The voiceover industry is dominating much of the media fraternity currently. From eLearning, audiobooks to home assistants, and plenty more, the industry is growing astronomically. Due to this rapid surge, we will see a continuous evolution and upcoming trends in the near future.
Let’s take a look at some of the most prominent and current voiceover trends below:
1. No More Geographical Boundaries
A certain segment of voiceover will no longer have to suffer geographical limitations, such as the audio ad creation for example. Voiceover actors who specialize in this category can now access a pool of opportunities from different places of the world while working remotely.
While certain categories of the voice acting career, such as anime voice acting, are still in the process of shifting online completely, the majority are moving towards remote work. The most popular voiceover trend is the industry’s rapid increase in its capability of operating complex and larger projects online.
The future shows promising signs of complex voiceover projects, such as complex dubbing featuring multiple characters, shifting online completely.
2. Equal Pay and Gender Equality for Voiceover Artists
Whether you’re a British voiceover male artist or an American voiceover female artist, the good news is that you will now enjoy equal gender rights and pay in this industry. In 2019, industry experts had reports that the demand for female voiceover artists was picking and the gender gap was diminishing.
By 2020, not only had the trend picked up but also became permanent. In 2021, we now know that both male and female artists have equal employment opportunities in this industry, and the trend that 2019 had predicted to set in slowly, picked up a remarkable pace five years before its anticipated time.
Currently, the industry experts also give testimony to the fact that male and female voiceover artists are earning equal pay for the same work intensity.
3. Demand Consistency of Conversational Voiceovers
The consistent history of conversational audio and audiobook voiceover has proved that this category of voiceover is a permanent trend for life. 2020 only gave further rise to this demand when social distancing became a necessity and people started seeking human connection more than ever before.
As the situation prevails and looks like it is going to be the new normal for the rest of life, this human connection feel will only have a more prominent place in the voiceover industry.
A deeper observation of today’s world will show you how everything is leaning towards a more natural and realistic read. People are seeking grounded sensibility even more and the vocal requirements are a depiction of this. You will even find a touch of realism in voiceovers of animated characters now and it just reflects what the new industry norm is.
While it may sound somewhat extraordinary to you, but it is currently a fact that genuine reads and conversational voiceovers reflecting more human compassion and empathy will be a demanding trend for a long.
4. All-Inclusive Virtual Providers
Another very prominent trend that demands our attention is the consolidation of all-inclusive providers virtually. This consolidation comes as a much-desired solution for a vast number of voiceover clients.
This consolidation means that a host of artists and clients can now gather virtually in a commonplace and find a variety of solutions for their voiceover need. Before the times of technology, such integration was absolutely unimaginable and many did not even believe in the feasibility of it.
Now that technology is more accessible and available to all, the consolidation of virtual online providers will continue to expand and chances of more diverse and versatile projects will increase. With this trend, we will soon the difference between an in-person studio and an online studio fading in terms of skill and potentials.
5. Brands will rely heavily Upon Voiceovers
The past year has proved how we cannot count on perspectives, strategies, and priorities to last as they are for long. All of these can change instantly and the same goes for brands. 2020 was the year of revelations, especially for the businesses and brands that had to struggle with marketing tactics in a state of reality no one knew existed before COVID-19.
The pandemic brought home the realization that marketing teams need voices to reach target audiences despite the numerous restrictions. They soon realized that voiceovers were the most vital and helpful tool for this.
Like all other businesses that had to switch to remote working overnight, brands too had to rapidly collaborate with voiceover actors and turning to technologies to continue the flow of work.
This rapid and creative remote collaboration meant that voiceover artists and brands laid a new foundation for the industry. Therefore, 2021 will continue the trend of virtual collaboration and perhaps even beyond.
6. More Platforms
Online audio now has wider platforms for reaching their audience. Due to this expansion, you now have a variety of avenues online in which to place your online ads. Some of these include podcasts that appear on SoundCloud, Podbean, Buzzsprout, Pandora, iTunes, and so many other platforms. You could either sponsor a podcast or run your audio ad on these.
Then you may also place an audio ad on music platforms, where your ad runs while users are streaming or in between the songs they’re listening to. Currently, you can find platforms including Apple Music, Pandora, and Spotify for it.
In the near future, this trend will see an even wider array of online audio platforms emerging and catering to various demographics and different groups. Simultaneously, we can now even expect a move in the near future towards content niche and specialization platforms.
This move will surely impact the voiceover industry in even greater ways and we will see more discerning audiences enjoying an assortment of specialized voice acting work.
Final Thoughts
The voiceover industry is continuously evolving but since the major changes since 2020, even more, trends have surfaced. It would be right to conclude that emerging international markets, more clients, more demands for voiceover work, more freelance talent, and improved technology is going to give a massive rise to multifunctional and online studios.
