By Tolulope Kolade
The Association of Voiceover Artistes (AVOA) Nigeria has promised to protect the interests of every voiceover artist in the country, regardless of their membership status.
President of the association, Segun Arinze, made the statement at the first AVOA rate card virtual workshop held on Saturday, April 5, 2025, with the theme – Understanding the AVOA Rate Card: Setting Standards for Fair Voiceover Pricing.
The president decried the current state of the voiceover industry, explaining that it is unfair for advertising agencies to owe or pay below standard rates to voiceover talents, let alone pay them royalties for services worthy of that.
The veteran Nollywood actor further emphasized the need to change the narrative while stating his plans to tackle the issues head-on.
“I want to open a discussion with Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, the Director General of ARCON (Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria), and request that we meet with the MDs directly to demand fair rates for my voiceover talents. We can’t continue to have people exploited.”
“Being the president of AVOA doesn’t stop me from working for every other voiceover talent in Nigeria, including those who are not AVOA members. This is a collective fight. Whether you are a member of AVOA or not. Once a voiceover talent, we are going to fight for you, and that’s what I have decided to do.”
– Segun Arinze
A week prior, the president, via a memo released on March 28, had issued a stern warning to agencies, clients, and voiceover artists who indulge in such practices.
He cautioned against the abysmal practices that undermine the association’s efforts in ensuring voice artists are duly compensated and the industry is regulated, stating that the country’s official rates should be ₦100,000 and above.
The virtual rate card workshop organized by AVOA in collaboration with VoiceVerse NG, a growing community for voiceover artists in Nigeria, aimed to address the rampant trend of devaluation of voiceover rates and unfair rates caused by either exploitative clients and agencies or voiceover artists who either do not understand the industry standards or ignore these standards for quick benefits, thereby undermining the irreplaceable value of voiceovers in the country.
The webinar lasted for 3 hours and had about 100 voiceover talents in attendance from all regions of the country, with insightful sessions held by veteran voice actor Ambrose Mosi and pro voice actor Eric Maximus.
A panel session on pricing and clients had 4 panelists, which included King Emmanuel Afemikhe, Chioma Okpala (Chioma BBB), Joy Ogbekene, and Ahmed Olalekan, and was moderated by Eniola Keshinro.
The event was hosted by the founder of Voiceverse, Tolulope Kolade (Tcode), and an address was given by AVOA vice president Mallam Abdul Mohamed.
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