Allowing for authenticity.
Authenticity is the current buzzword attached to pretty much every voiceover brief. Founder and Director of Here Talent Alex Griffiths shares his views on the recent rise of authenticity within the world of voiceover and it’s not just because of AI…
Within voiceover we’re seeing a rise in ‘authentic sounding artists’, we can understand this as someone who speaks from a place of truth and has a sound or tone that is genuine to their lived experience.
A quick Google search will point you in the direction of various think pieces that attempt to explain this current trend of authenticity in voiceover.
Most of them will suggest this trend is due to:
The rise of generative AI. Machines are now capable of becoming voices. The voiceover industry has had to venture into unknown territory to understand the effect of AI across the industry, and on the voice talent within it. A response to AI has been the irreplaceable nature of authenticity; these machines can't replicate lived experience, emotion or human nuances.
We live in a content-rich, digital ecosystem. We’re consuming, sharing and creating online content 24/7. With so much content available, we’re constantly seeking out truth and content worthy of our attention (you’ve probably heard the stat we give digital content about 8 seconds at the moment...). Authenticity implies a level of trust and credibility. If we hear a voice that we know factually represents a specific ethnicity, belief system, culture, gender or sexuality, we are more likely to attribute this sense of trust and credibility to the words they speak.
Audience changes. Generation Alpha (the most recent generation) are considered digital natives. Generation Z (the generation before that) have equally spent most of their lives in the digital sphere. These generations are craving authentic experiences throughout all aspects of life. When consuming content, they are defined as being selective and skeptical, rejecting overproduced commercial content, in favour of relatable authentic messaging.
This is all totally valid, and I do believe these to be strong factors driving the current trend towards authenticity.
Yet there is one more obvious reason that I think is always overlooked.
The drive for authenticity has led to more voices becoming ‘discovered’, voices who slot into our understanding of ‘authentic’, but most importantly, these voices are incredibly talented artists.
In order to seek authenticity and keep up with culturally evolving briefs, gatekeepers of the industry have been forced to search for talent that represents parts of society that have not traditionally been granted access to routes into the voiceover industry. And guess what? They’re great voiceover artists. Not just voices who can do one self-presenting read, they leave the industry quickly, but unique-sounding artists who can master the technical skills that keep them in the game.
It’s no secret that creative industries are full of inequalities across social class, race, sexuality and gender. Underrepresentation within such industries is largely associated with barriers to entry in the first place.
So, when we start to say, we need a different sound, we need a voice that speaks to this type of demographic, or, we need a perspective that can find the truth in this sensitive topic. We start to break down the barriers that have kept these voices from previously entering the creative industries. By creating opportunity and granting access, we begin to hear the skills that different voices hold. These voices may not always sound like what we’ve understood to be ‘voiceover’ (long forgotten are the days of received pronunciation), but instead they are a world of new sounds and updated skill sets that are so welcome within the industry, and what we’re now categorising as ‘authenticity’.
At the same time, I’m not arguing that an influx of newer authentic voices are replacing the talented voices who have been working in the industry for many decades. That is the beauty of authenticity. It evolves over time, it’s not just owned by one generation. The voices who have established themselves as a firm fixture with decades of experience own this identity as their authentic voice. Likewise, as trends change, they have the autonomy to discover newer versions of their voice, drawing upon their past and their evolving future.
Authenticity in voiceover lends itself to the idea that a good voiceover talent pool is a rich, skilled, diverse, tapestry of many different sounds, not just one archetype.
So, I’d argue that, yes, authenticity is on the rise as a response to AI, a tool to build trust and a way to engage with new audiences. However, we can’t ignore that it’s also growing because it grants access and creates opportunity, allowing fresh talent to showcase their skill whilst being their authentic selves.
And something that opens up access and empowers - I’m here for it.