Professional Male Voice Talent

What is a "demo?"

A demo is a sample of your vocal range and style and it serves a couple of purposes. First, you need a professional voice talent demo to get an agent - because that’s the first thing they ask for. The agent needs a demo to supply to various clients and you need a vocal demo for continuing shameless self-promotion.

Buyer beware! There are a ton of people out there selling dreams and I get upset when I hear "I paid $700 for this demo and I still can’t get an agent". 99.9% of the time, it’s because they didn’t get proper training or an honest critique on their voice. They spent all their time and resources on the same script(s), getting the "perfect take." They put it all together with slick production and studio tricks and come up with a great demo.

The prospective agent says: "Great demo! OK, just jump behind the mic there and read these scripts....."

The end result is, they’re completely lost and can’t perform behind a different mic, in front of a different person reading a different script in a different studio. "If you can’t do it cold now, you can’t do it cold in the studio." Words to live by in this business…believe it!

Some people have a gift for reading copy cold, others don’t. Before you go spend money on your demo, get an honest critique of your voice from a qualified, experienced coach or professional voice talent like myself :) The places you should look out for is the studios that offer the "All In One" packages that include the critique, coaching and demo production for one price. Of course they'll say "your voice is going to be GREAT" (with a little coaching, wink, wink) because they want your MONEY.

If they (the "all in one" companies) are offering a demo tape for a weekend course, it will be very basic and chances are the other students will be using the same scripts and production elements on their demo as well - thus "branding" your tape when prospective agents hear it. Be careful. Get references, ask former customers, have a listen to a few demos they've produced and inquire with other agents and artists about their reputation.

The same holds true for Casting Directors. Everytime I see the professional voice talent business slow down - I see a marked increase in the number of Casting Directors posting their flyers offering demo production services and "Voice Over Workshops." Of the people you should look out for, Casting Directors can be particularily shifty - because they hold the power to get you the gig - in other words, they can and will use that power to get money from you.

Not all of them are bad, but when it comes to Casting Directors, be sure to get references first.....(they will always send you to their "favorite" voices so you want to ask people who have recently taken their course).