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Who gets paid more, American or Japanese voice actors?




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The Overlord



Joined: 12 Jul 2008
Posts: 88
PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 2:05 pm Reply with quote
Who earns more money on average American (and by extension Canadian) voice actors or Japanese voice actors?

We can do this on different levels, comparing both non union and union voice work pay rates in both countries, comparing anime dubbers with Japanese voice actors and comparing pre-lay voice actors with Japanese voice actors.
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Ktimene's Lover



Joined: 23 Apr 2005
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Location: Glendale, AZ (Proudly living in the desert)
PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 5:29 pm Reply with quote
I have no idea what the Japanese make because how they are paid might be different than America/Canada. I think union and non union get paid the same way. If a seiyuu is also an idol, then they might make some good money. In Lucky Star episode 21, spoiler[Shiraishi is going postal on Minoru for treating him like crap for so long. He said he makes more money working part time at a restaurant than he does as a voice actor].
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The Overlord



Joined: 12 Jul 2008
Posts: 88
PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 10:14 pm Reply with quote
Ctimene's Lover wrote:
I have no idea what the Japanese make because how they are paid might be different than America/Canada. I think union and non union get paid the same way. If a seiyuu is also an idol, then they might make some good money. In Lucky Star episode 21, spoiler[Shiraishi is going postal on Minoru for treating him like crap for so long. He said he makes more money working part time at a restaurant than he does as a voice actor].


Yeah that was cute.

Well if a seiyuu has a signing career has well, they might be more famous and get more money or if not that, they would have another source of income.

I would assume that being a seiyuu on union projects pays more then non union projects, mainly because in general one tends to make more on unionized jobs.

Anyway I brought the whole union thing, because it does make a difference in North America, union work pays more and some people like Steve Blum will only do union stuff at this point.

The biggest difference is pre-lay work, which earns a lot more money then dubbing. I think seiyuu in general would make more money then dubbers, but I'm not sure they make more money then pre-lay VAs here.

An interview Bob Bergen mentioned that it was unfair how little anime dub actors make in regards pre-lay actors, because their job is twice as hard as doing pre-lay work, but companies who make American cartoons have way more money then dubbing companies and some cartoon producers don't like the way anime dubs sound so they don't hire anime dub VAs for that reason alone. Again that's not fair, but it is the reality we live in.

That's likely the reason Steve Blum does more American cartoons then anime dubs nowadays.

Also the voice actors for the Simpsons make insane money, like 400, 000 dollars an episode, that makes them the highest paid voice actors in the world.

Of course the real money in voice acting is doing commercials, so I guess another question who gets paid more for commercials?
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DerekTheRed



Joined: 19 Dec 2007
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 10:30 pm Reply with quote
You can actually see union minimums here:

AFTRA
SAG This one is a little older though.

EDIT: I think that Funimation is non-union work, and if I recall from some actor commentary on... Shin Chan, maybe... addressing fans concerns that they hear all the same actors, unless you get a main character role, the money you make recording wouldn't cover the cost of a flight to Texas and a hotel. She was explaining why all the actors are from the area, Fort Worth I think.
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Ktimene's Lover



Joined: 23 Apr 2005
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 4:23 pm Reply with quote
Voice acting pay varies so much that some can make a good living at it and others find other jobs to supplement their income. The dubbing pay should be a lot better. One reason Joshua Seth (Tai from Digimon, Tetsuo in the Pioneer Akira dub, Cyborg 009, and Hige from Wolf's Rain) retired from anime is due to this. He now makes a lot better money doing stage hypnosis, motivational speeches, and comedy acts.
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RedSwirl



Joined: 08 Feb 2006
Posts: 344
PostPosted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:01 am Reply with quote
[quote="The Overlord"]
Ctimene's Lover wrote:
Of course the real money in voice acting is doing commercials, so I guess another question who gets paid more for commercials?


I think I've actually heard Steve Blum's voice on at least one commercial.
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bahamut623



Joined: 23 Jun 2005
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 1:05 pm Reply with quote
American voice actors also do a lot of video game work, so that probably factors into it as well. I would think that voice actors in Japan would get paid more, if only because there's more work...but then again, they have a lot more voice actors and thus more competition.
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Ktimene's Lover



Joined: 23 Apr 2005
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 1:33 pm Reply with quote
I saw in a segment with Kate Higgins where someone told her to get an agent because she got a commercial check for $30,000.
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