Radio voice over jobs provide a regular income for many voice over actors. In this post from the series, how to become a voice actor, we explore radio advertising in more detail.
Radio Voice Over Jobs
The first paid radio ads were aired in the year 1922. Many people believe that the earliest radio commercial was the WEAF “toll broadcasting” program developed by AT&T. It was introduced in August, 1922, and it offered businesses the opportunity to advertise their products and services by sponsoring radio programs. Real estate company Queensboro Corporation from New York became the first sponsor, and it paid a total of $100.00 for a 10-minute advertisement to promote the sale of Long Island apartments.
In the following years, radio commercials gained popularity in the US. By the 1930’s, almost 90% of all the radio stations in the country were broadcasting commercials. They generated enough revenue to support their operational costs. Due to the increase in demand for radio ads, radio stations began to pre-record commercials instead of presenting them live. This created career opportunities for Americans who possessed voice talent as well as those who were skilled in writing radio commercial scripts. Now the radio voice over jobs are readily available to those that want to put the work in and get experience.
The main, or traditional, media for advertising up until the advent of the internet were print, TV and radio. Radio now faces a lot of competition from new media, such as mobile apps and channels such as YouTube.
Radio Voice Over Jobs – Ads
Radio starts with a station receiving an advertisements from their clients. Once the topic and target audience are identified they decide on the appropriate script. The advertising agency and/or station, then briefs the job to a voice actor and a producer for final production of the radio ad. The type of advertisement will determine the type of voice over jobs that an agency will recruit.
The transformation of radio from analogue to digital has broaden it’s reach. Commercial radio stations are now broadcast over the Internet, as well as on mobile phones, iPods, FM receivers, and traditional radio players. It has been proven that radio advertising is an effective way to create awareness on products and services and increase sales conversion rates.
Most of the commercials aired on radio last for a duration of 15 seconds to 60 seconds. The majority of ads are between 30s to 60s long.
Examples of Radio Voiceover – Performed By Peter Dickson
Radio Voice Over Jobs – The Role of the Voice Actor
The role of the voice actor is to deliver the script in the given time. Usually radio voice ads involve a lot more energy than TV ads and the reading speed is faster. Unlike TV ads, the audio is the most important aspect of the radio advertisement. The voice behind the ad must be persuasive yet suit the subject matter. The voice creates a picture in the listener’s mind. It is what catches and holds the attention. The attitude and tone of the spot depends completely on the voice over performance and any music or sound effects which are added afterwards in post-production.
It takes a significant amount of time and effort to build and maintain a career as a successful voiceover actor. This holds true for radio and tv commercial voiceovers work, as well as most types of voice over jobs.The best way to learn how to become a voice actor for radio ads is to practice. Record some radio adverts and then transcribe them. Take a broad range of scripts and practice voicing them. Play your audio back and review your performance vs the original performance. Whilst you don’t want to
Other types of voice over jobs you might be interested in:
Other types of voice over jobs you might find interesting:
ADR Voice Over Jobs
Anime Voice Over Jobs
Audiobook Voice Over Jobs
Cartoon Voice Over Jobs
Commercial Voice Over Jobs
Internet Voice Over Jobs
IVR Voice Over Jobs
Video Game Voice Over Jobs
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