Opinion: It's a Craft not a Cult!

To know me is to know that I take a no bullshit approach to what I share with voice actors (and my agency and production clients too, for that matter). I present this meme as a word of caution.

In a previous meme, I posited the idea that there are two different voice over industries. Lately, the one that relies heavily on social media and self-marketing has had a lot of infighting and finger-pointing over everything from conferences and coaching to demo reels and beyond. It creates so much confusion for newcomers that they simply don't know which way to turn... which leads to them spending good money on bad advice.

Actors themselves have a fierce loyalty to certain people that seems to defy logic. It's great to respect and appreciate accomplished people that are offering real value for your career, but even the best out there can only offer their personal experiences. The only universal truth in this business is that there isn't one!

I find that new or aspiring voice actors worship people on social media who may themselves be relatively new to the game. It's not uncommon to see people who have only a spot or two under their belts suddenly coaching or speaking at conferences and events. While opinions may vary on whether or not that's problematic, beware who you put on a pedestal. For example, if you're studying VO marketing because that's the path you want your career to go (where you're your own boss, and you're going to cultivate your own clients independent of talent agents and the traditional model), does that coach have an actual marketing or advertising background? If you're going to invest in an animation reel, is the person producing it or coaching it in the business? Look them up on IMDB. Are there pages of credits, or just a couple of small ones? To that end, I've had many people reach out to me based on my IMDB page, which happens to list many cartoons and animated features, telling me they want me to produce an animation reel for them. Sadly, I have to tell them no- because while I have a long list of credits, I'm not the director! I just handle the audio. Could I pull it off? Probably. But I don't. I wouldn't feel comfortable. Do your homework. Vett your coaches. Make sure they make a living doing the thing you want to do.

From where I sit, I find that voice actor social media comes across as the lovechild of multi-level-marketing and the real estate industry, whipping newcomers into a frenzy and creating FOMO if you miss the NEXT BIG EVENT. Even for the consulting work I offer, I've had people show up and push back on what I'm trying to help them with to improve their sound because someone else told them something different. Or I'll recommend a coach that I know will help them, but they're 100 percent committed to courses offered by only one person. Each coach or person you study with is going to expand your capabilities in ways big and small. If you put all of your eggs in one basket, you'll only be as good as that one coach- maybe. And if that one coach doesn't have much of a track record... well. Good luck.

It's a craft. Not a cult. Don't drink the Kool Aid.