What is the voiceover market size?

With the advent of YouTube, social media, and other ways to share video content, the voiceover industry has experienced tremendous market growth. Once limited to TV and film, voice actors now offer their talents to everything from audiobook narration to e-learning videos.

The industry’s success looks set to continue as artificial intelligence gives rise to new apps that make voiceovers easier to obtain than ever before. In this article, we dig into the market dynamics of the voiceover industry and explore future opportunities for the market.

Voiceovers – A $4.4 billion industry

In its independent study, Report on the Global Voice-Over Market, Voices.com provide a useful market overview for voiceover work.

Starting with the headline statistic, the market research report tells us that the global industry, spanning from North America to China, has a value of USD$4.4 billion.

Digging deeper, the report says that Canada and the U.S. account for the lion’s share of voiceover activity, and 58% of all voiceover work is related to the entertainment industry. That industry includes film, television, podcasts, and online entertainment videos.

It is clear that online videos have a huge role to play in the industry’s growth. Voices.com’s report discovered that voiceover work on animated videos less than 20 minutes long accounts for over 50% of all voice acting.

Building on this report, statistics from Digital Agency Network offer some insight into what the voiceover industry is doing so well:

• Animated videos make up about 33% of global video advertising. This aligns with Voices.com’s figures regarding how sub-20-minute animated videos account for over 50% of the voice industry.
• In the forecast period between 2022 and 2027, audiobooks will reach a market value of $19.4 billion. With voice work being crucial to audiobook narration advancements, it’s fair to assume that the voiceover industry will grow alongside the audiobook sector.
• Explainer videos, such as those used in e-learning and for business, can increase a company’s revenue by 80%. We see a direct link to profit here, indicating there will be more demand for voiceover work in the future.

Combine these stats with the increased online video viewing and podcast listening in the post-pandemic era. It’s clear that voiceovers will experience a continued and upward high growth rate.

The key players in voiceovers

As with all industries, market segmentation plays a role. Many providers from countries as diverse as Nigeria, Spain, Russia, and South Africa, have expanding voiceover markets. But the following are three leading companies that make up the competitive landscape of the voiceover sector.

• ABC Dubbing and Subtitles Studios – Based in the Middle East, ABC provides subtitles and dubbing for major Hollywood, Bollywood, and international film producers. It’s particularly prominent in Saudi Arabia thanks to its “Hollywood in Arabic” service.
• Tohokushinsha Film Corporation – Based in Japan, Tohokushinsha is responsible for subbing many Asian films, which later find their way to Europe and North America. Its work isn’t restricted to voice acting, as the company is also involved in film promotion and production.
• VOA Voice Studios – With offices in France and the United States, VOA is an agency that hosts 1,000 voice actors capable of providing voiceovers in over 60 languages. It’s particularly popular in the corporate niche. The company relies on native actors, meaning a video made for Brazil will feature a Brazilian actor. In contrast, one intended for Germany will feature a German voice artist.

Future opportunities for the voiceover market

Interestingly, the COVID-19 pandemic created more opportunities for voice actors. Combined with technological evolutions, these opportunities spell good things for the future of voiceover and the industry’s overall market share.

The rise of remote studios

Remote work is on the rise, influencing the global market across all industries. This is true of voiceover work, too, as many actors set up home studios during the pandemic to work remotely.

With this “test run” of remote work proving successful, we’ll likely see a rise in remote studios. That means a studio in the UK could easily host remote talent in Italy, South Korea, and Latin America, allowing it to offer voiceover services to larger audiences.

More demand for voice talent

As mentioned earlier, the sheer volume of opportunities for voiceover work today creates demand for talent. Currently, voice acting is the standard in modern video games. And Amazon’s success with Audible means voice artists can always record audiobooks.

Combine these modern sources of voice work with more traditional ones, such as radio dramas and instructional videos – demand will rise as more opportunities present themselves.

The implementation of AI technology

By application, artificial intelligence presents a threat to the voiceover market.

After all, using AI means that companies don’t need to hire voice actors. If they need a video for Argentina, they can get a synthetic voice (with a suitable accent) via AI. Or, a studio doesn’t need to source an actor from Australia if they need an Aussie accent.

But AI can also contribute to the industry. Ease of use will appeal to larger corporate clients. And the lower cost of AI may make voiceovers accessible to smaller companies.

Speechify Voiceover – Get voiceovers without a voice actor

With the rise of AI, we will see services like Speechify Voiceover become more popular. Using its text to speech technology and methodology, Speechify Voiceover creates human-quality voices from the text you enter into the app.

It’s super simple. Type any text you want to hear, select a voice, and press “Generate.” Speechify does the rest, resulting in an audio recording you can use for any project.

It’s also free to try. Give Speechify Voiceover a try today and see what the future of the voiceover industry holds in store.

FAQ

What is the #1 voiceover company?

It isn’t easy to find figures relating to market share. However, the three companies mentioned in the article (ABC Dubbing and Subtitles, Tohokushinsha, and VOA) are market leaders in voiceover work.

What is the industry rate for a voiceover?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average cost of a voice actor is between $300 and $500 for the first hour of work. Each subsequent hour costs between $200 and $350.

How many voiceover jobs are there?

There are thousands of voiceover jobs, ranging from short YouTube videos to feature-length films.

What are the requirements to become a voice actor?

Voice actors don’t require formal education. Instead, requirements include honed acting skills, natural delivery, and consistency.