Voiceover Rate Guide - Italy ADR/Non branded
The following tables represent a guide to the voiceover rates typically charged by voice artists in the United Kingdom. The guide has been compiled by Gravy For The Brain and a working group of top UK and ITALY VO professionals. Note that most quotations are done through negotiation and you should not feel restricted by any upper or lower limits!
   ADR/ Non Branded ADR and voiceovers | |||
BSF | |||
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Buyout License | |||
Lowest - €0, Average - €0, Higher - €0 |
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Notes | |||
Recording sessions for ADRs in Italian or accented English, voiceovers for interviews, tv documentaries, tv programmes. Generally speaking, usage fees aren’t requested for these recordings. |
   ADR/ Non Branded DUBBING IN ITALIAN | |||
BSF | |||
|
|||
Buyout License | |||
Lowest - €0, Average - €0, Higher - €0 |
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Notes | |||
Recording sessions usually last from 1 up to 3 hours. For special reasons these can be extended to the 4th hour, if agreed with the talent.
Typically for dubbing movies IN ITALIAN, 1st hour at 100% BSF, then 2nd, 3rd (and the potential 4th) each at 50% of the BSF. Generally speaking, usage fees aren’t requested for these recordings. |
   ADR/ Non Branded NON BRANDED PODCAST | |||
BSF | |||
|
|||
Buyout License | |||
Lowest - €0, Average - €0, Higher - €0 |
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Notes | |||
Podcast of general interest, without any direct presence of brands or promotions. Any recording hour is intended at 100% BSF. If a project requires several hours a special discount is at talent discretion. |
   ADR/ Non Branded VIDEOGAMES | |||
BSF | |||
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|||
Buyout License | |||
To Be Negotiated | |||
Notes | |||
Videogames are “vocal killers”. A recording session shouldn’t last more than 3 hours. Usage fees are subjects to many variable considerations: relevance of the roles, diffusion/sales of the product so they have to be negotiated case by case. |
Radio | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BSF | Buyout License | Notes | ||||
Typical Lower | Typical Average | Typical Upper | ||||
ADR and voiceovers | €200 |
€250 |
€300 | Lowest - €0, Average - €0, Higher - €0 |
Recording sessions for ADRs in Italian or accented English, voiceovers for interviews, tv documentaries, tv programmes. Generally speaking, usage fees aren’t requested for these recordings. |
|
DUBBING IN ITALIAN | €200 |
€250 |
€300 | Lowest - €0, Average - €0, Higher - €0 |
Recording sessions usually last from 1 up to 3 hours. For special reasons these can be extended to the 4th hour, if agreed with the talent.
Typically for dubbing movies IN ITALIAN, 1st hour at 100% BSF, then 2nd, 3rd (and the potential 4th) each at 50% of the BSF. Generally speaking, usage fees aren’t requested for these recordings. |
|
NON BRANDED PODCAST | €180 |
€220 |
€250 | Lowest - €0, Average - €0, Higher - €0 |
Podcast of general interest, without any direct presence of brands or promotions. Any recording hour is intended at 100% BSF. If a project requires several hours a special discount is at talent discretion. | |
VIDEOGAMES | €180 |
€220 |
€250 | To Be Negotiated | Videogames are “vocal killers”. A recording session shouldn’t last more than 3 hours. Usage fees are subjects to many variable considerations: relevance of the roles, diffusion/sales of the product so they have to be negotiated case by case. |
COMMERCIAL TV USAGE FEES: - in the case of campaigns programmed in the same yearly period, involving different media such as TV, radio and internet, the cheapest of the sub-totals is discounted by 50%, only when the combination of the sections is negotiated simultaneously.
DEFINITIONS:: - NTW Network: national coverage, or all the biggest urban areas.
CHANNEL GROUP: - Company that manages several networks. Each group includes the programming on their own OTTVs. For OTTV definition see the internet section.
Over A Year: - Period of 12 months since the first date of programming.
Single region or Limited Target TV Programming in a limited portion of the Italian territory or network with a distinctive “niche” audience.
NON COMMERCIAL PURPOSES: - Recording sessions for non commercial use are for ADRs, dubbing movies, tv series, voiceovers for interviews, tv documentaries, tv programmes and forms of communication NOT concerning brands and their products or services. Podcasts of general interests are included in this category.
DURATION: - Recording sessions for non commercial use usually last from 1 up to 3 hours. For special reasons these can be extended to the 4th hour, if agreed with the talent.
RECORDING FEES: - Each session is calculated as: the 1st hour at 100% BSF, then 2nd, 3rd (and the potential 4th) each at 50% of the BSF. If another session, technically possible and agreed by the talent, takes place the same day, the calculation of the fees starts again. In other words, 5 hours at the microphone result in 2 hours at 100% of the BSF and 3 at 50% of the BSF; 6 hours at the microphone as 2 at 100% and 4 at 50%; 7 hours as 2 at 100% and 5 at 50%; 8 hours as 2 at 100% and 6 at 50%.
BSF: Low £190,00 - Average £220,00 - High 250,00
NO USAGE FEES: - Generally speaking, usage fees aren’t requested for these recordings.
COMMERCIAL PURPOSES: - Recording sessions for commercial use are about any form of communication concerning brands, products, services, either advertising them directly (on tv, radio and the Internet) or through brand awareness videos, corporate recordings, communication to customers and to work force. Podcast either sponsored or commissioned by a brand are included in this category. These forms of communication can be public or internal; the usage fees are calculated accordingly.
DURATION: - Recording sessions for commercial / branded products don’t have a mandatory duration, but 1 hour BSF has to be always considered as minimum.
RECORDING FEES: - Recording fees are multiples of the BSF, starting from 1 hour. BSF: Low £190,00 - Average £220,00 - High 250,00
USAGE FEES: - For all the commercial / branded purposes usage fees might vary considerably according to their usage, destinations and media, as illustrated in the following pages of this guideline.
NOTES
NET FEES: - All the rates, resulting from the percentages herewith illustrated, are intended as net fees paid to the talents. Based on an average BSF, they correspond to the minimum rates granted to Italian VO talents on the Italian territory, however each talent has the right to negotiate personal fees when particular cases occur.
CREDITS: - It is in the rights of the talents asking to be credited in the final titles; it is also common (and not considered a breach of any agreements) for talents to mention their roles, once they are in the public domain.
Campaign Organized course of action to promote a product.
Product Core of the campaign and its target. It could be a physical product, a service, an action or a brand. It is “what is advertised”.
Subject It could be recapped as “the title of the movie” (title of the clip) that identifies script, scenes, actors and synopsis. A subject might be broadcast in different cuts and a campaign might be composed by different subjects of the same product or different subjects for different products.
Cuts Each version of the same subject, having shorter or longer duration, to reach the same final aim. Cuts traditionally are 5, 7, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60 seconds long on TV/Cinema/Radio and sometimes different on the Internet.
How To Read and Calculate TV Rights
Channels / Groups / All TV. They are “all inclusive” solutions for a single week or multiple weeks across all the screens in Italy. Their price is not cheap but less than buying several channels and groups. There might be exceptions when the campaign is specifically broadcast only on one or two channels: in this case there’s a section for 1 or 2 networks. When a campaign is broadcast by multiple networks owned or traded by a single group, such as SKY, there are dedicated prices. Generally speaking, when a campaign concerns more than 2 groups, the ALL TV configuration is cheaper and simpler. The price is also determined by the number of weeks, the first week being the more expensive and then adding the second figure for each additional week. If a campaign is 8 weeks we will determine the rights as: first week + (7 x additional weeks).
The cap fee is represented by 24 weeks (almost six months), at which point the yearly figure has to be considered.
How To Read and Calculate Radio Rights
Similar to TV but without groups. Prices are determined by the number of national radios broadcasting the campaign with a cap of 8 stations, before ALL Radio is considered. The criteria about the duration of the campaign is exactly as the tv: first week and each additional week with a maximum of 24 which grants the rights for 1 year.
How To Calculate Internet Fees by time
Internet is the only “media” that can be calculated in 2 ways: traditionally in weeks, or knowing the number of impressions contracted by the client with all the platforms such as Google/YouTube, Meta (fb and instagram) and so on. Since the campaigns on the internet are often tailored on their audiences, each week is the same price, different from tv and radio. The cap is 37 weeks, then the annual rate has to be considered.
If it’s impossible to have precise impressions, a considerable discount could be granted when the communication is targeting a limited audience, that could be either a city or a specific niche of the population. In each case the impressions system is more proportioned to the cost that the client is facing.
How to Calculate Internet Fees by Impressions
0.04% for each thousand impressions. So if the campaign has a declared paid target of 30 million impressions, first you have to determine how many k impressions: simply 30,000k. At this point you can multiply 30,000 x 0.04 = 1200. 1200% of the BSF is the usage fee for 30 million internet impressions.
50% Discount for Media Combinations
This rate card has 3 different sections dedicated to commercials. TV (which includes also screens such as cinema and public events) Radio (that is FM, DAB and CC radios) and Internet (including streaming tv, streaming music and internet radio). Campaigns across more sections, negotiated simultaneously, benefit from a 50% discount of the cheapest section among 2 or 3. It is important to remember that if a campaign is negotiated, for
instance, only for tv and the campaign is extend later in the year involving another media, the combination does not apply.
BSF and USAGE FEES calculated per campaign and not per cuts
Time is the only criteria at the base of the BSF and it is the same no matter how many scripts a talent can read (with a consideration for the average human limits, obviously).
For the determination of the usage fees instead, the number of scripts (as a result of several cuts, several subjects or both) might or might not be a factor. Different cuts and subjects are still considered as a whole as long as they basically promote the same product or service of the advertising campaign.
Therefore, in all those cases it is crucial to ascertain “the core” of the campaign, that ultimately relates to the rights calculation.
How to consider the “subjects”
Example 1
A campaign for the automotive brand Acme and the introduction of their new model Xyz, articulated in 2 subjects “dad picking the boys up with the new
car” and “mum going to work with the new car”, both in 3 cuts 30”, 20”, 10”.
Broadcast for 12 weeks all tv and 4 weeks all internet (PAID).
All recorded in 1 hour. = 1 BSF
The exposed product is still one: the new Xyz. Hence the right fees will be calculated only once.
If negotiated simultaneously the cheapest element (in this case internet) is discounted by 50%
TV Usage fees = 400% first week + (11 x 80% each week= 880%) = 1280%
Internet fees (time) 40% x 4 weeks = 160% / 2 (discount) = 80%
Usage rights total = 1360% of the BSF.
Example 2
A campaign for the automotive brand Acme and their new electric cars. 3 products (model Xyz electric, Coupé Sport Yzx electric and Suv Zyx electric), 1
subject and 3 cuts for each product.
4 Weeks on all TV and one year all internet (PAID).
In this case the products (and their targets) are different, so, while the BSF is only determined by the number of hours at the microphone, the usage fees
must be applied 3 times.
If negotiated simultaneously the cheapest element (in this case TV) is discounted by 50%
TV usage fees 400 (first week) +(3x80 each week)=640% / 2 (discount) = 320%
Internet PAID fees (1 year) = 1500%
Usage rights per subject 1820%
Total usage rights of the campaign 1820 x 3 = 5460%
Example 3
A campaign for the automotive brand Acme and the 20% December sales, articulated in 4 subjects for 4 different car models, each subject in 2 cuts.
Broadcast for 2 weeks, all TV + client facebook and website pages (NON PAID).
Recorded in 2 hours. = BSF x 2
Whilst the products and the subjects are different, the main goal of the campaign is the discounted promotion, also demonstrated by the limited on-air
time. Usage rights calculated only once.
If negotiated simultaneously the cheapest element (in this case internet) is discounted by 50%
TV Usage fees = 400% + 80% (first and second week) = 480%
Internet NON PAID 200% / 2 (discount) = 100%
Usage rights total = 580% of the BSF.
DEFINITIONS:: - NTW Network: national coverage, or all the biggest urban areas.
CHANNEL GROUP: - Company that manages several networks. Each group includes the programming on their own OTTVs. For OTTV definition see the internet section.
Over A Year: - Period of 12 months since the first date of programming.
Single region or Limited Target TV Programming in a limited portion of the Italian territory or network with a distinctive “niche” audience.
NON COMMERCIAL PURPOSES: - Recording sessions for non commercial use are for ADRs, dubbing movies, tv series, voiceovers for interviews, tv documentaries, tv programmes and forms of communication NOT concerning brands and their products or services. Podcasts of general interests are included in this category.
DURATION: - Recording sessions for non commercial use usually last from 1 up to 3 hours. For special reasons these can be extended to the 4th hour, if agreed with the talent.
RECORDING FEES: - Each session is calculated as: the 1st hour at 100% BSF, then 2nd, 3rd (and the potential 4th) each at 50% of the BSF. If another session, technically possible and agreed by the talent, takes place the same day, the calculation of the fees starts again. In other words, 5 hours at the microphone result in 2 hours at 100% of the BSF and 3 at 50% of the BSF; 6 hours at the microphone as 2 at 100% and 4 at 50%; 7 hours as 2 at 100% and 5 at 50%; 8 hours as 2 at 100% and 6 at 50%.
BSF: Low £190,00 - Average £220,00 - High 250,00
NO USAGE FEES: - Generally speaking, usage fees aren’t requested for these recordings.
COMMERCIAL PURPOSES: - Recording sessions for commercial use are about any form of communication concerning brands, products, services, either advertising them directly (on tv, radio and the Internet) or through brand awareness videos, corporate recordings, communication to customers and to work force. Podcast either sponsored or commissioned by a brand are included in this category. These forms of communication can be public or internal; the usage fees are calculated accordingly.
DURATION: - Recording sessions for commercial / branded products don’t have a mandatory duration, but 1 hour BSF has to be always considered as minimum.
RECORDING FEES: - Recording fees are multiples of the BSF, starting from 1 hour. BSF: Low £190,00 - Average £220,00 - High 250,00
USAGE FEES: - For all the commercial / branded purposes usage fees might vary considerably according to their usage, destinations and media, as illustrated in the following pages of this guideline.
NOTES
NET FEES: - All the rates, resulting from the percentages herewith illustrated, are intended as net fees paid to the talents. Based on an average BSF, they correspond to the minimum rates granted to Italian VO talents on the Italian territory, however each talent has the right to negotiate personal fees when particular cases occur.
CREDITS: - It is in the rights of the talents asking to be credited in the final titles; it is also common (and not considered a breach of any agreements) for talents to mention their roles, once they are in the public domain.
Campaign Organized course of action to promote a product.
Product Core of the campaign and its target. It could be a physical product, a service, an action or a brand. It is “what is advertised”.
Subject It could be recapped as “the title of the movie” (title of the clip) that identifies script, scenes, actors and synopsis. A subject might be broadcast in different cuts and a campaign might be composed by different subjects of the same product or different subjects for different products.
Cuts Each version of the same subject, having shorter or longer duration, to reach the same final aim. Cuts traditionally are 5, 7, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60 seconds long on TV/Cinema/Radio and sometimes different on the Internet.
How To Read and Calculate TV Rights
Channels / Groups / All TV. They are “all inclusive” solutions for a single week or multiple weeks across all the screens in Italy. Their price is not cheap but less than buying several channels and groups. There might be exceptions when the campaign is specifically broadcast only on one or two channels: in this case there’s a section for 1 or 2 networks. When a campaign is broadcast by multiple networks owned or traded by a single group, such as SKY, there are dedicated prices. Generally speaking, when a campaign concerns more than 2 groups, the ALL TV configuration is cheaper and simpler. The price is also determined by the number of weeks, the first week being the more expensive and then adding the second figure for each additional week. If a campaign is 8 weeks we will determine the rights as: first week + (7 x additional weeks).
The cap fee is represented by 24 weeks (almost six months), at which point the yearly figure has to be considered.
How To Read and Calculate Radio Rights
Similar to TV but without groups. Prices are determined by the number of national radios broadcasting the campaign with a cap of 8 stations, before ALL Radio is considered. The criteria about the duration of the campaign is exactly as the tv: first week and each additional week with a maximum of 24 which grants the rights for 1 year.
How To Calculate Internet Fees by time
Internet is the only “media” that can be calculated in 2 ways: traditionally in weeks, or knowing the number of impressions contracted by the client with all the platforms such as Google/YouTube, Meta (fb and instagram) and so on. Since the campaigns on the internet are often tailored on their audiences, each week is the same price, different from tv and radio. The cap is 37 weeks, then the annual rate has to be considered.
If it’s impossible to have precise impressions, a considerable discount could be granted when the communication is targeting a limited audience, that could be either a city or a specific niche of the population. In each case the impressions system is more proportioned to the cost that the client is facing.
How to Calculate Internet Fees by Impressions
0.04% for each thousand impressions. So if the campaign has a declared paid target of 30 million impressions, first you have to determine how many k impressions: simply 30,000k. At this point you can multiply 30,000 x 0.04 = 1200. 1200% of the BSF is the usage fee for 30 million internet impressions.
50% Discount for Media Combinations
This rate card has 3 different sections dedicated to commercials. TV (which includes also screens such as cinema and public events) Radio (that is FM, DAB and CC radios) and Internet (including streaming tv, streaming music and internet radio). Campaigns across more sections, negotiated simultaneously, benefit from a 50% discount of the cheapest section among 2 or 3. It is important to remember that if a campaign is negotiated, for
instance, only for tv and the campaign is extend later in the year involving another media, the combination does not apply.
BSF and USAGE FEES calculated per campaign and not per cuts
Time is the only criteria at the base of the BSF and it is the same no matter how many scripts a talent can read (with a consideration for the average human limits, obviously).
For the determination of the usage fees instead, the number of scripts (as a result of several cuts, several subjects or both) might or might not be a factor. Different cuts and subjects are still considered as a whole as long as they basically promote the same product or service of the advertising campaign.
Therefore, in all those cases it is crucial to ascertain “the core” of the campaign, that ultimately relates to the rights calculation.
How to consider the “subjects”
Example 1
A campaign for the automotive brand Acme and the introduction of their new model Xyz, articulated in 2 subjects “dad picking the boys up with the new
car” and “mum going to work with the new car”, both in 3 cuts 30”, 20”, 10”.
Broadcast for 12 weeks all tv and 4 weeks all internet (PAID).
All recorded in 1 hour. = 1 BSF
The exposed product is still one: the new Xyz. Hence the right fees will be calculated only once.
If negotiated simultaneously the cheapest element (in this case internet) is discounted by 50%
TV Usage fees = 400% first week + (11 x 80% each week= 880%) = 1280%
Internet fees (time) 40% x 4 weeks = 160% / 2 (discount) = 80%
Usage rights total = 1360% of the BSF.
Example 2
A campaign for the automotive brand Acme and their new electric cars. 3 products (model Xyz electric, Coupé Sport Yzx electric and Suv Zyx electric), 1
subject and 3 cuts for each product.
4 Weeks on all TV and one year all internet (PAID).
In this case the products (and their targets) are different, so, while the BSF is only determined by the number of hours at the microphone, the usage fees
must be applied 3 times.
If negotiated simultaneously the cheapest element (in this case TV) is discounted by 50%
TV usage fees 400 (first week) +(3x80 each week)=640% / 2 (discount) = 320%
Internet PAID fees (1 year) = 1500%
Usage rights per subject 1820%
Total usage rights of the campaign 1820 x 3 = 5460%
Example 3
A campaign for the automotive brand Acme and the 20% December sales, articulated in 4 subjects for 4 different car models, each subject in 2 cuts.
Broadcast for 2 weeks, all TV + client facebook and website pages (NON PAID).
Recorded in 2 hours. = BSF x 2
Whilst the products and the subjects are different, the main goal of the campaign is the discounted promotion, also demonstrated by the limited on-air
time. Usage rights calculated only once.
If negotiated simultaneously the cheapest element (in this case internet) is discounted by 50%
TV Usage fees = 400% + 80% (first and second week) = 480%
Internet NON PAID 200% / 2 (discount) = 100%
Usage rights total = 580% of the BSF.
**Typical Current Actual Market Rates: The rates specified in these tables are those generally commanded in the UK by working voiceover artists. Of course any voiceover artist can charge anything they want – and should do so - but we have surveyed and found that this range is what voiceover artists typically charge. Accordingly, these rates may not be indicative of those charged by very established or well-known artists through their agents who can generally charge more. In those instances, fees are always agreed by negotiation and are subject to many variables. Also, lesser known artists may charge less in order to establish themselves or to build a reputation. We have tried to cover a typical spread of what the industry normally charges, even though any specific instance may vary from our Typical Low/Typical Average/Typical Upper classifications.
A Note from GFTB on Rates: Please note that this rate guide is intended to be a guide for current industry rates charged in general by UK Voice Artists, and is not intended to imply that these rates are fixed, or set - they are not. As a voice artist you must make your choice as to what you charge (unless you are a member of a union and then please refer to their policies), but please do be aware that what you charge as a voice artist also affects other voice artists in the industry. If you as a voice artist want to charge much more, or much less than these rates you are freely within your rights to do so.
A Note from GFTB on Rates: Please note that this rate guide is intended to be a guide for current industry rates charged in general by UK Voice Artists, and is not intended to imply that these rates are fixed, or set - they are not. As a voice artist you must make your choice as to what you charge (unless you are a member of a union and then please refer to their policies), but please do be aware that what you charge as a voice artist also affects other voice artists in the industry. If you as a voice artist want to charge much more, or much less than these rates you are freely within your rights to do so.
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