I wrote an article on the blog a while ago, comparing the VO industry in Ireland to the one in the UK. Obviously, the two markets are very different. In Ireland we have the luxury of having a small, accessible capital city, where we can enjoy the finer things in life, like having proper face-time with voiceover performers. Lots of work abroad is done over ISDN, which in my view, is a distant second to being able to sit and discuss and direct a script with the VO artist.

However, there’s lots of work that doesn’t necessarily require this face-time. Stuff like: voiceovers for powerpoint presentations, vending machines, phone answering services - etc etc. Now, these might not be the most salubrious of jobs out there, and certainly don’t earn as much money as commercials - but there is more “churn”, i.e. basically, more of these gigs around. Some medium-sized company is never going to hire a sound studio at 400 euros an hour, and pay a voiceover 500 euro to do their answering machine message. However, that doesn’t mean they want a cheap sounding, non-professional answering service. This is where the lone voiceover with his humble sound studio comes in. He bangs it out from the comfort of his own home sitting in his PJs, and emails the mp3 straight over. Happy days.

Brian Walsh's home studio

There are tons of voiceovers that make a full time living from this stuff. They convert a small space in their house or garden into a voiceover booth - this could literally be tiny. As long as it’s sound proof, and they have a good mic and the right software on their computer. There are a few VOs in Ireland who are doing this successfully - the likes of Ger Wilson, Tim O’Donovan, Hugh Barford, Brian Walsh, Orla McGovern and Yvonne Lynch. Not sure if I missed anybody - but please let me know if I did. At Piehole we’ve traditionally focussed on the adveritising side of things, but are keen to source work for our VOs from as many avenues as possible! Especially in this non-fabulous financial climes.

I did a bit of snooping around to see if I could source a decent price for a home studio with all the fittings and it’s coming around 6k sterling. So in terms of setting up a business, it’s not a fortune, but is a substantial outlay of cashola. The trick would be to make sure you generate enough work to make it worthwhile. Watch this space, as I’ll be conducting interviews with all the VOs who have “been there, done that”. If anyone else has already got a home studio, or would like one - email me at info@piehole.ie

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