VO artists - how much do you charge for revisions requiring rerecording?

[gwyneth_galvin]

Hey gang, sorry for two posts in ONE DAY :crazy_face:

Serious question to you VO vets. I put my foot down today for pretty much the first time ever and refused to do a full re-record free of charge, and guess what? The buyer insulted me and immediately requested a cancellation on the grounds of “poor quality work”. I don’t think they knew I was going to see their message when they sent the request… lol

I asked for them to just pay the cost of the number of words they wanted me to re-record, no more. I did not ask for the ENTIRE payment to be resubmitted, although I think they may have been confused about that based on their angry message.

What do y’all charge? Do you give a discount for re-recorded scripts or do you ask for the word-count payment to be made again in full, excluding extras?

[wolfhowler]

Do you have revisions already with the gig package? If so they can rightfully ask for it to be re-done. However, if you have no revisions then you have every right to ask them to pay for a revision, this could however backfire as it could just lead to disgruntled customers and cancelled orders.

For me it would depend on how long the voiceover is to the cost and if it needed a full re-record or just a few drop-ins. Also would depend on if the revision request was wildly different to the original requirements submitted by the buyer.

[coerdelion]

A) “Orders are not eligible to be cancelled based on the quality of service/materials delivered by the Seller if the service was rendered as described in the Gig Page. Buyers may rate their experience with the Seller on the Order Page, including the overall level of service quality received.”

B) “Revisions to deliveries can be performed by Sellers based on the Seller’s Gig and customer care. Sellers may determine the amount of revisions offered to Buyers, including no revisions.”

These are my favourite parts of the TOS. Stand your ground, Gwynneth - your voice could do with the rest!

[gwyneth_galvin]

Do you have revisions already with the gig package? If so they can rightfully ask for it to be re-done. However, if you have no revisions then you have every right to ask them to pay for a revision, this could however backfire as it could just lead to disgruntled customers and cancelled orders.

For me it would depend on how long the voiceover is to the cost and if it needed a full re-record or just a few drop-ins. Also would depend on if the revision request was wildly different to the original requirements submitted by the buyer.

It wasn’t a revision, it was a totally new direction for the entire script. I also let all my buyers know before we begin that any changes to direction or changes to the script which are not mentioned before I deliver the final product will incur an extra fee if they require me to start over from scratch. He agreed to those terms, and his request came out of left field. The changes he asked for were totally different from his initial requirements. I’ve just changed my gigs so that NO revisions are included anymore, but no, this buyer understood exactly what was included in his order, or at least he agreed that he did, before we started.

Also would depend on if the revision request was wildly different to the original requirements submitted by the buyer.

it was one of these situations.

[wolfhowler]

It wasn’t a revision, it was a totally new direction for the entire script. I also let all my buyers know before we begin that any changes to direction or changes to the script which are not mentioned before I deliver the final product will incur an extra fee if they require me to start over from scratch. He agreed to those terms, and his request came out of left field. The changes he asked for were totally different from his initial requirements. I’ve just changed my gigs so that NO revisions are included anymore, but no, this buyer understood exactly what was included in his order, or at least he agreed that he did, before we started.

Also would depend on if the revision request was wildly different to the original requirements submitted by the buyer.

it was one of these situations.

I would definitely be asking the buyer to pay up then, given this scenario. I’d usually work out what my pay per hour is from the normal gig price and make an estimate on the revision from there.

[davidatbrook]

That’s an unpleasant experience! I’m curious, did you resolve this with customer support or the buyer? It’s one of my biggest worries when starting up my first gig.

[cubittaudio]

Hey gang, sorry for two posts in ONE DAY :crazy_face:

Serious question to you VO vets. I put my foot down today for pretty much the first time ever and refused to do a full re-record free of charge, and guess what? The buyer insulted me and immediately requested a cancellation on the grounds of “poor quality work”. I don’t think they knew I was going to see their message when they sent the request… lol

I asked for them to just pay the cost of the number of words they wanted me to re-record, no more. I did not ask for the ENTIRE payment to be resubmitted, although I think they may have been confused about that based on their angry message.

What do y’all charge? Do you give a discount for re-recorded scripts or do you ask for the word-count payment to be made again in full, excluding extras?

I asked for them to just pay the cost of the number of words they wanted me to re-record, no more. I did not ask for the ENTIRE payment to be resubmitted, although I think they may have been confused about that based on their angry message.

We do exactly this. So if the buyer wants a full re-record, it’s the cost of the full word-count again, plus the cost of any extras directly related to the work (like audio sync etc). If it’s just a couple of lines, the cost of a revision would typically be very small. (and if it’s like a single line, we might just do it at no cost)

[gwyneth_galvin]

That’s an unpleasant experience! I’m curious, did you resolve this with customer support or the buyer? It’s one of my biggest worries when starting up my first gig.

I’m curious, did you resolve this with customer support or the buyer?

I tried to politely resolve it with the buyer but before I could even send a message explaining what was within the scope of their order they had requested a mutual cancellation. My mental health has been on thin ice lately so I accepted it and cracked on with my other orders. Too busy and too stressed to argue lately.

[gwyneth_galvin]

I asked for them to just pay the cost of the number of words they wanted me to re-record, no more. I did not ask for the ENTIRE payment to be resubmitted, although I think they may have been confused about that based on their angry message.

We do exactly this. So if the buyer wants a full re-record, it’s the cost of the full word-count again, plus the cost of any extras directly related to the work (like audio sync etc). If it’s just a couple of lines, the cost of a revision would typically be very small. (and if it’s like a single line, we might just do it at no cost)

If it’s just a couple of lines, the cost of a revision would typically be very small. (and if it’s like a single line, we might just do it at no cost)

Same here. If it’s a small change like an inflection for one or two lines I will almost always do it for free. This client said it sounded “off” - sorry, you want me to do all this work again because something you can’t put your finger on doesn’t sit right? It was upwards of 700 words and about 15 files. 😬

For me, my 1 revision means they could very well ask me to re-record the whole thing (otherwise, what is a revision? One sentence? 10? Who draws the line?)

I make it explicitly clear when a buyer is placing an order that anything not mentioned before we get started may incur additional fees. If the buyer still needs changes after, I try to be as flexible as possible. One or two lines I’ll usually do for free especially if I’m not swamped, even though technically it’s not included.

But if you explained them beforehand about the exception of changing the direction and they agreed, then they are just being dishonest.

This is the case with all my orders - they are made aware what is included.

However, if I understood correctly, you only changed it to “no revisions” afterwards, right? So “officially”, if they choose to ignore what you told them, they can…

You’re correct, I’ve now gotten rid of revisions altogether on my gig to eliminate any possible confusion. However anyone who reads my gig description and fills out the requirements correctly - including the message that says >>PLEASE READ<< followed by a disclaimer about what is included in a revision request - would know what is included when they place an order.

My 1 free revision would have covered anything like adding space between lines, sending a different file format, correcting a pronunciation of a word, deleting part of the voice over, or other small changes. It ALSO would have included a change in tone if I had failed to follow instructions - for example if the buyer said “we want it to sound punchy and enthusiastic” and I delivered a sleepy or robotic sounding voice-over. But starting over from square one, scrapping the work I’ve just completed and providing a totally brand-new second product despite having delivered exactly what the buyer requested? Not included.

[cubittaudio]

If it’s just a couple of lines, the cost of a revision would typically be very small. (and if it’s like a single line, we might just do it at no cost)

Same here. If it’s a small change like an inflection for one or two lines I will almost always do it for free. This client said it sounded “off” - sorry, you want me to do all this work again because something you can’t put your finger on doesn’t sit right? It was upwards of 700 words and about 15 files. 😬

For me, my 1 revision means they could very well ask me to re-record the whole thing (otherwise, what is a revision? One sentence? 10? Who draws the line?)

I make it explicitly clear when a buyer is placing an order that anything not mentioned before we get started may incur additional fees. If the buyer still needs changes after, I try to be as flexible as possible. One or two lines I’ll usually do for free especially if I’m not swamped, even though technically it’s not included.

But if you explained them beforehand about the exception of changing the direction and they agreed, then they are just being dishonest.

This is the case with all my orders - they are made aware what is included.

However, if I understood correctly, you only changed it to “no revisions” afterwards, right? So “officially”, if they choose to ignore what you told them, they can…

You’re correct, I’ve now gotten rid of revisions altogether on my gig to eliminate any possible confusion. However anyone who reads my gig description and fills out the requirements correctly - including the message that says >>PLEASE READ<< followed by a disclaimer about what is included in a revision request - would know what is included when they place an order.

My 1 free revision would have covered anything like adding space between lines, sending a different file format, correcting a pronunciation of a word, deleting part of the voice over, or other small changes. It ALSO would have included a change in tone if I had failed to follow instructions - for example if the buyer said “we want it to sound punchy and enthusiastic” and I delivered a sleepy or robotic sounding voice-over. But starting over from square one, scrapping the work I’ve just completed and providing a totally brand-new second product despite having delivered exactly what the buyer requested? Not included.

But starting over from square one, scrapping the work I’ve just completed and providing a totally brand-new second product despite having delivered exactly what the buyer requested? Not included.

This is why we’ve never opted to include revisions as standard in our gigs. It’s so ambiguous with VO, unless someone gives you an audio reference to work off (and even then, we might think it’s spot-on, but the client might hear something different). Our policy is now covered in our FAQs (referenced in our description) and is literally, “Mistakes will be fixed for free, revisions for any other reason are at our discretion. Contact us if you have issues.”

Requirements can be ambiguous in other fields like logo design, writing etc also, but I find it to be a real issue in VO work, especially when so often, you’re dealing with a third party (and you usually only find out when you get a message after delivery saying “my client has listened to the file and…”)

Buyers often just stuff a load of buzzwords into their requirements, that often contradict one another. “Slow, but commercial enough to still appeal to our demographic, the corporate buyers of Garden Centre Warehouse Management Systems. High-energy but not cheesy, soft with an almost maternal vibe, but still punchy and authoritative…”

Honestly, for about the past year now, our approach has been to read the script, read the brief, but then reserve the right to just go with our gut if the brief makes no sense. We’ve done that so many times now, and with maybe the odd exception here and there, it usually works out great.

We know our revisions policy has lead to some clients not choosing us. We had someone message the other day about a 500 word company voicemail script, and he wanted to know (this is the opening message to us) how many times we’d be willing to do it again until it was exactly how he wanted it. We explained our policy, so he then asked what we’d charge for a full re-record, if needed, clearly expecting a discount. When we explained our policy to him (for the second time), he disappeared, and we’ve not heard from him since. I know we could have done that project without issue, but if a buyer is already expecting a job to require multiple takes before they’ve placed an order, that sets alarm bells ringing for me.

[gwyneth_galvin]

But starting over from square one, scrapping the work I’ve just completed and providing a totally brand-new second product despite having delivered exactly what the buyer requested? Not included.

This is why we’ve never opted to include revisions as standard in our gigs. It’s so ambiguous with VO, unless someone gives you an audio reference to work off (and even then, we might think it’s spot-on, but the client might hear something different). Our policy is now covered in our FAQs (referenced in our description) and is literally, “Mistakes will be fixed for free, revisions for any other reason are at our discretion. Contact us if you have issues.”

Requirements can be ambiguous in other fields like logo design, writing etc also, but I find it to be a real issue in VO work, especially when so often, you’re dealing with a third party (and you usually only find out when you get a message after delivery saying “my client has listened to the file and…”)

Buyers often just stuff a load of buzzwords into their requirements, that often contradict one another. “Slow, but commercial enough to still appeal to our demographic, the corporate buyers of Garden Centre Warehouse Management Systems. High-energy but not cheesy, soft with an almost maternal vibe, but still punchy and authoritative…”

Honestly, for about the past year now, our approach has been to read the script, read the brief, but then reserve the right to just go with our gut if the brief makes no sense. We’ve done that so many times now, and with maybe the odd exception here and there, it usually works out great.

We know our revisions policy has lead to some clients not choosing us. We had someone message the other day about a 500 word company voicemail script, and he wanted to know (this is the opening message to us) how many times we’d be willing to do it again until it was exactly how he wanted it. We explained our policy, so he then asked what we’d charge for a full re-record, if needed, clearly expecting a discount. When we explained our policy to him (for the second time), he disappeared, and we’ve not heard from him since. I know we could have done that project without issue, but if a buyer is already expecting a job to require multiple takes before they’ve placed an order, that sets alarm bells ringing for me.

I think you might have gotten my client who cancelled on me for not recording again 😂 did it involve a lot of split files?

[cubittaudio]

I think you might have gotten my client who cancelled on me for not recording again 😂 did it involve a lot of split files?

😂 did it involve a lot of split files?

It did! Sounds like we might have dodged a bullet there.