Mandy, Backstage

I've heard that Backstage has acquired Mandy, so I'm beginning to think there is no reason to subscribe to Mandy, as I am already a member of Backstage. Any thoughts?

• 1 year ago
• 1

Hello. I did not know this. I was wondering why I received jobs from both bacscktage and Mandys in the header.

• 1 year ago
• 2

Backstage. I have been misspelling alot today. I apologize for the typos.

• 1 year ago
• 3

https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2021-02-22/backstage-announces-acquisitions-of-starnow-and-mandy-network

• 1 year ago
• 4

HI,

I subscribed and paid fora Mandy membership. However, anytime I try to apply to anything on Backstage , I get a message instantly that says I must be a Backstage member to apply. When I go to Backstage it says Iooks like you are already a member. I sure would like to know what's going on.

• 1 year ago
• 5

For people who belong to both Backstage and Mandy, how would you assess the relative quantity and quality of VO job postings on the two sites. VO postings on Mandy have declined sharply in the last few months; how about those on Backstage? And for extra credit, have you found memberships on other VO platforms such as Voices.com, Voice123, VO Planet, etc. to be worthwhile? Thanks.

• 1 year ago
• 6

Donald. I was reading the reviews of Voice123 . it has a 2.78 star rating. The reviews are not good.

• 1 year ago
• 7

Are there voice over auditions in Backstage? I'm interested in subscribing, but it seems to be mostly an acting site. Thanks for any replies!

• 1 year ago
• 8

Hi Roberta - while I am relatively new to the VO industry most of my credits have come from Backstage with a single credit originating from Mandy. Not sure if we are just in a VO demand slump or if Mandy is out of favor. I find more opportunities on other sites on a daily basis such as Freelancer and Upwork. Tim

• 1 year ago
• 9

Thanks Timothy, that's very helpful!

• 1 year ago
• 10

Tim Knutson et al: Do you find the same or different VO roles posted on Backstage vs. on Mandy, especially those suitable for mature American males. Relative typical pay rates offered in one vs. the other? And for Freelancer and Upwork, about how many suitable job postings per week do you see on average, and do they tend to offer decent (at least non-insulting) pay these days? Thanks /Don Deane

• 1 year ago
• 11

Hi Don - I generally find duplicate posts on BS / Mandy mostly for audiobooks, short films, podcast and animation type of productions. Substantial number are 'unpaid' type of productions, but I haven't taken a count on numbers. The Freelancer / Upwork are generally higher pay and more along the lines of corporate needs. Here I see generally 2-3 new projects for 'mature' adults (such as myself :)). Fiverr seems to be the least productive as they are low/no-pay type of projects with rather large word requirements for the offering compensation.

• 1 year ago
• 12

Hey Tim. I checked out Freelancer. I looked in the Voiceover category. You have to bid on each Voicover gig? And I looked into Upwork. It seems there is a lot of terms of services and things you must agree to .

• 1 year ago
• 13

HI Edd - yes, you bid on the projects as neither of these are P2P sites so they take a cut of the payment, same as Fiveer. I have only been applying to projects for the last month so no real indication of what success rate will be. Haven't done a deep dive into the terms but two things they push are 1) cannot take posted jobs off of site - makes sense and 2) payment through site so protection for VO in this.

• 1 year ago
• 14

Folks: Good to see the active discussion. FWIW, I was on Upwork a few years ago and got one client through them in about two years (for 3 audiobooks at a very low payrate) but they kicked me off the platform for some unspecified violation of their TOS that they would never explain. Cautionary in any case, and if I re-apply I'll be interested to see whether they re-admit me. Question: Are any of you booking paid work so far through any of these platforms or elsewhere, ideally enough to justify the time spent on signup and auditions?

• 1 year ago
• 15

Hello Donald. I have not yet through here . I have been auditioning for the ones I feel would suit what they are looking for.

• 1 year ago
• 16

Edd, I wonder if you are seeing the same things I am seeing as far as audition notices that show up on your dashboard. Right now I have something for a female VO artist posted October 30th, something for a podcast that has been re-posted today from several weeks ago and some non-paying roles for a film. Not much to work with.

• 1 year ago
• 17

Luis. I have seen some of the same ones and duplicates. I have seen ones for female voices and ones for voiceovers for people of the country they are looking for the accents.

• 1 year ago
• 18

FYI: I received the following email today from a Mandy support rep; email address mandysupport@backstage.zendesk.com. I hadn't realized that Mandy is affiliated with Voice123.com as well as Backstage. I may take them up on their offer of a complimentary 6-month Backstage membership (it sometimes pays to complain :) if I can trust myself to remember to quit Backstage at the 6-month point if unsatisfied rather than continuing to pay whatever it costs.

FYI-2: It's curious that I've received a few Mandy job announcements by email lately, with the usual format and form for applying online, but those jobs don't appear on my Dashboard. Previously, before a few months ago, new postings would appear on the Dashboard. I don't know why the change.
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Kat (Backstage Group Help Center)
Oct 19, 2022, 6:37 AM PDT
Hi Donald,

Thanks for getting back to us, and for expanding on your concerns. I'd like to provide some further information.

We have a whole department dedicated to developing our markets globally and across disciplines. Whilst Mandy is now part of a bigger group and can work with more resources than ever before, we’d never remove opportunities from one platform in favour of another. Voices US is one of our developing areas, and we're sorry that you're not satisfied with the number of opportunities you're seeing.

Although we hope that you'll continue using Mandy now and going forward, we would also encourage you to consider trying out our affiliated sites, such as Backstage.com and Voice123.com. Founded in the U.S. in 1960, Backstage is one of the most popular casting sites in the world, with a wide variety of job listings and casting calls, including but not limited to calls for voiceover talent in the the U.S. and beyond.

Based on your location and interests, if you feel that Backstage would be a better fit for you at this time, please let us know and we can assist in getting you set up with a Backstage profile.

Please note that you can log into both Mandy and Backstage with the same login details, although each service requires a separate membership plan in order to access the full benefits of each. However, we'd like to offer you a 6-month complimentary membership to Backstage, should you wish to explore this service.

Kind regards,
Kat

• 1 year ago
• 19

I do not like you have to give them your pay information before the free period is over. I disagree with that part. They should remind you it is time to renew or something to that effect.

• 1 year ago
• 20