Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Vincent.
Hi Will, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Where would you like me to begin? I’ve got a storied career path; starting in my mid teens working at Pine Tree Apple Orchard, making donuts, then working as a pizza cook and delivery. I drove a school bus and was a mobile and nightclub DJ. I have had a host of commercial driving jobs, was in the Marine Corps, have spent the past twenty years in software development, and I attended Brown Institute for radio and TV broadcasting in 1997, eventually pursuing a career in radio – briefly. After the better part of a year as on-air talent in Wausau, WI, I decided radio wasn’t really for me. Fast forward to 2020 when the world went sideways, and I decided it was time to do something with my voice again, I dove head first into voice acting. I trained extensively in commercial voice over with LA-based Nancy Wolfson of Braintracks Audio, landed myself representation with DDO New York, and have been pursuing it as close to full time as possible ever since. I’ve worn a lot of hats, which I suppose that’s part of what makes me a versatile voice talent.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Contrary to what all the scammy ads on social media would have you believe, voice acting is hard. You need more than just a USB mic and the ability to read. I quickly learned that the training I had for radio was really not applicable at all, and pursued extensive training, at great expense I might add – I was paying my coach more monthly than my mortgage for basically all of 2021, she jokes that I paid for her kitchen remodel. The real challenge, as with any creative pursuit, is that you can do everything “right” and still not book the gig. It’s funny, I see authors querying agents for representation of their books complaining about rejection quite a bit on social media, and they’re lamenting being rejected a few dozen times. I deal with that level of rejection in an average week; and I don’t get the feedback they do. Not to belittle their experience at all, because rejection is hard, but rejection with no feedback is pretty tough; it can leave you questioning whether you’re any good at all. Thankfully I’ve built relationships with casting directors who have assured me that I’m actually in the final selections sent to clients more often than not, and at that point there’s nothing else that can be done, they either like my voice for their project or they don’t and that might as well be based on whether they had tacos or a turkey sub for lunch.
All those ads I mentioned before would have you believe that with the ability to read, and a cheap microphone you’ll be making six figures in just a month or two, that’s not realistic. While a big part of the motivation for me to start voice acting was to earn extra money to pay down some debt, what keeps me is the opportunity to be heard around the world, and audition for roles in video games and animated television. It’s hard, but it sure is fun!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I work mostly in the commercial space, voicing commercial ad copy for radio, TV and streaming. But I also actively pursue animation, video games, corporate narration, e-learning, and one of my absolute joys, radio imaging – that’s the brand voice of the radio station you hear throughout the day, regardless of which disc jockey happens to be on air at any given time. People who’ve been very successful in radio imaging will tell you that if you get one new station per year, you’re doing really well. And they’re not joking, it’s tough to get in. You almost have to wait for someone to retire or die for things to open up sometimes. That being said; I’ve acquired six radio stations in the past two years: WABY in Albany, NY, WATO in Knoxville, TN, WDUC in Tullahoma, TN, WSNJ in Wilmington, DE, WITG in Ocala, FL, and most recently KLMJ in Hampton, IA. These stations cover a range of formats from hard rock to alternative, classic hits, and country.
I’ve had the privilege of being nominated for One Voice awards the past 3 years in a row, a total of six nominations; twice for radio imaging!
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I don’t have a crystal ball, but contrary to the doomsayers, I don’t think AI is going to obliterate the voice over industry. It will probably whittle away some of the e-learning and telephony jobs, but maybe only temporarily. I’m already seeing regular reports of people having clients come to them who’d tried generative AI voices, been dissatisfied and come back for a real human voice. I think as AI continues to become more and more common in all aspects of life, the real human voice will continue to be sought out for all forms of voice over, because we bring something to our performances that machines never will; humanity. As with all new things, I think things might “get worse” before they get better; ie – AI might encroach on voice work a little too much for a while, but those of us who’ve put effort, and continue to put effort, into connecting with the material, drawing from life experience, and conveying the human element in every project will survive, and dare I say – thrive.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.willvincentvoice.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/willvincentvoice
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WillVincentVoice/
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/willvincent
- Twitter: https://x.com/willvincentvo
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WillVincentVoice
