VO Business Answers · Rates & money
How much commission do voiceover agents take?
Voiceover agents traditionally take 10% on union bookings — a rate anchored by union franchise rules — while non-union commissions commonly run higher, often 15–20%, because the agent may also handle billing and collection. Commission comes out of the booking; a legitimate agent earns when you earn and never charges upfront fees.
The commission covers real work: negotiating rates and usage, submitting you for auditions you'd never see, chasing payment, and defending your terms. On union work the classic arrangement adds the commission on top of scale ('scale + 10') so the talent still receives full scale.
Some talent work with multiple agents across markets — one in LA, one in New York, one regional. Each books and takes commission on their own bookings, which makes per-agent tracking a genuine bookkeeping task.
One caution that never expires: agents earn commission on bookings. Anyone charging an upfront 'registration' or 'roster' fee is running a different business than an agency.
VOpilot tracks each representative's commission rate and basis, computes the split on every job automatically, and keeps a settle-up view per agent — including SAG P&H handling on union work.
By Jack Daniel — working voiceover artist; founder, VOpilot. Updated 2026-07-24.
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