Thinking of Selling Your Voice? Read These Precautions First!
Here's what you need to know before earning that money in exchange for your voice
Some of you may have already been earning extra income as a freelance voice actor or by lending your voice in various AI marketplaces. For others, this may be the first time you read about this opportunity.
Let's familiarize ourselves with some of the websites where you can earn money by lending your voice:
1. Voices.com
https://www.voices.com/talent/get-paid
This website pays through PayPal. You create a profile first and then you can offer packages or respond to client jobs.
2. Voice123
They have plan tiers depending on the exposure that you prefer to find jobs. Regarding payment, they have “SurePay”, a system whereby the client’s payment is held in protection and then released to you via PayPal or check upon completion of the job.
3. ElevenLabs
According to their website, the default rate of earning from which you can estimate your own rate starts at about 1.1 cents per 1,000 characters and this can reach up to 3 cents per 1000 characters.
They pay through Stripe.
Here is what they say in case you want additional control for lending your voice:
“We allow you to add extra protection like live moderation, which controls what categories of content your voice can be used for.”
You can also read more about their policy on prohibited use. Make sure to read their Terms and Voice Library addendum.
(Note: I make no guarantees regarding the above websites. You should verify and join at your own risk.)
Knowing the Risks and How to Protect Your Rights When Earning From Your Voice
Here are some of the things you need to consider before you decide to earn money by lending your voice.
1. Read the contract thoroughly
Whether this is a contract with your client or a contract from the website where you are lending your voice to, read everything and make sure you understand the terms.
If you feel uncertain or uncomfortable about anything, clarify first or consult an expert. Don’t agree to anything you might regret later on.
2. Learn the specifics of the project
What specific project is being covered by your contract? Will it be for a particular ad or video? Will it involve lending your voice to an AI chatbot? For how long will you be lending your voice and get paid for it? In which countries would your voice be used?
3. Determine how much you will be paid for your voice
How much and through what payment method will you get your payment?
If you have thoroughly reviewed the contract as well as the scope of the job covered, you will have a better idea of how much you can set your payment rate.
The larger the scope and duration of the work, the higher you should be paid for it.
4. Retain ownership of your intellectual property
While you can lend your voice for licensing, it doesn’t mean that you need to surrender all your rights to it!
5. Limit the use of your voice
Getting paid for your vocal talent for a particular project doesn’t mean that your client can also transfer the right to use your voice to other parties.
6. Avoid scams and the fraudulent use of your voice
You don’t want to be involved in deepfake scams or other fraudulent activities through the use of your voice so make sure to avoid clients/companies that can damage your reputation and cause you harm.
Let your contracts clearly indicate that your voice should not be used in such activities. You should also exclude other areas or categories that you don’t want your voice to be used in such as drug or alcohol related topics, or those involving politics and other sensitive areas.
7. Know the scope of voice cloning
If your voice will be cloned, know its usage and limits. Will it be for temporary use? Will it be for a specific project only?
If you are going to lend your voice to be used for your client’s app, make sure to have a contract that it is for that specific app only and that they will not use it for their other apps and software.
8. Protect your privacy
Set strict limits to your private information such as your name, address, email, phone number and other similar data.
Just because you have allowed your voice to be used by a particular application or AI doesn’t mean that you have to let the whole world know it’s you.
Getting Paid Properly and Protecting Yourself
As a voice talent, you have to protect your assets. Don’t sell your voice without ensuring that you get paid well for it. Limit the use and duration as much as possible and retain your intellectual rights.
Pay particular attention also to the use of your voice on ElevenLabs where you will have to lend your voice to the marketplace to earn from its use (without any specific project/client in mind). This gives you the opportunity to earn passive income just from doing so, but be aware of its implications later on.