I just don’t get it!
Key people in the voice over community…. influential people…. have told me I was wrong about Fiverr. They pointed at other Pay to Plays like voices dot com, that have started to take a page out of the Fiverr playbook.
“It’s the future, Paul. You can’t stop it,” I was told. “Just because it’s called Fiverr, doesn’t mean people are making $5 per job.” And then they come up with examples of folks who are making “good money” on the platform. And if I still don’t sound convinced, they lecture me on the fact that every market has a top and a bottom end, and people can charge as little or as much as they like.
“It’s a free market! Stop bashing Fiverr. Try it out, Paul, before you pass judgment.”
Yeah… sure. But did you know that before getting into a higher revenue level as a seller, you have to earn your place in the Fiverr hierarchy by doing the lower paying jobs to build a reputation on the site? And you can’t force buyers to leave a good rating or review upon which your ranking is based.
As a rule of thumb, low-budget buyers are usually the biggest pain in the neck. They don’t care about helping you or about building a long-term relationship. All they care about is getting more and more for less and less (just like the filthy rich studio bosses SAG-AFTRA has a problem with).
Did you know that the top earners pay Fiverr every month for a higher ranking, rigging the system against those at the bottom? How fair is that?
Remember, Fiverr already takes 20% on every transaction, so a $5 gig is actually $4. To make $100 per day, you’d need to complete 25 orders. This is of course before taxes and other deductions. By the way, Fiverr also takes 5.5% from from buyers.
The average Fiverr.com executive compensation is $214,108 a year (source). The median estimated compensation for executives at Fiverr.com including base salary and bonus is $207,776, or $99 per hour. At Fiverr.com, the most compensated executive makes $490,000, annually, and the lowest compensated makes $61,000.
CEO Micha Kaufman’s total yearly compensation is $9.63M , comprised of 3.1% salary and 96.9% bonuses, including company stock and options. He directly owns 4.81% of the company’s shares, worth $53.16M (source).
In spite of all of the above, I was willing to give the platform a try, just so I could prove my critics wrong. But as soon as I told my agents about the experiment, they all had the same answer:
“The minute you start selling yourself on Fiverr, you’re out the door. Fiverr is not a professional platform, and we only represent professional talent. Why would a client book you through an agent if they can get the same voice at a bargain basement rate?”
Well, that’s a simple solution, you may say. Why not work for Fiverr under a fake name. Problem solved!
Except, this is what the Fiverr Terms of Service has to say about that:
“You may not create a false identity on Fiverr, misrepresent your identity, create a Fiverr profile for anyone other than yourself (a real person), or use or attempt to use another user’s account or information; Your profile information, including your description, skills, location, etc., must be accurate and complete and may not be misleading, illegal, offensive or otherwise harmful. “
As I said, influential people in the voice over community have warmed up to the Fiverr model. “You can’t stop the future, Paul” they told me. And now these same people are shouting from the rooftops that they’re supporting the SAG-AFTRA strike for better pay and fair treatment of actors (voice actors included).
But SAG-AFTRA’s positions go even further than Fiverr. The Union is against the whole Pay to Play model. The negotiation team writes:
“ONLINE CASTING PLATFORMS: Performers should not be required to pay for access to employment opportunities, nor provided preferential treatment in exchange for fees to a casting platform.”
Back to Fiver.
Be honest: how can you support a platform that devalues our work as part of their business model, making it harder and harder for talent to make a living wage, AND publicly tell people you agree with SAG-AFTRA on the strike?
Can you have it both ways?
Sorry, but I don’t think so. It looks like opportunistic window dressing to me.
Simply: Amen.
Thank you, Paul.
For the record, I didn’t support the last SAG-AFTRA strike, but I support this one. AI is too big a thing and must be dealt with fairly and immediately.
Hope all is well in the North Country!
We’re high and dry, Paul, unlike many Vermonters who are dealing with flooding, lost harvests destroyed properties, roads, and businesses. It’s a mess and the rain keeps falling.
I’ve never worked on Fiverr, nor will I. As they say, nuff said!
Stand up for the right thing wherever and whenever you can – karma will come around when you least expect it to, and you will be the beneficiary when you least expect it.
And even if it doesn’t, creating a better world – one where, among other things, creatives are paid for their incredibly difficult work (making something out of almost nothing) – is good for ALL of us, our children, our nation, and even the greedy people who are sitting back smugly raking in the cash while sharing as little of it as possible (okay, these last don’t see it, but they have kids, too; their planet is burning, too; their water and air are getting fouled, too; and they won’t like taking care of themselves and their mansions when everyone else is gone).
And you can sleep better at night.
As Harlan Ellison put it so well: “Pay the writer!”
I do not support Fiverr. I am also making a passable living as a non-union VO. It seems to me the analogy is a street corner hooker and a $3,000 a night “escort”.
Sag/Aftra:
“ONLINE CASTING PLATFORMS: Performers should not be required to pay for access to employment opportunities, nor provided preferential treatment in exchange for fees to a casting platform.”
Also Sag/Aftra:
“The national initiation fee rate is currently $3,000, although it may be lower in some states. Annual Base dues are $231.96. In addition, work dues are calculated at 1.575 percent of covered earnings up to $1,000,000.”
I’m with you, Todd. One hundred percent! As someone who works internationally it doesn’t make sense for me to join SAG-AFTRA, but if I were working mainly in the USA, I would certainly become a member.