photo by loop_oh

My wife was looking at my website and noticed all the links I have to other voice actors and she asked me “Aren’t you promoting the competition?”  Excellent question.

I suppose that is one way of looking at it, that yes I am promoting the competition but I think that’s a little too simplistic and here’s why: 

The Competition

Most of the time I don’t really think of other voice actors as competition.  They are colleagues and some are true friends.  There are some voiceover artists I admire greatly and some I am very thankful they take the time to mentor me.  Others are not as far along the professional curve as I am and I try to take the time to help them when they ask.  So no, in my mind they are not competition.

Many Styles

As a professional I want you to have the perfect voice over.  Hopefully I can provide that to you but if my voice isn’t the one you need for your current project that’s okay.  There are certain styles of VO I excel at and get paid well to do.  Other voiceover actors have styles that they perform better than I.  In that sense we are not competing at all since we bring different things to the table.  I want your project to be a success.  If I can be a part of that success that is fantastic but if another voice is better suited, that’s cool.  Hopefully you will keep me in mind for your next project.

Promoting The Industry

photo by Brian Hart

When I promote another voice actor by adding a link to my site or posting about them I’m not necessarily promoting the competition, I’m promoting the voice over industry as a whole.  When a movie theater puts up several posters of different films on their wall are they competing against themselves?  No, because regardless of what movie you select the theater profits.  When you hire a voice actor the entire industry profits.  So again, while I hope I am right for your project and can work with you on it, I’m very happy to see my friends and colleagues in the industry getting work and gaining exposure too.

Now you know why I feel it is okay to provide links to other sites on my blog.  But I pose the question to you: Am I promoting the competition?