Backstage.com reporter Heidi Schooler takes on on the common complaint that “celebrities are taking all the jobs” in voice-overs by interviewing voice-over agents Beverly Kline and Laura Fogelman of Independent Artists Agency, and Harvey Kalmenson — founder of voice casting company and voice-over school Kalmenson & Kalmenson.
A couple highlights from the article:
– “90 percent” of voice-over gigs still go to “everyday voices.” Only certain accounts go to celebrities.
– The voice-over industry is wide open to other voice talents “in all the same places as always and then some—far more venues than ever before: cyberspace, cable, and a huge increase in animation.”
And in The Power Behind the Mike [sic.], part of Backstage.com’s April 30th Spotlight on Voiceover, there are interviews with voice-over agents Peter Varano (AVO Talent), Jennifer Brown (Abrams Artists) and Lynda McCarrell (Daniel Hoff Agency) are interviewed “on what they look for in a client and how the [voice-over] scene has changed.”
This article is also a recommended read, and I want to highlight the closing paragraph as it pertains to both beginners and aspiring voice actors where agents are concerned:
All the agents interviewed work only with signed clients, not freelancers—a vote of confidence in the actors they do sign. Still, there is no guarantee that bookings will be immediately forthcoming. In fact, for most actors trying to launch a voiceover career, says McCarrell, “if you book in your first year, you’re lucky. If not, don’t get crazy. As long as your agent is your No. 1 fan, you have nothing to worry about.” But that can change, she adds, if “the actor doesn’t remain in class, doesn’t do his homework, doesn’t remain hungry, and if voiceover is not their focus.”
Related post: 3.20.2009 — Forbes Ranks Animation’s A-List Actors.