Remember that conditional phrase Pres. Reagan uttered when negotiating nuclear firepower with Russia’s Gorbachev?… or am I totally dating myself as a geeky news-guy? There’s a reason I bring it up.
I know all of a sudden the voice-over world has fallen head-over-heels for IpDtl. No question, it appears to be a fine broadband solution for remote recording, and I’m a subscriber.
But I’m still big on the online recording product I became acquainted with a couple of years ago, that is really hitting its stride: SoundStreak. Available for Windows and Apple. Free to download, and drop-dead simple to use. AND it has some features the IpDtL does not.
If you search for SoundStreak on my blog, you’ll see I’ve written a ton about this service. I’ve also personally gotten to know its founder and CEO — Dan Caligor — and I continue to be impressed with SoundStreak’s grasp of our business, the challenges ahead, and the innovative ideas they’re bringing to the table.
For instance, for years now, Caligor and his team has been aware of, and been working on the issue of how to get producers, audio engineers, and others who are currently entrenched in ISDN, to accept an alternative (it’s inevitable, right?). That IS the 800 lb. gorilla in the room.
The solution they’ve landed on partially relies on voice talent to spread the word, encourage, and suggest SoundStreak to their production house clients. Remember, the talent pays nothing in the SoundStreak session with the client (producer). So SoundStreak’s new strategy to bring in the acceptance of it’s system is to offer two incentives: Referrals and Verification.
Verification is something that seems to dog the voice-over community. It’s the question of how to qualify a voice talent as experienced, seasoned, expert, professional — call it what you will — it’s darned hard and controversial to define. (At WoVO we’ve wrestled mightily with this concept) SoundStreak is only going there within the confines of it’s own realm. In other words, they’re not passing judgement on someone’s talent or recording skills… they’re only evaluating whether the SoundStreak talent being considered by a producer or client can pass a “pre-flight check” of the connection. If so, the talent immediately becomes listed in the SoundStreak database AS verified…something you can tout on your branding materials.
Referrals are intended to encourage new clients/producers to try SoundStreak and get a discount via a referral from a talent. The program is designed to remove the reluctance from the talent OR the producer side of the equation to try a new technology.
I think even President Reagan would’ve appreciated the forethought that’s gone into SoundStreak’s program.
Below, read about both incentives in their announcement, which came out yesterday. It’s acccompanied by a brief explanation of the SoundStreak story.
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SOUNDSTREAK ANNOUNCES VERIFICATION AND REFERRAL PROGRAMS
New programs aim to make SoundStreak easy to get started with and to share with new users
Contact: Wesley Chinn, [email protected], 877-212-9333 x106
SoundStreak (www.soundstreak.com) is pleased to announce two new programs, the SoundStreak Referral program and the SoundStreak Verification program. These programs are intended to increase awareness of, and comfort with, SoundStreak in the voice-over and audio post production industries.
SoudStreak Referrals:
We are pleased to announce the SoundStreak Referral program, which is intended to encourage Talent users (voice actors) to tell their Production clients about SoundStreak. The referred Production user will receive a 25% discount on all sessions done with the referring Talent for six months. There is no limit on how many referrals can be made or received, there is no cost or obligation associated with making or receiving a referral, and Production users can receive referrals regardless of whether they already have a SoundStreak account.
According to SoundStreak CEO Dan Caligor, “We’ve often heard from voice actors that are excited about SoundStreak that they are nonetheless cautious about recommending new technologies to their Production clients. Recently, we’ve begun hearing similar comments from the production side – they are reluctant to bring up new technologies or workflows with some of their established voices. The Production Referral program’s intent is to fuel a virtuous cycle as each user group makes the other aware of their positive interest in and experience with SoundStreak.”
SoundStreak Verification
We are also pleased to announce our SoundStreak Verification program, which is designed to make users confident that every SoundStreak session, including their first, will be successful and productive. According to Caligor, “We recognize that inserting a new technology into a tight workflow is risky, and that this is especially true for each first time between any two studios, even if both have used SoundStreak before. We understand it takes time to establish the trust we aspire to, and we are prepared to earn that trust.”
With this goal in mind, we will offer structured “pre-flight checks” during scheduled SoundStreak Verification sessions between a studio and a SoundStreak engineer. Verification will be for a specific role – Talent or Production – as each requires different tests, and will apply to a specific studio setup. Once verified, users will appear in our database as SoundStreak Verified and will be encouraged to announce this fact on their websites and in promotional material (SoundStreak will provide digital badges).
Verification is offered free of charge to any Production user with an active SoundStreak billing account (setting up accounts is cost- and obligation-free). Verification sessions can be scheduled for any Talent or Production studio at the request of the production user.
About SoundStreak
SoundStreak (www.soundstreak.com) is a software-as-service that allows real-time collaborative recording sessions over any broadband Internet connection without the need for ISDN. SoundStreak’s free-to-install and easy-to-use software was designed specifically for use in recording voice overs and transfers uncompressed audio in resolutions up to 24-bit, 96k. Our patented technology provides the best of both worlds, balancing the benefits of real-time communication with uncompromised quality regardless of bandwidth considerations.
SoundStreak’s software for Mac OS and Windows is easily downloaded and installed on virtually any computer. Sessions can be set up in moments through our straightforward interface, and provide high-quality voice patch, enhanced workflows, and features such as read-to-picture and real-time script sharing. Full-resolution, uncompressed takes are transferred to the production computer automatically and arrive within seconds of completion throughout the session. SoundStreak employs a cloud-based architecture, allowing users to manage their accounts and session assets and archive, retrieve, and share takes via a secure portal.
SoundStreak also offers features and services for enterprise and high-volume users. These include delegated spending authority, flexible permissions management, automated billing reference tracking, MSA pricing and effortless traversal of virtually any corporate firewall.
SoundStreak is free to download and install, and free for Talent to use. There are no monthly or setup charges; Production users are billed $24 for each 30-minute interval of session time and the first month is 50% off for all new billing activations.
