A Guide to Finding Voice-Over Auditions in Malaysia and Singapore

This is the second instalment of a two-part blog.

Click here for Part 1 on finding auditions on international waters.

If you’re from Malaysia or Singapore, you’ve probably noticed that most of the opportunities I’ve mentioned so far in Part 1 are international. Locally, we have Voice Guild Malaysia (VGM), a platform where agencies, studios, and production houses find voice talent. Typically, they pitch up to three talents who meet the client's specifications by sharing samples from the talent’s VGM profile. Occasionally, they may request a custom demo, which, if it involves a full script or brand name, is chargeable. This means heading into a studio, where the client listens to you read their script in different ways before deciding.

VGM features local professional voice talent that speaks English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil.

More frequently, however, clients now ask,

“Sam a, can record just with phone?”.

I’m hesitant about phone recordings — the quality often doesn’t do my voice justice, which can deter potential clients. While VGM doesn’t encourage custom demos, they are acceptable as long as you avoid using a professional setup, recording the entire script, or mentioning the brand name (although some still do).

Singapore, on the other hand, currently has no dedicated association for voice talents like VGM. Most of my Singapore inquiries come through Fiverr, my website, or indirectly through VGM.

In 2022, I received 16 jobs through VGM. In 2023, it was down to 14. That’s roughly one job a month, and the income wasn’t substantial. Many clients stick with familiar voices for their brands, creating a huge entry barrier for newcomers like me, who don’t have established ties in the local industry. The data shows that even if you get into VGM, it will not be your source of income to survive, at least not in the first few years.

Jobs I got through Voice Guild Malaysia in 2023

Some voice talents join VGM with the misconception that it will bring them tons of jobs upon acceptance, and would ask the Guild,

"Why have I not received any projects since joining?"

Hence, I do want to stress that VGM is not an agency that will help you find clients. It is a platform to help increase your visibility as a professional voice-over talent.

That said, VGM remains THE platform to be on because all major studios and production houses use the website; even smaller agencies or end clients in Malaysia and Singapore will stumble upon it with a bit of googling. Even if some clients with limited budgets may still turn to platforms like Fiverr, there is a chance they will return to VGM if they don't get the desired results there, which has happened to me before (yes, they ended up spending more than if they just went with me in the first place, but at least their team prioritize quality output).

So unless you’re a very well-established voice talent with no shortage of clients, VGM is a crucial platform for visibility. Newer agencies, clients, and production studios that haven’t been in the industry for long may not be familiar with veteran voice talents, who often rely on their existing client base and may not regularly update their profiles or showcase their samples online. This creates a valuable opportunity for newcomers like me, as these newer clients often search for talents through VGM profiles and decide based on the samples and information we share there.

In a nutshell, auditioning is rare in Malaysia for commercial and corporate jobs. My advice? Gain experience by doing paid projects, then apply to join VGM when you’re ready. As the current Secretary for VGM and part of the committee that decides who qualifies, I’ll share my recommendations in another blog on how to increase your chances of acceptance to VGM.

Coming back to auditions, here is how I recorded my data in 2023:

Here’s the breakdown:

1. Self - Ones I’ve sourced myself, mostly from Twitter

2. Agencies - from The Sheppard Agency, IDIOM Talent, one from China, another that focuses mainly on internal eLearnings 

3. Demo Requested / Invitation - The client requests or invites me to record a custom sample or closed audition based on their script. 

4. International - email, Fiverr, Upwork, Voices.com, and rosters I’ve signed up for

5. Local - VGM and Singapore

I tend to be quite selective when providing samples on Fiverr and VGM. I always ask clients,

“What vibe are you looking for based on the samples I’ve sent?”

This is crucial because 90% of the time, their interpretation of “friendly and conversational” differs from mine. If they can point out which of my samples they like, it becomes much easier to align expectations. Now I know that when you say ‘conversational’, you actually mean ‘professional with predictable pauses’. 

As of October 2024, here is my audition data for the year:

I've segregated Rosters and Platforms, prioritizing auditions from agencies, although I haven’t landed any yet. Me travelling in April, June and from late July to mid-September contributed to a drop in auditions. But no excuses, I admit I’ve become lazier this year in that regard. However, I’m getting back on track — see that spike in October? Hehe. The total number of auditions and demos I've done this year combined is 240, with an average success rate of 7.08%.

We are all burnt out from time to time, no matter the nature of our work. I get burnt out from auditioning too. Because when you take auditions seriously, you spend a substantial amount of time preparing before hitting RECORD. Auditioning for characters, commercials, or medical narrations all require different approaches. You need to understand the scene, know who you’re talking to, grasp what the client wants, give 2 takes with completely different vibes, and ensure correct pronunciation — it can be a lot of work.

One pattern I’ve noticed from my auditioning experience is that if you submit a lot of auditions this month, you’ll often be busier (and earn more) the next—assuming you get cast, of course. The quieter your schedule is now, the more auditions you should aim to do, so you can reap the rewards a month or two later. The beauty of being a freelance voice actor is the flexibility—you can choose to be lazy, take it easy, and enjoy some downtime, or you can do more auditions, search more platforms to create profiles on, rosters to apply to, and demos to record. How hardworking you want to be is entirely up to you.

While it can be discouraging to pour effort into auditions and self-promotion without immediate pay — or even a guarantee you'll get cast — this ‘unpaid work’ is part of the freelancer’s reality. I know it’s easy to feel demotivated when results don’t come right away, but the key is pushing through those doubts and keep at it. As shared in Part 1, I didn’t audition to get cast; I did it to improve, and the results eventually followed. Don't dwell on the fact that you didn't get cast for this or that audition. Move on, on to the next audition. So if there's one piece of advice you take away from my blog, let it be this:

'Audition and Forget'.

All the best!

If you're interested in classes or in-person group workshops like this Voice Acting Workshop (hosted by yours truly at Drum Connect (Paradigm Mall, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia)), drop me a message here: https://www.samyeow.com/classes.

Till next time!