Have you ever wondered how much of your money goes to the middle man?
I suppose this happens across almost every industry, where someone simply assigns your work to an independent contractor and that’s the extent of their involvement. In some cases though, you pay heavily for that.
The middle man is nothing new. Agencies have been around forever and, more recently, pay-to-play platforms have appeared, offering independent, usually self-employed people the opportunity to connect with customers. Although in truth, it’s often the customer connecting with independent creatives to carry out a huge variety of work on their behalf.
These days there’s also the ever-present AI, which claims to be able to do jobs that would previously have been done by a human. AI stands for artificial intelligence and, in some cases, it’s very good. But make no mistake, artificial intelligence is still no match for actual intelligence and human experience.
Humans understand that consistency matters. In repetitive tasks, producing the same result every time can be ideal. But in the creative world, where individuality and standing out are important, sameness can become a problem. Ironically, AI often struggles with consistency in a different way. You can feed an AI model the exact same prompt multiple times and still receive noticeably different results each time.
When it comes to creative output, where you want individuality while still maintaining a recognisable brand identity, that inconsistency can be a real issue.
If we feed an AI model a script to voice, there’s no guarantee that the next piece generated for the same project will sound like the original, even if the prompt is identical and only the script changes. The same applies to visual design. If something needs to follow specific brand guidelines or creative constraints, there’s no guarantee those details will always be consistently observed.
So while AI may be a cheaper way of achieving a creative goal, we also have to accept that consistency and nuance may not always be there.
That leaves us with human creativity, experience and judgement. Some people will immediately say, “but that’s too expensive”, and sometimes it can feel that way. But often, a large part of that cost comes from the cut taken by the middle man or the fees added by pay-to-play platforms.
The truth is that behind every middle man and every pay-to-play platform is the experienced professional actually doing the work. The creative sets their fee for carrying out the project, then the platform adds its commission on top, despite often doing little more than hosting the listing.
In many cases, you could connect directly with the very same professional through a search engine and get exactly the same work completed to the same high standard, but at a lower cost.
The same applies to agencies. It’s worth considering what value an agency is really adding when, in some cases, they simply pass your project directly to a self-employed contractor. Sometimes the agency’s markup is actually greater than the fee paid to the person doing the work itself.
That can make professional creative work appear far more expensive than it really needs to be.
I know a number of very talented people who have walked away from creative industries because of these pressures. The perception that humans are “too expensive” while AI is cheap or even free has had a huge impact on creative professionals.
Now, in some situations AI may absolutely be capable of doing what you need to the standard you need. But if you genuinely care about your work, it’s worth asking whether the compromises are worth the savings.
A voiceover artist doesn’t just read your script into an audio file. They take time to understand the tone, pacing and intention behind the words, then deliver the script appropriately. You’ll often receive multiple takes and professionally recorded, broadcast-quality audio. When you need future work recorded, you can return to the same artist and maintain consistency in both voice and quality.
The same applies to production.
A producer listens critically throughout the entire project. They notice issues AI may currently miss and make subtle corrections that improve the final result. When carrying out edits, a producer uses judgement and experience to decide the best approach, rather than simply following instructions literally.
They’re constantly listening, adjusting and refining. They pick up on details you may not even have noticed yourself, helping your project sound its absolute best.
In podcast production, for example, every voice is different. A good producer reacts to each host and guest individually, processing each voice by ear to ensure everyone sounds natural and clear. Then they export and master the final production so it sounds polished and meets the correct loudness standards.
Of course, there’s a cost attached to that level of skill and attention. But if you’re using an intermediary, whether that’s a pay-to-play platform or an agency, it’s worth remembering that additional fees are often being added without improving the final product itself.
And that’s often where the idea that working with humans is “too expensive” comes from.
In reality, connecting directly with skilled independent creatives can often make high-quality professional work far more affordable than people realise.
It’s certainly worth thinking about. Using a human to do your voiceover, or produce your content frees up your valuable time to create content without having to fiddle about with prompts that don’t and won’t produce consistency, or AI editors that lack the huuman ear and experience.
If you care about your work and care about the future of the creative industry, support small independent artists, producers and creatives wherever possible. It doesn’t have to be cost prohibitive.
About me
I am an audio professional with nearly 40 years experience. Learning production skills at Capital Radio on work experience in an analogue age, I have since transferred those skills to the digital world, using an industry leading Digital Audio Workstatioon to produce brand imaging, commercials, narrations and podcasts to the highest level.
