About this episode

The episode discusses the complexities of buyout conversations for voice actors, emphasizing the distinction between session fees and usage fees.

Let me walk you through a scenario. A voice actor gets an offer. Major food delivery brand. Session fee is $500. Buyout is $10,000. Usage is worldwide, all media, in perpetuity. Broadcast TV, streaming, social media, paid and organic, radio, in stores, stadium, cinema, email marketing, every platform, every country, forever. Is that a good deal? Not even close. Today I'm going to give you the math, the framework, and the language you need to have the buyout conversation without feeling like you're making up numbers or asking too much or too little. Session Fee vs Usage Fee These two things are important to distinguish because a lot of voice actors, especially newer ones, bundle them incorrectly. The session fee is what you get paid for your time in the booth. It compensates you for the recording session itself, your preparation, your studio, your performance. For a typical commercial session, session fees range from a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand depending on the scope. For a major national brand, being at the low end of that range is usually a red flag. The usage fee, the buyout in a flat fee situation, is something completely different. This is not paying for…

People in this episode

Host: Peter Pamela Rose

Topics covered

• voice acting
• buyout conversation
• session fee
• usage fee
• commercial rates
• licensing

Keywords

• voice actor
• buyout
• session fee
• usage fee
• commercial
• licensing
• advertising

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Major food delivery brand

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