Agent Billy Serow: Show Your
Strengths On Demo Right Away
Voice acting in New York City is the specialty of Billy Serow, the gifted talent agent at Abrams Artists. "It's such an exciting thing to find the next great voice," he says in the recent Episode #4 of the Erik & Ember Show podcast.
Yes, the Big Apple is a union town, with most hiring done by casting directors. But Serow listens to demos from both union and non-union talent. That's because a non-union talent can obtain a waiver to perform the first union job. The second union job requires union membership.
Of course, there's plenty of competition.
In the podcast, Serow tells hosts Erik Sheppard and September Day Leach that out of a hundred or more demos he receives each week from people seeking his representation as an agent, he'll pick just three or five to listen to a second time.
The hook?
"You've got to grab somebody in the first 15 to 20 seconds" of the demo, he explains. "Show your strengths and then reinforce them."
Serow says that it's often "hard to determine what they're best at" when reviewing demos.
This and many more nuggets of career advice are heard on the podcast, produced by Sheppard's Voice Talent Productions. To listen, click on Episode #4 in the right column of Sheppard's blog page, under the Erik And Ember Show logo.
You'll be enticed to hear other episodes, too, including interviews with Joan Baker, Heather Halley and Ann DeWig.
Blog/Podcast: www.voicetalentproductions.com/blog
Email Sheppard: erik@voicetalentproductions.com
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