….has there been a greater need for coordination of effort and advocacy among voice-actors.
In a perfect world, the established talent union — in this case SAG-AFTRA — would do this on our behalf. But SAG-AFTRA seems to be rather myopic. Sure, they’ll accept the dues of a VO in Des Moines, Iowa, but don’t do much in the sense of support.
That means World-Voices Organization (WoVO) has become the de facto advocate for voice actors. Great! This is why we founded WoVO, and why, now –after 3½ years — we’re realizing our vision.
Recent growing awareness about the lack of transparency at a popular online VO casting site brought a lot of outrage, indignation, and a call. A call to do something. Now.
WoVO, then has become the rallying point for a focus on solutions…a defining moment if you will, to seize an opportunity to :
- decry the injustices
- offer viable and ethical alternatives
A no-holds-barred statement to answer the inadequate (and quite frankly insulting) rejoinders from the online casting site in question is forthcoming early this week.
WoVO’s executive board of 10-11 people have been in non-stop contact over the weekend. Hundreds of messages, emails and phone calls back ‘n’ forth. We’ve debated, discussed, and ruminated over an appropriate response to the community’s call for action. You’ll see it soon.
As for #2 above, luckily VoiceOver.biz is largely ready to go. We’ve had to dust it off a bit, and do some sprucing-up as well as some maintenance and tweaking. It’s NOT like Voices.com…and thankfully so. It’s an online listing of our vetted professional members. There is no bidding, no hidden fees (in fact, no fees at all). Clients seeking voices simply log on as a producer, peruse talent demos, and contact the talent directly. WoVO makes no money on the site.
While the site is ready and functional, VoiceOver.biz is already being criticized for the way it looks, the way the demos are presented, and for numerous other aesthetic and functional deficiencies. We know. We want it to be better, and we welcome your suggestions. We’re working non-stop to get it totally up-to-speed.
We’re thinking about going bigger. More funding (crowd-sourcing?), hiring staff, beefing up the back-end. All that is do-able, but it’s not going to happen overnight…so WoVO asks your patience. We’re poised to do this more than anyone else in the marketplace, and we’re listening.
The one big thing we’ll need everyone’s help with: SPREADING THE WORD! When it’s ready…we’ll give the signal, and we’ll launch a huge PR outreach and marketing plan…but nothing will reach the right target better than you telling your producer/client friends that VoiceOver.biz is the place where they should be looking for their voice talent. Are you in?
I hope so, because never before have we been on the cusp of controlling our own destiny as we are now.
CourVO
