How to attest if a company is legit

Sonia Ter Hovanessian
Voice Over: English

Hi all,
I'm relatively new to Mandy and to Voiceovers in the UK so am starting afresh here and auditioning, auditioning, auditioning! I have recently received a response showing interest in hiring me as a VO artist and am due to have a chat about this. I can't find much information about the company and what I can find is a little "seedy". The work would be in person and quite far from where I live, so am not sure if it will be worth it, depends on the agreement, but I wanted to ask how you conduct these exploratory get-to-know-you chats.

Secondly, thought the information is confusing in the job description it seems that they are offering £40/hour, you would record in the studio, so no editing, and it is for audiobook short stories from 2000 - 5000 words. Does that seem like a good and realistic deal that reflects the professional norm of the industry?

Many thanks to you all,

Sonia

Editorial Comment Hi Sonia,

Each job that's posted on the board is moderated by one of our team of administrators. Part of this process is a few fundamental checks for red flags or signs of inauthenticity, which involve comparing what has been submitted with publicly available information, or requesting further information if more verification is needed.

If something comes up during conversation with them, or you spot something that may have been missed, you are always welcome to reach out to us at emails@mandy.com, and your concern will be followed up on by the relevant administrator. We're always happy to check something twice for certainty.

All the best,

Rob

  • 3 years ago
  • 783
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Private User
This profile is private

£40/hour for an audiobook is VERY low pay.


  • 3 years ago
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Sonia Ter Hovanessian
Voice Over: English

I'm new to audiobooks so I spent my morning researching and I came to the conclusion that it was indeed very low. It would be in the studio and without editing, so just recording, I believe, but they're not behaving very professionally so far, so not holding my breath. Thank you for replying.


  • 3 years ago
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Colleen MacMahon
Voice Over: English

Hi Sonia,
Becky is right - that is very low. As a general rule this is not the best platform for audiobook narration and I would suggest you go to ACX (the Amazon Audible site) if that's the work you're interested in pursuing. Also, check out Narration FB groups where you can harvest a whole load of info about rates etc. Good luck!


  • 3 years ago
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Graeme Jones
Voice Over: Scottish

Just another perspective on the £40 per hour rate. If this is just for raw recording - no editing, no post-production etc, then that doesn't sound bad. With audiobooks, one way of charging/paying is 'per finished hour' - that's often in the £100-300 range - but that's for the fully finished product. Those who have done this lots say that 1 finished hour can require anything from 5-10 hours of actual work (editing, mastering etc.) So £40 for recording only might equate to 5 times that on a 'finished hour' basis.
The more concerning thing is your own view that there is maybe something 'seedy' about it all. Do you know the content of the short stories, for example? Trust your instinct. Be careful.


  • 3 years ago
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Jennifer Fitzgerald
Voice Over: Irish

Hi Sonia, I know many actors I work with use Gravy for the Brain as a standard guide. For Audiobook Narration, I would say £75pfh is a fair starting rate & £85pfh is standard - https://rates.gravyforthebrain.com/
These rates relate to narration only so if editing is required, ensure a fair editing rate is applied. Some narrators outsource to an editor which may save you time & in turn allow you to do more voice work. If you are working with a new client directly, it can be wise to agree half payment after the first few chapters & half on completion so you are not left out of pocket. Hope that helps:)


  • 3 years ago
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Sonia Ter Hovanessian
Voice Over: English

Many thanks for your replies and sorry for not replying - even though I ticked the "alert me to future replies" it didn't. Oh well. I'm trying my best to understand the rates in this business so as not to bring them down (I have worked for years as a musician and know only too well how that affects the industry) but to also for what is fair. I've been checking out GFTB but I find their rates a little over generic at times, but perhaps I'm misunderstanding them. Anyway, thanks again :)


  • 3 years ago
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