This topic recently popped up on Such A Voice’s Facebook page, and the person wanted to know whether or not she should be watermarking her auditions for sites such as Voices.com or Voice123.com

When discussing watermarks for audio files, a watermark refers to a second layer of audio that you would lay over your voice over to prevent a shady client from using your work without paying for it first. If you are auditioning for a commercial, your watermark might be as subtle as a “bing!” sound every few seconds, which shouldn’t be so loud as to get in the way of your actual voice-over work, but would render your voice-over useless for commercial purposes. If you are auditioning for something longer, like a narration, another common watermark would sound like, “This is just a demo by John Smith.” You would insert that watermark anywhere from 10-30 seconds into the full script audition.

Although it’s a great idea to be on the look out and protect your voice over jobs, we don’t recommend that you watermark all of your auditions. If you are working with a well-known client or a repeat client, there is a degree of respect and mutual trust that they won’t use your work without paying you for it. You don’t want to find yourself in the situation where you get passed up for a voice over gig because you offended the client by inserting an intrusive watermark.

We understand — after all your voice-over training and hard work, you certainly want to maintain the integrity of your business. However, watermarking often isn’t worth the risk that you’ll offend a potential client. It should be a very high priority to maintain good working relationships in this industry.

That being said, when should you watermark your voice-over work?

It depends on the interactions you have had with the client. The longer you work in the voice-over industry, the better you’ll be able to tell how to handle these nuanced situations. Some instances in which you should at least consider watermarking your work include:

1. You are working with an over-seas client who you aren’t familiar with. 2. You are working with an “unknown” client for a project that was posted through Craigslist or another open forum. (Disclaimer: Craigslist is great, but anyone can post anything for any purpose there.). 3. You are working with a new client who wants you to read the entire script for your audition.

The good thing about erring on the side of trusting the client is that on the off chance you get a shady client, you can tell everyone about it through social media. If you don’t get paid for work you do, or if a client treats you badly, you can let other voice-over artists know about it. And, in the worst case, you find a “voice-over job” that ends up being someone totally sleazy, you can warn other future victims. (See, the Sleazy Sneeze Guy)

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