When considering a career in voice acting, one often imagines lending a voice to an animated feature film and becoming the next red-haired mermaid or big green ogre.
However, more and more roles in animated movies, television, and even video games are going to A-list celebrities, who can attract new fans to the product with their names alone. If you’re starting out as a voice actor, you need to be more creative to find reliable work.
Here are a few niche markets you might consider pursuing as you develop your freelance voice-acting career.
Audiobook Narration
Audiobooks are many voice actors’ bread and butter. While getting audiobook narration jobs once relied on strong network connections with big publishing houses, audiobooks are skyrocketing. Not only are more readers interested in audio formats of published works, but the rise of self-publishing means that more authors than ever need help from voice actors.
However, new VO actors struggle with audiobook narration. Unlike other media, audiobooks typically feature only one reader’s voice, so actors must exhibit a wide range of tones, accents, and other voice quirks to cover different characters and situations. If you have the chops, audiobook narration can become a reliable gig, especially if you become the voice for a prolific author or popular genre.
Dubbing
Many voice actors don’t consider dubbing, and although it comes with its own learning curve, it can be a lucrative endeavour for voice actors.
Dubbing usually has a much more streamlined process than regular voiceover work, so dubbing rates are usually lower than voiceover, but many dubbing providers, like us, pay their talent per completed minute of content. So, the more you learn, the quicker you get, the more money you can earn per hour.
E-learning Narration
With the rise of online education has come a rise in demand for e-learning voiceover (VO) work. Typically, voice actors will read scripts that play over text or video, providing additional detail to students in online courses.
To work in online education, you will need a strong voice skillset, such as pronouncing unfamiliar words or explaining foreign concepts confidently and easily. Networking is critical to developing relationships with e-learning platforms, but once you have a few courses in your portfolio, it becomes easier to show off your skills.
Corporate, Medical, or Legal Narration
Companies and professional service providers often have work for voice actors. Many of these opportunities fall under a similar umbrella to e-learning: Actors provide VO for educational videos designed to help clients understand complex topics. However, there is also demand for voice work for presentations, advertisements, and other media.
These types of clients will post on job boards or book managed services on a site like ours, but networking can also help you secure work in these fields. If you can cultivate a strong relationship with a business client, you may become the voice for that particular brand.
Smart Device Voice Work
A new horizon in the Digital Age is VO for smart assistants. Siri, Alexa, Cortana, and all the other virtual assistants in smart technologies started as recordings from voice actors. Advancements in AI and language technology rely on voice actors for data modelling and representation within the AI space. You might find work in this niche through online job boards, but connecting with tech-minded professionals, perhaps through courses, can also be beneficial.
However, many voice actors are choosing not to dabble with AI due to the lack of protections around the ownership of your voice.
Podcast Voice Acting
Over 4.2 million podcasts are available today. Not all of them are hosted by experienced voice actors, but having a background in voice work improves one’s ability to deliver the quality audio experience that podcast listeners crave. You can create and publish a podcast on almost anything, and if you can drum up a significant listenership, paying advertisers will flock to you.
If you aren’t interested in writing, producing, and promoting your own podcast, you might be able to find work as a voice actor on another podcast. For example, many storytelling podcasts are consistently searching for new talent, and voice actors are also required for podcast ads and intros.
Video Game Voice Acting
As mentioned above, video games’ most premium voice acting gigs are increasingly going to celebrities, some of whom also lend their likenesses to the characters they voice. Since the video game space is extensive and expanding, there is still plenty of demand for voice actors, especially among indie developers.
Competition for roles in video games can be fierce, so you should know ahead of time what to expect from the process of becoming a video game voice actor, from auditions to recording and more. If you can make a name for yourself in video game voice work, the world of voice acting will become your oyster!
Summary
Though the demand for quality voice work has never been higher, full-time, salaried positions are rare. To make a living in voice work, you must learn to survive and thrive as a freelancer. That means staying on top of the business side of things — and always exploring new opportunities for work as they become available.
There is no end in demand for voice actors, but you need to be willing to think outside the box. Furthermore, the more experience you gain in the voice industry, especially within underserved niches, the more relevant skills you’ll gain, and the easier it will be to build your career as a voice actor.
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