Ask An Agent

Add a Comment

100 Comments

Comment by Johnny George on July 23, 2009 at 4:21pm

Follow-up on my previous comment below from May 28th:

I am happy to report that the 600.00 I thought I would never see arrived in my mailbox this week. Yep, all of it. I contacted the head of IT, who is the boss to the person I usually work with to show my appreciation. Here is his response with names blocked out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Johnny,
I appreciate your patience as well, it’s important for me to try and rectify these situations, even though XXXX and I were just pawns in all of this. But I made sure you were listed as a critical vendor, because I especially wanted to make sure the little guys got their money back. You trusted us, and that means something to me.

Have a great weekend, and hopefully we’ll be pushing some business your way in the near future.

All my best,

XXX
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tell me if that wouldn't make YOUR day. There are still honest people and companies out there. Choose your people carefully and remember that good folks are still around. Thank God.

JG

Comment by Jonathan Ridley on July 23, 2009 at 3:17pm

Hey Corey,
I am relatively new to VU and am developing my skills as a voiceover talent. I've been a professional recruiter for about 10 years, having worked in many different industries. Unfortunately, I am not working right now and wanted to know how I could apply my background to potentially become an agent. Would it be better to try to work for an agency or should I try to go independently? Any advice?

Comment by Johnny George on May 28, 2009 at 11:16pm

Thank you for the advice Robert. I may tip my hand to my direct contact there and see if I can pad my next invoices over time to make that 600.00 back. I have talent to pay too.

And thank you too - I will join your group.

JG

Comment by Robert Sciglimpaglia on May 28, 2009 at 6:39pm

Hi Johnny! Feel free to join my group, Ask a Voice Over Attorney, to post questions like yours as well. The answer to your question is you are in line, but way at the back. Unsecured creditors come last for payment. Unsecured creditors are those that do not have any property of the debtor attached by lien or mortgage. So, in all probability, you won't see payment for the gig.

Comment by Johnny George on May 18, 2009 at 1:59pm

Corey,

I just received a notice of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy from a client of mine whom I just completed a job for less than 30 days ago. Am I out of luck on collecting? Or if this company is under the reorganization of Chapter 11, will I be in line to get paid?

Do you have any insight or experience in this arena?

Comment by Barry Trussell on May 18, 2009 at 1:51pm

Hello Corey -
I am considering union membership as well as agency representation sometime in the next year. I am not rushing in. I've been pondering this for over a year now.

Are agencies seeking union members for the most part?I have seen union agencies, non union agencies and a mix of both, though non union agencies tend to be the minority. And if you have the time, would you address your answer with 2 different spins? First assuming that a Talent is after national spots and second that a Talent is not after national spots. Thanks in advance for your time.
Barry Trussell

Comment by Corey Dissin on April 13, 2009 at 10:01am

Patrick/Johnny -

In the non-union voice over world, the rates really are all over the board. With the proliferation of home studios, the once artisan craft of voice overs (which indeed commanded a certain monetary value), is becoming more and more like a product on a shelf. Folks have "inventory" and they want to sell it. AFTRA scale is a good reference point, but I've seen talent advertise for a fraction of that. The best advice I can give is charge what you think your time and talent is worth. How ever high or low that number is, measure your rate by how well you can sleep at night.

Comment by Johnny George on April 10, 2009 at 5:18pm

Great question Patrick.

May I add that I too would be interested in how to base rates when negotiating with independent clients who wish to play your VO work on Satellite Radio, Internet, Broadcast, Narrative, etc. Also, PSA's. I'm now hearing that a PSA should pay more than a commercial spot. I know it's all based on usage. But can you share a reasonable scale basis to figure this out on our own? I usually check the AFTRA rates and try and stay close to them for a ballpark idea.

Thanks Corey in advance.

JG

Comment by Patrick-Parker Amos on April 10, 2009 at 4:56pm

Hi Corey,
I’ve found that I’m very competent negotiating my money when it comes to stage/theater work because my agent doesn’t rep me there, but when it comes to v.o. negotiations, I’ve always had good agents to do it, so I never really became comfortable in that area. That was fine in the past, but currently I’m trying to take my career to the next level, so I’m a lot more involved now in marketing and securing leads & jobs for myself. On a personal level, it feels great because I’m actually creating opportunities for myself instead of totally relying on my agents ….. but from a business standpoint I feel like my knowledge of rates is not as strong as it should be when I am negotiating these independent jobs. How can I familiarize myself with current rates so that I can negotiate more confidently??

patrick

Comment by Corey Dissin on March 29, 2009 at 9:23am

Roger -

If possible, see if you can research and contact any of the other talent directly that the agency represents to get some scoop that way.

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10