Hey, That’s a Lift

Authors and Publishers, you have to pay for lifts.

For those that don't know, a "lift" is when a client takes a portion of a recorded audio and uses it in a new spot, instead of hiring the voice over artist to record the same line. They’re mostly used in advertisements, and they’re pretty common. Lifts are not free in the voiceover industry, and the GVAA* rate guide offers guidance on how to charge for them.

They're almost non-existent in audiobooks. There’s little need to reuse a recording since books are unique, but today I saw the following audition:

"The audio recorded for the first 42 pages of this book will be used identically for the release of the (redacted) standalone audiobook. This multi-format approach gives your voice dual exposure across two distinct product listings upon release."

That’s definitely a lift, and it should be paid for (no monetary compensation was offered.) Suppose the RH is offering $400 PFH, and the book's word count is 40,000, which is approximately 4 hours long. The narrator is set to make $1600 for this audiobook but will only get exposure for the audiobook their recording is lifted into. Meanwhile the right's holder will earn money for both, and that's not right.

To whoever books this job, ask for compensation for the lift. The RH should pay you at least 25% of the offered PFH for the audio length of those 42 pages. If they refuse, I hope you walk away.

And enough of the use of exposure for compensation. No one can eat exposure. Exposure means asking a professional to work for free. To quote Mike Monteiro, who was quoting Goodfellas "🤬 you, pay me."

* Global Voice Acting Academy