How much does a voiceover cost?
If I had a pound for every time I have been asked this question over the years! Quoting for voiceover work can be a bit confusing - but hopefully this article will help to demystify the process a little bit. It basically comes down to a couple of questions - arguably the most important one being: Where is this audio going to be used?
But before we dive in, let's get the basic terminology out of the way first. So what exactly is "usage".. and what does "BSF" mean?
BSF
This stands for basic studio fee - this is the cost for making the recording. Here you're simply paying for the artists time in the studio. BSF's generally range from £200 - £400 in the UK.
Usage
Depending on where the end product is going to be used, usage fees may be applicable on top of the BSF.
In a nutshell, BSF + Usage is how we work out our fees.
So when you ask me to quote on your project, my first questions are going to be:
1. What type of project is it? (a TV commercial, a corporate explainer, a radio ad, a video game or an eLearning project - they are all priced differently)
2. What is the brand/ end client?
3. Where will it be hosted or shown, and for how long.
Based on the answers to those questions I can accurately quote for your project.
Here is a breakdown of the main different types of projects and how they are costed:
(All the prices listed here are based on voiceover industry standard rates.)
Brand films/ explainers/ corporate films
These are costed as BSF + any usage that applies.
The usage very much depends on the reach and size of the project. How big is the audience going to be. A corporate narration that sits behind a paywall on a small company intranet is quite different from a how-to film that sits on Amazon's homepage.
For TV commercial projects. These are costed using "TVRs".
When a commercial runs on TV, the amount of times it is shown to the public is decided, and purchased up front by the ad agency. This number is called a TVR. The number of TVRs purchased is how voice actors charge for their work.
Ad gets shown a lot - the higher the fee.
A huge campaign that every man and his dog sees in the ad breaks for Corrie is going to have a lot TVRs behind it. It's going to be seen by a lot of eyeballs.
A more targeted campaign that might run only on certain regional stations will have a much smaller number of TVRs purchased.
Once you have your TVR number, you simply pop it into this calculator and you will have your accurate calculation. https://www.usefee.tv/
For online commercial projects. These are costed using "impressions"
VO fees for commercials that run online are worked out in the same way. When a brand buys ad space online however, it's called impressions.
490,000 online impressions equates to one TVR.
So you use https://www.usefee.tv/ in exactly the same way to make your calculation.
Radio ads
These are costed at Equity rates (the actor's union) and start at £30 for one single regional station.
Social Media
Social usage can either be "paid ads, or paid media" meaning content that is being pushed/ or paid for. As opposed to "organic content" which is content that sits static on a social media page.
So a brand film that sits on that company's own YouTube channel? Thats organic content. An ad that you've paid to run on Facebook? Thats paid media
Paid media is costed using impressions - see online commercials above.
Video Games
These are charged by adding together a session fee - usually between £250 - £350 per hour, and a buyout - this is the license by which your voice can be used in the game.
The buyout amount will depend completely on the size of the game and its budget.
It's not uncommon for voice actors working on big AAA games to chose to take lower fees for smaller indie games, because they believe in the work.
Want to live direct me? Here’s how: https://hannahmelbourn.com/blog/live-direction
Audiobooks
These are charged "per finished hour" or PFH.
(So, not how long it takes us to record the book, but how long the finished audiobook ends up being, once everything is done and dusted.)
PFH rates vary between £100 - £400 PFH.
Projects that include complex subject matter, for example medical terminology can command the higher end of the scale.
eLearning
This is costed per word. 30p - 60p per word depending on the voice actor's experience. Again projects with tricky terminology will command more.
So how much does it cost to hire a voice actor? There’s no one size-fits-all answer to that I’m afraid! Every project is costed on ca case by case basis, and It's important to remember that there is often room for negotiation. If you are open and transparent with us, we can usually come to an agreement where everyone is happy.
You can also check out https://rates.gravyforthebrain.com/ for more info on industry standard voiceover rates, and further guidance.
If you are interested in finding out a more specific cost for me to voice your project, please email me on hannahmelbourn@gmail.com, or better still, go all old fashioned and ring me on 07748 154864 to discuss! I would love to hear from you.