Voicebank Blog

Digital Audiobooks…A Voice Over Opportunity (Part 2)

In yesterday’s (part 1) Q&A interview with Creative Content’s Ali Muirden, I asked her about the audiobook industry and voice actors and the difference in the UK and U.S. markets. Our interview continues.

TJP: Explain the digital download.

AM: Digital download is without a doubt revolutionising the audio industry around the world.  It means that you can download quickly and easily an audiobook or a music track direct to your iPod, iPhone, mobile or other MP3 device and listen to a vast amount of content without carrying around a truckload of CD’s in your bag!   It is still very much in its infancy here in the UK and at least 2 to 3 years behind the US download industry so it is a very exciting and high growth area of business to be in!

TJP: Has that widened the opportunities for voice talent?

AM: Ereaders are also going to make digital publishing a very exciting area to be in as it means people can carry hundreds of books on one device instead of being restricted when travelling to only what they can physically carry! Also, just think how much greener it is to download!  CD’s are an oil based product so it is a great way to conserve resources too!

TJP: What do you look for in voice talent?

AM: What we look for in voice talent will vary from project to project. Some books require a certain “age range” in the voice or a certain “style”.  We mainly use professionals to read our publications and this is mostly due to time restraints in the recording studio.  It is very expensive to record in a professional sound studio and we need someone who is fluent, well prepared and versatile in characterisation sometimes.   Whilst some authors are fantastic readers they often don’t have any “technical” experience in terms of microphone use as it’s not their area of expertise, obviously.  Having said, I also do audiobook producing for other publishers and in that role I have worked with lots of authors who are brilliant at it so it just depends on the project really!  Most people outside the business don’t realise how tiring it is to read audio books, too! I think it can be one of the most challenging and difficult things an actor can do in terms of concentration, stamina and the energy it requires.

TJP: How do you find voice talent? Do you accept demo submissions?

AM: We don’t really accept demo submissions.  I tend to use the internet and find extracts on commercial websites such as Audible etc.  Most good voice agencies also have extracts on their websites for their clients and this is fine to get a “feel” for a reader style.  I’ve also been involved in audiobook publishing for 11 years now and you tend to get to know the great readers in the industry so that helps when casting!

TJP: What does the future hold for digital audio publishing and voice talent?

AM: The trend in digital audio publishing is moving more towards unabridged editions of books.  This is proving tricky from a financial point of view for most publishers as it is hard to make the costs work.  However, as the download market grows and sales levels increase this will start to be less of a problem… Basically as a business you need volume of sales to compensate if the prices are to be lowered to a level where people are more tempted to buy!   So the more people buy our books the lower we can afford to sell them!  And the internet is making this easier.  We sell all over the world and it’s fascinating to see where in the world our products have been bought… I often find myself thinking “oooh! I wonder why that person in Peru or Columbia wanted to buy “Improve Your Speech – British English” in particular!  It would be great to know what motivated them to buy our books!   And we’re very very pleased they do!

TJP: Thank you Creative Content!