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Producing Your Own Demo? That’s Just Stinkin’ Thinkin’

Disney voice artist & the voice of dozens of commercials Joe Loesch lends us his ear

Joe LoeschWe caught up with Joe Loesch, an award winning author, voice actor for Disney & dozens of commercials and spoken word producer. Recently he met with some new voice actors and found that some of them were planning to produce their own demos. Not only that, but most of these people had never even had a single voice over class.

So, someone wants to produce their own demo, what’s your take Joe?
I know you have to consider your finances when working with a coach and when it comes to hiring a producer. You must realize that it takes an investment before you can see a return. You’re not going to see good returns while you’re busy cutting corners. Thinking you can do it all yourself is just stinkin’ thinkin’. Maybe you think you’re pretty good at mixing voice tracks with music!  How hard can it be, right?

But keep this in mind, there are just a few experienced/professional audio engineer/voice-talent types who could actually produce their own demo. But even those pros are dubious when it comes to producing their own. Your voice over demo is your calling card? Do you really want to throw your career to chance?— Joe Loesch

Here’s some good reasons to rethink this would-be blunder:

Joe Loesch and voice artists in trainingYOU’RE JUST TOO CLOSE TO IT

You need another pair of ears. After you’ve produced your own demo, you’ll most likely have your friends and family (all outsiders by the way) listen to it, and you’ll get five different opinions from five different people. If you’re a perfectionist like most voice-actors, then you’re going to want to tweak it…over and over, again and again.

SELF-DIRECTION?
Voice-actor’s self-direct all the time. But who wouldn’t prefer to have someone present to give you feedback? Another pair of ears, listening in during the session, drawing the best from you, and pointing out new or different perceptions is worth a million bucks.  A professional demo gives you that.

COPY & CONTENT
Never use the copy you received for an audition. And never use the scripts from Edge Studio or any other voice over library. Be careful of brand names, and the listener recognizing that you’re not the top Hollywood talent reading for a popular product.

Here’s where a great demo producer is worth every penny. They know what great copy looks like. Your demo should showcase the best of your abilities. If you don’t put your best foot forward in the few seconds…you might as well hang it up.— Joe Loesch

This is what these professionals do for a living. They know what’s hot and what’s not. They know the market…and they know you and your best sound. Let them do their job to help you sound your best. And, stop your Stinkin’ Thinkin’!


Joe Loesch is an award winning author, voice actor and spoken word producer. Joe has produced over a hundred audiobooks, voiced dozens of national commercials and several cartoons for the Disney channel. He produced the Baby Looney Tunes sound-books. Joe teaches voice acting locally for The Actor’s School in Franklin, TN. He has been traveling the US with Booth Camp for Edge Studio and continues to do so this year. This all day commercial workshop is designed to prepare you for your voice over career.


Welcome to the VoicesUS blog. Here we explore all facets of the amazing world that is the voiceover industry. We feature guest authors on topics such as how to get started, what equipment is best for your recordings, how to find clients and how to best show off your skills on VoicesUS. To join our family of North American voiceover artists please click here. Post a free casting call to find the perfect voice for your project, click herewe’re ready to help!

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