VO Rights for Physical Products

[racheldotson]

Hey sellers,

I'm recording the VO for a physical toy that will be sold for profit. Do commercial rights cover this? Thank you for any clarity on this subject. 

 

[smashradio]

6 hours ago, racheldotson said:

Hey sellers,

I'm recording the VO for a physical toy that will be sold for profit. Do commercial rights cover this? Thank you for any clarity on this subject. 

 

Hi there, 

It depends. I assume you're asking as a seller, so here's my take on it as a voice over talent on Fiverr: 

Broadcast rights is normally a full buy-out, while commercial rights are for any business use (except broadcast and paid ads). 

This is simplifying it a whole lot, but that's how I view it. 

it comes down to reach, really. 

So, the question is, what you feel is the right amount to charge for different types of usage. 

You don't have to include commercial rights at all as an extra. You don't have to include broadcast rights. You could bake them into your gig price and just say "all usage allowed - yey!". But that wouldn't be profitable, nor would it be very smart, since it leaves the buyer unprotected from potential legal problems. 

When I do VOs for games/toys, the producer/manufacturer normally want's the full buy out. This is because they are going to be making money (hopefully a lot!) on the project. So they want to make sure all their bases are covered. 

Commercial rights doesn't really do that in the way broadcast rights does it. Think about the reach, as well. Your voice will be used on potentially thousands or millions (!) of toys. That's a big reach! 

More on what exactly the different types of rights do can be found in this great post: