How to Hire a Voice Actor:
Auditions, Pricing and Usage Rights
Hiring a voice actor is simple when you know what to ask for. This guide takes you through each step, from writing a brief to approving the final audio, and explains how costs and usage rights work. You can hire a human voice actor, license a consent-based AI voice, or use both.
By AumVoice Casting Team. Reviewed by Audio and Legal Leads.
Published October 2026 • Verified Casting Guide
7 Steps
Brief to Final Delivery
Zero Line Reads
Subtext-First Direction
1-Page Brief
Free Casting Template
The Golden Rule of Direction
"Don't direct the sound of the line. Direct what the character needs the listener to do next."
Step 1: Define Your Voice Over Project
Decide where the audio will run (website, training course, paid ad, product, audiobook), the language and accent, the length, and the deadline. These four answers set your budget, your usage rights and the voices worth auditioning.
Directing from the Control Room
Clearly defining your distribution platform, target accent, script duration, and hard delivery deadline ensures artists submit accurate auditions and reliable turnaround commitments.
Platform & Distribution
Decide where the audio will run: website, internal corporate training, paid ad, mobile app, video game, or commercial broadcast.
Language & Accent
Specify exact language, accent and dialect requirements (e.g., General American, British RP, Australian) and spell acronyms phonetically.
Length & Word Count
Professional voice actors read about 130 to 150 words per minute. For a 60-second video, keep your script to 130 to 145 words.
Timeline & Deadline
State your delivery deadline clearly, and note if you require live directed recording sessions (via Source-Connect, Cleanfeed, or Zoom).
Step 2: Write a Clear Casting Brief
A thorough casting brief gets you authentic, on-target auditions. Follow this proven six-point checklist to give voice actors everything they need to nail your script.
Essential Brief Checklist
Provide clear context, pronunciation notes, intended platform, and exact word count so auditioning talent can deliver believable reads immediately.
Spell unfamiliar names or tech terms phonetically right above the line (e.g. Coupa [KOO-pah], NGINX [Engine-X]).
Insert timestamp targets at every stanza (:15s, :30s) and slash marks (//) for deliberate dramatic breaths and pauses.
Color-code emotional tone shifts with highlighters and underline the exact operative pivot word in each sentence.
Common Hiring Pitfalls
Critical warning points & budget drainers
Generic Audition Lines & Unfinished Scripts
Auditioning with a generic sentence doesn't show how the actor handles your content. Hiring before the script is finalized causes costly pickups and retakes.
Missing Pronunciations & Ambiguous Usage Rights
Leaving out pronunciation guides for brand names or jargon forces re-records. Failing to agree on usage rights upfront causes licensing disputes.
Judging Only on Demos & Choosing on Price Alone
A demo reel shows past best work with studio sweetening. Choosing solely on the lowest price often yields noisy audio with room echo and poor microphones.
The Professional Workflow
Standard operating procedure & solutions
Audition with 30–60 words of your real script after copy is locked
Lock your final script with all stakeholders first, then provide a representative paragraph so candidates perform your exact message.
Include phonetic guides and secure usage rights in writing
Spell tricky words phonetically in the brief and specify whether the project is for internal training, organic web, or paid broadcast up front.
Evaluate custom auditions and listen for broadcast audio quality
Judge what the artist can do with your script today, and verify clean acoustics with no room reverberation, mouth clicks, or harsh sibilance.
