landing jobs left and right? That is not REALITY in any way, shape or form. I don't know anything about you...but I will tell you this; anyone who is an actor or voice actor knows that it takes perseverance, dedication and a heck of a lot of hard work to make any money in this business. I would have to say most people do it because they love what they do! It is a part of who they are in the depths of their being. They work at their craft, take classes (as Joe mentioned) and constantly work on the ART of voice acting.
Take the time to read the amazing resumes of some of the male competition on this site...years of talent and experience.

Anything worth having does not come easily, it takes hard, hard work.

I for one am grateful for sites like voice123.com. Why? Well, because as a voice actor I now have access to auditions that I would never have known about before. The pool has become much larger! I can audition for things all over the country or world! For someone (that would be me) who never made the move to LA or NY, this site is an amazing opportunity. What you can learn from the people on this forum alone is worth your measly years membership. People who are willing to share there experience and knowledge for free!!!

Maybe you should really think about why you joined voice123. In this business if you don't have a thick skin, you won't last long. Rejection is the word of the day.....until of course you do land the gig (that would be the 20% Amy S. was speaking about). Wink

If I were you, I would think about my motives. You reap what you sow!

I will stop now..

Don't forget, If you stir the pot to much....you will just piss off the cook!

Colin Campbell · Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007, 06:10 (GMT) Post subject:

Scott Pollak · Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007, 12:16 (GMT) Post subject:

What the heck, I'll throw my hat into this ring, too.
Hail, I've critiqued your demos and you and I have chatted briefly via p.m.s. You've got a good start, but you're not up to national quality yet. But with hard work, training, practice, and answering a ton of auditions, you'll pick up some jobs here and there.

I have 30+ years in the business, have been a premium member here for maybe a year, have answered I don't-know-how-many-leads, and have landed perhaps a dozen or so jobs from all over the country. It happens here, but it happens slowly, in small doses and usually to the person best qualified for the job (but not always; sometimes budget is a deciding factor).

Having been an on-camera talent for a few years and represented by a couple of Atlanta agencies, it works exactly the same there, too. You go out on a bazillion auditions, you come home and forget about them, and you hope to get called back for one or two. It's how the system works. You either have the stomach for it or you don't.

Voice123 has its flaws, as does any agency. But that's what it is; an online agency. It IS the wave of the v/o future. Work hard, be excellent at what you do, be persistent, and the jobs will come.

September Day Leach · **Voice Talent** Joined: 31 Aug 2005 Posts: 1526

the budget thing is a huge factor. I know that there are people out there who will submit a $50 when a client specifies the $100-$249 budget in hopes of landing the gig. And good for them, it's a free market. And the client will get what they pay for. As we are all small busines owners in the vo industry, I can understand wanting to save where you can. I mean, I really,really wanted a Neuman mic when I first started but there was no way I could afford it. I had a Sennheiser 835, no whisper room, the sound card my computer came with and ran my mic directly into it. BUT, thanks to Adobe's fantastic noise reduction feature, I still landed jobs. I got better equipment as I could afford it and I bet that what some of the V123 clients do as well.

Jerry Reed · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Mar 2007 Posts: 32

I have read page after page of replies on the original post. I have to admit that I tend to feel the same way on some of the issues. I have been a premium member of about three months. So far, nothing to show for the membership fee, no private leads, and only a handful of TBNT replies after nearly 70 auditions. I certainly understand the odds of landing a job here are very small. And, I understand the difficulty faced by the person or company placing the lead - having to listen to hundreds of replies. Are they doing that or just looking at the price? It is my belief that price shouldn't be discussed until the client decides if your voice is the one for the job. But....there is supposed to be a major upgrade coming. I am trying to wait for that. Although, may patience is wearing thin.
I also have been in the voice over business for over 30 years, with 22 years broadcasting prior to that. I have done work for some major national accounts, corporations and government agencies, all without an agent (which I'd love to have) and 99% from word of mouth promotion. One production company or agency tells another etc. People move from company to company, and often take their lists of favorite talents with them. Granted, I'm not full time at this. I do have a day job. So, I can't set at the computer 24-7 waiting for the leads to be posted.

I thought I'd try V123. Dissappointed? Certainly! Reasons:
1. The majority of the leads scream of CHEAP.
2. I haven't read a posted lead that didn't have at least 50 replies already. So, someone is getting these leads earlier that others.
3. Of 68 auditions, I have received less than ten TBNT (TBYS) messages. This is an area that V123 could do a better job at. I believe they need to work directly with the LEADS encouraging them to do the right thing. By doing so, the LEAD will continue to get quality auditions. Otherwise, one by one, the talent pool will drop for lack of quality leads. I just makes good business sense for V123. They need the talent pool to grow and they need the Leads to keep coming in. If the bottom falls out of either one they're done for.
Jeffrey P. Fisher and Harlan Hogan in their book "The Voice Actor's Guide to Home Recording" from Artist Pro Publishing 2005 described things this way:

Joe J Thomas · **Voice Talent** Joined: 16 Nov 2004 Posts: 1521

Hi Jerry,

With your experience in the industry, this may be a bit of a different animal for you. The numbers and odds are radically different.

70 auditions in 3 months? You've just scratched the surface. 70 auditions is a normal week on V123!

I hope you'll hang in there for a bit longer. If you've got the goods and the drive things will start popping for you.

I definitely can understand the frustration, though.
There are some things that V123 can do better, and I think that's what v2.0 is about.

But they're never going to be able to force seekers to rate us. If they did, I'm sure people would just click on anything to get it off the screen. I'd prefer honest feedback on jobs, and in a less-than-perfect world, that will only ever come from a small percent of clients.

Off to submit another dozen auditions,
Joe J Thomas
www.JoeActor.com

September Day Leach · **Voice Talent** Joined: 31 Aug 2005 Posts: 1526

It's gotta be tough for the men, there are just so many of you. I was asking my last clients how he chose the last few male voices he used. He said, and I swear this is true, "well, once you get right down to it, the best 5 guys in any audition all sound the same anyway so it's mostly a matter of price." Now, I think you all sound differnt, but I suppose it's either 1) listening to tons of auditions all day wears on the ears or 2) sometimes the untrained ear dosn't catch different nuances and the like. As much competition as we women deal with, I couldn't imagine trying to do this as a male. Anyone know the current male to female ratio in the VO biz nowadays??

Thanking God for my lack of a Y chromosome,

September

Joe J Thomas · **Voice Talent** Joined: 16 Nov 2004 Posts: 1521

Robert Jadah · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 2627

Oh, come on, Joe.

You know I'm a big fan. But get real.
Your Zeblohk-7 is really weak.
You do Zeblohk-6 and 8 quite well, but the 7's should be more guttural/nasal/soprano, especially the northern ones.

So stop the bragging, OK?

Critique On!

Joe J Thomas · **Voice Talent** Joined: 16 Nov 2004 Posts: 1521

Robert Jadah · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 2627

And you're also going to be in PLENTY BIG TWUBBLE when this thread-jacking is discovered.

I'd hate to tell you what our cyber-cop is going to do to you.
Good Ol' Joe's gonna....oh, never mind.

Dina Monaco-Boland · **Voice Talent** Joined: 28 Nov 2006 Posts: 671

Hail,

I understand completely your frustration. I've been a premium member since November. Against reason I audition for just about every public lead in my box (barring the obvious) for practice and yes, in the hopes of landing that ever elusive job. I'm at well over 200 at this point. My results? Not one single job. Not a nibble, nuzzle, or sniff in my direction.
Do I blame v123? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

There are a few people who can vouch that the first place I've looked is directly at myself. At least 3 times a day I ask myself (and others, sorry) what am I doing wrong? What do I need to do to improve? Why am I so fat? (okay, not the last one 'cuz I KNOW the answer to that one ha ha)

Maybe I'm just naive but it's hard for me to believe that v123 WOULDN'T pass through an audition I've submitted. I know there are scams out there. I just found out about one when I recently posted an inquiry about another site.

Maybe you're skeptical. After all, you really don't know any of us. BUT I will tell you this... I may not have earned a dime from this site but the advice, support, and help I've received from the posters on this forum is PRICELESS!!! Worth well over the $199 membership fee. I will never be able to repay (in no particular order) Robert, Phyllis, Allen, Joe, Debbie, Colin, Simon, and Tony for the help they've bestowed upon me personally and to everyone else who I've learned from via their posts.

Not only that, I've found customer support (Freddie) goes above and beyond what I expect.

Disappointed about not landing jobs? Yes. Disappointed with Voice 123? A great big NO!!! I'm more disappointed in me for not being as good as I want so badly to be.

That's how I look at things. Maybe that'll be food for thought for you.

I truly wish you well.

September Day Leach · **Voice Talent** Joined: 31 Aug 2005 Posts: 1526

Dina, if there's a chance you "bat for the other team", I'd marry you girl! Well said!! Smile

Amy Snively · **Voice Talent** Joined: 04 Jul 2005 Posts: 1028

Now we've got some hot FVO on FVO action goin' on!

Colin Campbell · Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007, 19:30 (GMT) Post subject: