Booking a Commercial Voiceover: Versions, Usage and Session Planning
A commercial voiceover booking starts before the microphone is switched on. A producer may need a main film, several shorter edits, alternative end lines and social versions, all sharing one recognisable performance. Defining that scope early helps the recording serve the whole campaign.
When you send an enquiry, the most useful information is the script, the creative intention and a clear picture of how the finished adverts will be used. Here is how to organise it.
Map the versions before the session
List each deliverable separately: the main advert, cutdowns, alternative offers, regional lines and any different calls to action. A 15-second version may need a fresh performance to land naturally, even when its words come from the longer script.
Mark shared lines and unique lines. If an end line needs to work across several edits, give it enough context to record an appropriate pace and energy. A simple version list is easier to work from than a folder of scripts with unclear filenames.
Describe where the advert will run
Explain the media, territory and intended usage period. A video on a brand’s own website and a paid advertising campaign have different scopes. If a campaign includes several channels, list them rather than assuming “online” describes everything.
The recording work and the agreed use of the performance both belong in the conversation. If the media plan is provisional, share what you know and identify the open questions. That makes it possible to discuss the booking on an accurate basis instead of treating a word count as the whole project.
Give direction with a clear point of view
What is the person speaking trying to achieve? They might be inviting someone in, challenging an assumption or sharing an understated observation. That intention shapes the delivery more clearly than asking for a voice to be “more commercial”.
References are helpful when they come with an explanation. You may like the intimacy of one read and the timing of another. We can use those qualities to find a performance that belongs to your campaign, rather than copying a different advert.
Leave room to explore, then choose
A directed session gives the creative team a chance to hear choices while they are being made. It helps to have the approved script, picture and key decision-maker ready. One person can gather feedback from the room and keep each adjustment clear.
Specific notes are easier to act on: “Make that reveal feel like a discovery” gives a direction; “different, but the same” does not. Once the core approach is working, alternatives can focus on the phrases that matter most, such as the opening, product name and final invitation.
Plan what happens after recording
Confirm whether you need selected takes or a wider set of options, how the files should be delivered and when approvals will happen. Ask how pickups and script changes will be handled before the session, especially when several versions are awaiting sign-off.
If the campaign later expands into new media, territories or a longer run, revisit the agreed usage before that expansion. Keeping the scope clear gives both the production team and the performer a reliable reference as the project develops.
You can hear commercial examples on my commercial voiceover page. Send the script, version list, media plan and deadline when you are ready to discuss your campaign.
A campaign-usage worksheet
Use one row per planned use, even if several rows use the same recording. A useful worksheet has these columns: asset/version; brand; channel; paid or organic; territory; start date; end date; exclusivity; approver. This is a production record, not a substitute for the agreed licence.
For example, a fictional launch could contain a 30-second UK paid-social advert, a 15-second cutdown and an organic website film. Keep each visible in the scope. If connected-TV advertising is added later, record that as a new channel to discuss rather than silently treating it as covered by the word “online”. The platform name alone may not describe how media is being bought or distributed.
Separate guidance from the actual agreement
Gravy For The Brain organises its rate guidance by country and genre and describes most quotations as negotiated. Equity distinguishes collectively agreed terms from recommended rates and templates. A published guide is context for a discussion; it is not proof that one flat price, usage period or buyout applies to every voice artist worldwide.
For an international booking, identify the contracting parties, applicable agreement if any, currency and territories. Ask what an extension or new version would require. This article deliberately gives no universal tariff: the scope and agreed terms should determine the quote.
Keep synthetic reuse separate
If anyone proposes voice cloning, model training or generating new speech from the recordings, raise that explicitly before recording. Specify the proposed system, purpose, access, outputs, period and compensation for discussion. Do not bury a new synthetic-voice use inside a general editing instruction. Equity's AI toolkit is a useful UK starting point, but the rules and agreements applicable to a particular production still need to be identified.
Sources and further detail
Production checklists and examples are practical suggestions. Source-specific guidance was checked on 11 September 2026.
Listen to relevant voiceover work or send me your brief.
By Andre James, a British voice actor based in London, working with clients worldwide.
