Rates for Voiceover
Welcome to the Blue Wave Voiceover rates page!
Our political voiceover talents regularly work with budgets big and small to help PACs, mission-driven campaigns, advocacy groups, candidates and special interest non-profits alike find the fast, flexible voiceover artists needed to grab the votes for victory. We’re happy to offer discounts for 501c3 and 501c4 organizations, packages for multiple spots in a campaign and contract pricing for bulk opportunities.
Every Spot is Unique
We know that not all campaigns and ad buys are created equal. That’s why our political voiceover talents are happy to provide a quote based on your actual project. For example, if you’re running a hyper-targeted ad for a down-ballot local race, you can expect to pay a fair and flexible rate. Overall, our goal is to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to use talented, professional voiceover artists to successfully tell their story.
Additional Information and Frequently Asked Rate Questions
Below, we’ve got some additional information about how we calculate our rates for all projects — from hyper-local social media messaging for a small PAC, all the way up to a national broadcast Presidential campaign.
If your question is not answered here, feel free to e-mail us at casting@bluewavevoiceover.com or fill out the contact form below, and you can expect an answer in just a couple short hours.
Can I afford professional voiceover for smaller down-ballot races?
Absolutely!
Our rates are based on the type of media, the size of the market and the length of the run. So, we charge a much lower rate for a small, hyper-local spot than a national spot for a federal-level race.
We work hard to offer fast, fair and flexible pricing so that everyone can utilize professional political voice talents for their messaging.
How much does voiceover cost?
This is a simple question that doesn’t always have a simple answer. Your voiceover talent will likely need to know if it is paid media (broadcast or digital commercials) or non-paid media (longer-form narrations, explainer videos). That helps each of us craft accurate quotes for the usage of our voice.
Paid advertising media voiceover costs are typically based on market size, delivery medium, and length of run. Unpaid media/non-advertising costs are typically based on length of usage and length of script.
Union rates for SAG-AFTRA performers are based on published scale for the market, media and duration. For non-union rates, there are published industry standard rate cards available from the Global Voice Acting Academy (GVAA) here.
Voiceover budgets are typically based on:
- The number of spots and/or the length of the content
- The number and size of the markets the spot will run in
- The duration of the campaign
- The need for exclusivity, if it applies
- The scale published rates for a project, if it is union scale
For industry standard rate guidance to help you with your budget, visit the Global Voice Acting Academy (GVAA) rate guides and you can also consult the SAG-AFTRA website for union scale rates.
Do you have a rate card?
Our individual political voiceover artists can provide you with their rate cards for individual projects.
If you would like to potentially use several talents from Blue Wave Voiceover for multiple projects over time, we’d be happy to discuss creating a unique rate card for your organization, campaign or candidate that recognizes the bulk/volume opportunity versus having to individually quote and negotiate each spot.
Simply e-mail us at casting@bluewavevoiceover.com and we’ll be happy to get the process started.
How do I request a quote for my project?
Each of our professional political voiceover artists can provide you with a quote for your project. You can e-mail them or call them from the contact information listed on their profile page.
If you’re not yet sure which talent you’d like use for your project, you can e-mail us at casting@bluewavevoiceover.com with the following information and we can prepare a sample quote for you:
- The number of spots and/or the length of the content
- The number and size of the markets the spot will run in
- The duration of the campaign
- The need for exclusivity, if it applies
- The scale published rates for a project, if it is union scale
In addition to providing a sample quote for you, we can also have the political voice talents in our collective record sample auditions of your script for you to consider. There is no charge for auditions and casting services, if you not sure which voice is the right one.
For industry standard rate guidance to help you with your budget, visit the Global Voice Acting Academy (GVAA) rate guides and you can also consult the SAG-AFTRA website for union scale rates.
Do non-profits/NGOs receive discounts?
Yes — it is possible for non-profits and NGO’s to receive a slight discount, depending on the project and the talent. Each voiceover artist on our roster operates their own business and has to evaluate if discounts can be available for a particular project’s requirements. If you are a registered 501c3, 501c4 or international NGO, simply ask the voiceover talent that you’re working with if they’d be able to consider a discount based on your charity status.
If you’re not sure which voiceover talent you’d like to use, just e-mail us at casting@bluewavevoiceover.com and we can coordinate a casting on your behalf.
Do your talents accept union scale (SAG-AFTRA)?
Our voiceover talents are able to work on SAG-AFTRA union voiceover projects for scale. With dues paid up to date, they are cleared to work.
Do you charge for auditions/sample reads?
No. We know that sometimes it is easier to make a decision by hearing your script read versus casting from professionally produced voiceover demos. Our talents are happy to read a 15-30 second sample of your script to help you make your casting decision. You can email the political voiceover talents directly that you are interested in working with, or you can send your script and specs to casting@bluewavevoiceover.com and we will coordinate a casting for you.
If you’re not sure which voiceover talent you’d like to use, just e-mail us at casting@bluewavevoiceover.com and we can coordinate a casting on your behalf.
Is Blue Wave Voiceover an agency?
No. Blue Wave Voiceover is a marketing collective of professional political voiceover talents that work in the Democratic, progressive and advocacy space. Blue Wave Voiceover is not a talent agency or an employment agency. It does not operate as an organization in isolation. We do not charge a commission or a fee for using the talent listed here. We also do not charge for auditions or sample reads.
If you prefer to work through a talent agency, members of our roster are all represented by top talent agencies in different media markets and they can easily connect you with one of their representatives who can handle billing and payment on behalf of the talent.
Are voiceover talents freelance independent contractors?
For the most part, yes — however, if you’re producing a spot as a union job, the performer may actually be classified with “employee” status (working on a W4) versus “independent contractor” status (working on a W9).
Our voiceover talents will likely have different individual company setups that suit their location and situation. Just let us know what you need from a paperwork and payment perspective, and we can do our best to make it work.
How do I pay my voiceover talent?
There are many secure, reliable and fast online payment solutions, and most voiceover talent are happy to accommodate whatever form is easiest for you. Among the options are ACH/direct deposit, credit cards, wire transfers, PayPal, Zelle, Venmo, Transferwise and good old-fashioned checks.
If you are working with a voice actor for the first time, they may request anywhere from a 50% deposit to payment in full before delivery of the audio file. They will send an invoice with a clear description of the scope of the voiceover project, the terms of usage (where the audio will play and for how long) and the audio deliverables (in what format, how many files and when are they due). This is common practice and after the first project has been completed, normal invoicing and payment terms (net 15 or 30 days) usually apply.