The wages for voice actors are crucial to understand because voiceover is a large segment of the entertainment business. The usual voiceover pace is determined by the number of words in the project and changes accordingly. The cost of hiring a voice actor depends on a number of variables, including the length of the script, the nature of the project, and the voice actor’s level of experience.
The Global Voice Acting Academy states that the typical pay for non-union voice actors ranges from $0.03 to $0.30 per word. For a top-tier voice actor, the price may be as high as $1 per word. The type of project has an impact on the rate as well. For example, the rate for corporate video voiceover differs from the rate for commercial voiceover.
Let’s now discuss how long a 2-minute voiceover is. Usually, a 2-minute voiceover contains 300 words or less. A 2-minute voiceover would cost $30 every completed minute if the voice actor were to charge $0.10 per word.
A voiceover union that represents voice performers in the business is the Screen performers Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). To guarantee that voice performers are paid fairly, the union establishes minimum rates for voiceover work. The cost varies according to the project’s genre and script length. The scale pay system offered by SAG-AFTRA for actors establishes the minimum wage for a specific kind of film.
For instance, the rate pay for a 30-second radio or television ad is $782. The actor receives an additional 50% residual rate on top of the scale compensation if the advertisement airs for 13 weeks. Accordingly, the commercial would pay the actor $1,173 in total.
In conclusion, there are a number of variables that affect how much it costs to hire a voice actor, and the fee is determined per word. Non-union voice performers often earn between $0.03 and $0.30 per syllable. 300 sentences or such would make up a 2-minute voiceover. The scale pay system is used to calculate the minimum compensation for a certain project. SAG-AFTRA is a voiceover union that establishes minimum rates for voiceover work.