Voice actors, or voice-over artists, are people who provide voices for animated characters in movies, television shows, video games, and other forms of media. They are also often used to provide narration for audio books and other forms of audio media. Voice actors typically earn their income through a combination of residuals, royalties, and fees charged for their services. Residuals are payments made to voice actors for each repeat airing of a movie, television show, or video game in which they have performed. These payments are typically made by the production companies that create the media, and they are generally based on a percentage of the actor’s original fee. For example, if an actor is paid $100 for a performance that is later shown on television 10 times, they would earn $10 in residuals each time it airs. Royalties are payments made to voice actors for each time a movie, television show, or video game in which they have performed is sold on DVD or other formats. These payments are also generally based on a percentage of the actor’s original fee. For example, if an actor is paid $100 for a performance that is later released on DVD, they would earn a royalty of $1 for each unit sold. Fees charged for voice-over services vary widely, and are typically negotiable. Factors that can affect the fee include the length and complexity of the project, the number of characters performed, the number of takes required, the actor’s experience and notoriety, and the production budget. For example, a voice actor might charge $100 for a short project with a single character, $500 for a longer project with multiple characters, or $5,000 or more for a major project with many characters. In general, voice actors can expect to earn a few hundred dollars per hour of work. However, the most successful and experienced voice actors can earn much more, sometimes tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars per project.
Voice actors make services by the hour. They typically make $100-$200 per hour.
Overall, voice actors make a good wage, with the majority of them earning between $50,000 and $100,000 per year. However, there are a small handful of voice actors who make significantly more than this, with some earning up to $1 million per year.