What on earth is going on? Is this still the same accepting industry it once was? Where do i fit now??
Whether you are a complete veteran with 30 plus years of experience or in the infancy stages of your career, there is a lot of buzz about the state of the Voice Acting industry. So what does this mean for all of us?
While it’s still too soon to know the future of Voice Acting, there is a ton of speculation and the immense growth in technology paints a pretty bleak picture, or does it?
The truth is none of us have a crystal ball, but having been blessed to be a part of this industry for over 30 years, what I can tell you is that when i began, my senior colleagues had passionately warned me about what the non-union rates would do to the industry, and point proven, they were right. We now see budgets with little to no dollar value, with hundreds of talent vying for the opportunity! While royalties and high scale opportunities diminished and completely changed the industry. This devalues the industry and takes away a massive amount of privilege and security this industry once upheld.
Everything is a comparison however, and while the veterans have something to compare it to, and rightfully so, those starting now will be a part of something different. Just like the rate situation, technology is running in like a freight train. Changing and growing by the minute. While this creates excitement and growth for the clients, it puts fear into the talent of what is to come!
When we were younger we literally said, “They could never replace the human voice!” and we truly believed this, however I have heard for myself how realistic these fabricated voices can be. Many in the industry are very optimistic and believe that clients will fight to keep the human voice because they will need the REAL connection, and that would be true if they were all 40 and up, but the reality is that the next up and comings are younger (for the majority) and they are NOT CONNECTED! They are disconnected – or should I say, connected to their devices that carry little to no real emotion or human connection, so that is their new norm. This is all they know.
Fight that as we may, I believe our generation contributed to that. Many parents utilize technology as a relief system at home. Two parents now forced to work to stay afloat and good old technology steps in and lends a helping hand, filling the void – all while creating a new one! They will create their own new norm and the directors will be younger again and they will do what they know!
My belief is that there are portions of our industry that will adapt to the world of artificial intelligence and from a business perspective, I get it. I wish they didn’t, but I get it. I truly believe the corporate and telephony world is where we will see the biggest change. Training modules and corporate jargon that many people are forced to participate in will be much more cost effective to clients if they just have to type it all in and an artificial product comes out. However in speaking with many clients, most other industries will work hard to keep it real because they want to! They understand the value of human emotion vs artificial. They want the ability to redirect with ease. They WANT AND NEED the talents creativity. We are taught time and time again that it’s not your VOICE THEY LOVE – it’s your personality, and while technology can spew back jargon in a realistic way, it does not contain a genuine unique personality, so therefore everyone is right.
Our industry is changing and always will. We can only hope to leave behind our values and continuously fight to keep this incredible career a choice for the future. To the up and comings, you must join the fight to protect our craft for generations to come. Wonderful groups like NAVA and supporting the unions fight to protect our jobs and your future. Don’t sit idly by and let this happen. NO MATTER WHAT happens in the future, if you love something enough, you will always find a way to make it happen, so don’t give up, don’t give in and LOVE WHAT YOU DO! The rest will fall into place.
Follow Your Passion
Until Next time everyoneLove
VO Chef Deb Munro