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Voices.com

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Voices.com

Founded15 December 2003
Headquarters150 Dufferin Ave. Suite 800, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5N6
Area servedGlobal
Key peopleDavid Ciccarelli (CEO), Stephanie Ciccarelli (VP)
IndustryMedia / Entertainment
Employees25
URLOfficial website
Launched25 October 2011

Voices.com is a job search website focusing on voice actors and voice actor employers, headquartered in London, Ontario.[2] The company has a global user base of more than 200,000 registered individuals and companies.[3]

Company history

The company was founded in 2004 by husband and wife David and Stephanie Ciccarelli and was officially incorporated in 2005 in Ontario, Canada.[3] The couple first developed the business on the back of a paper napkin while sitting at their kitchen table.[2] The original name for the business was Interactive Voices, and eventually purchased the website Voices.com for $30,000 from the medical journal Silencing the Critical Voices in your Head.[4] It allows employers in small markets to connect with voice actors in other regions, as well as connecting larger companies with voice actors.[5] In 2011 Voices.com had revenues of $2,266,887, 97% of which came from exports.[6] That year the company moved its headquarters from an industrial park to a larger space in downtown London. The company has not paid profit sharing bonuses to employees since mid-2014, as it grapples with rapidly accelerating expenses and expanding red ink. A recently announced expansion to New York City has prompted speculation over the company's future commitment to employment levels at its London, Ontario offices.[2]

Business overview

Voices.com has a store function that provides prices for different kinds of voice services, such as commercials or voicemail messages. It also has a library of articles to educate users about the voice acting industry and trends in the field.[7] The site offers freelancers in more than 100 languages. Beside each freelancer's name there is a small sample of the person's voice that employers can listen to.[8][9] In May 2012 the website launched an app for iPad and iPhone devices,[10] followed by the release of an app for android devices in January 2013, both allowing job seekers to interact with potential employers directly over their mobile devices.[3] Clients that have already worked with Voices.com include ESPN, PBS, The History Channel, Reader’s Digest, and Greer & Associates.[11]

People

David Ciccarelli has been nominated for the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the Business Development Bank of Canada.[12] David Ciccarelli and Stephanie Ciccarelli are the authors of the book Voice Acting For Dummies.[13] David currently serves as CEO of the company, while Stephanie serves as chief marketing officer.[14]

Awards

  • In 2007 Voices.com was awarded an Elite Market Award by CRM Magazine.[15]
  • In 2012 the business was awarded the business of the year award by the London Chamber of Commerce.[3]

Controversies

In 2006 CEO of Voices.com David Ciccarelli claimed that the Google radio ad product, which was in Beta testing at the time, was nearly identical to the one offered by Voices.com. Ciccarelli admitted, however, that he hadn't actually seen Google's product, and neglected to mention that Google's offering was based on technology developed by dMarc, which Google had acquired the previous year.[16]

In 2014, voice talent Todd Schultz wrote a review of his experiences with Voices.com, specifically the Professional Services division, that exposed questionable practices involving Voices.com employees "trolling their own membership for low-budget talent, pocketing the lions share of the client's budget. The nasty part is, neither the client nor talent are aware of what's going on." The entry accuses Voices.com of misleading talent and mistreating its own staff - allegations which have prompted significant discussion and debate on social media.

He writes: "I've heard personally from former employees at Voices.com who have been threatened....now in fear of coming forward. Those that work there are rumoured to have been told to tow the line or be fired. Further still, talent who make noise about this issue are blacklisted ('Do Not Submit to Client') and staff are instructed to only submit 5 voices (out of several dozen in most cases); the 'short-list' for client review. I have worked for people like this in the past; early in my radio days. They preyed on the young & inexperienced; those just learning the world of business. Go figure that Voices.com's staff are all in their early 20's; easy to mould and manipulate. What kind of people do this sort of thing? I'll tell you. People who can't be trusted."[17]

2015 was the year the site’s Professional Services Division became a major focus of the company and a major source of contention for talent and producers. In addition to charging talent a minimum of $399 annually plus 10% on every job booked, through the newly created PS Division the site took the job over, removing it from the control of the client and preventing talent and client from communicating with each other. As more and more jobs were funneled through this division, more and more talent discovered they were being paid less than half of the rate these jobs had offered when posted directly by the client.

It was on this backdrop that Edge Studio's Graeme Spicer interviewed Voices.com's Founder and CEO David Ciccarelli . As Spicer began asking Ciccarelli about specific cases, it became clear that this wasn’t going to be a simple PR piece and the discussion became heated. Following the interview there was a outcry by talent who began canceling their subscriptions to Voices.com. This webinar was supposed to have been posted online following the interview, but it wasn’t, however the audio is publicly available through the link below. [18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Voices.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  2. ^ a b c John Matisz (7 August 2012). "The voice of success – Local company up for province-wide biz award". Metro. Retrieved 5 March 2013. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d John Matisz (21 January 2013). "Voices.com in London gets more interactive". Metro. Retrieved 5 March 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Sprouter (17 October 2010). "Voices.com founder: Be quick and always give great service". Financial Post. Retrieved 5 March 2013. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Thomas Friedman (12 December 2009). "The Do-It-Yourself Economy". New York Times. Retrieved 5 March 2013. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "Voices.com (Interactive Voices Inc.)". Profit Guide. Retrieved 5 March 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ TJ McCue (14 September 2010). "Voiceover Talent for Your Small Business: Review of Voices.com". Small Business Trends. Retrieved 5 March 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ Steve Mollman (11 June 2007). "Internet gives voice to unseen actors". CNN. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  9. ^ Blake Ellis (5 October 2010). "Surprising six-figure jobs: Voice actor for TV commercials". CNN. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  10. ^ "Voices.com launches new mobile app for iPhone and iPad". London Community News. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Friedman, Thomas L. (13 December 2009). "The Do-It-Yourself Economy". http://www.nytimes.com: The New York Times. Retrieved 25 May 2011. We had a script that called for 4 to 5 voices. Rather than hiring local voice talent — for $250 to $500 per hour — we searched the Internet for high-quality voices that we could afford. We found several sites offering various forms of narration or voice-overs. We selected www.voices.com. In less than one minute, we created an account, posted our requirements and solicited bids. Within five minutes, we had 10 to 15 'applicants. {{cite news}}: External link in |location= (help)
  12. ^ "David Ciccarelli". Tech Vibes. Retrieved 5 March 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ David Ciccarelli and Stephanie Ciccarelli (2012). Voice Acting For Dummies. For Dummies. Retrieved 5 March 2013. {{cite book}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ Mary Knox Merrill. "Easy High-Paying Jobs – Voice Actor". CNBC. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  15. ^ Phillip Britt (September 2007). "The 2007 Market Awards: Elite -- Voices.com". CRM Magazine. Retrieved 5 March 2013. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ "Startup Cries Foul at Google's New Radio Ads Product". http://www.techcrunch.com: Tech Crunch. Retrieved 25 May 2011. Voices.com CEO David Ciccarelli is crying foul at part of Google's new radio ad product, which is in beta testing with select Google Adwords customers. {{cite web}}: External link in |location= (help)
  17. ^ "What every voice talent and client needs to know about Voices.com". http://www.toddschick.com: Todd Schick. Retrieved 13 August 2015. It appears that Voices.com has been trolling their own membership for low-budget talent, pocketing the lions share of the client's budget. The nasty part is, neither the client nor talent are aware of what's going on. {{cite web}}: External link in |location= (help)
  18. ^ "The interview Voices.com doesn't want you to hear". https://voicescomplaints.wordpress.com: VoicesComplaints. Retrieved 24 November 2015. More and more jobs were funneled through this division and it wasn't long before talent discovered they were being paid less than 50% of the rate these jobs had offered when posted directly. {{cite web}}: External link in |location= (help)

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