Voice Over Services for Australian Advertisers: MVM vs BigMouth

Compare both services using one commercial brief

Compare MVM and BigMouth by sending both the same script, recording requirements and intended usage, then assessing their written quotes against the same media, territory and term.

• Creative: attach the final script and identify whether the recording is internal or public-facing.
• Distribution: list every medium, distinguish paid from organic placement, and specify the intended audience or reach. Channel, reach and exclusivity can each affect usage pricing.[2][3][5]
• Licence: state the territory, competitor-exclusivity requirements, and exact start and end dates.[2][3][5]

Include paid social and pre-roll as advertising uses even when they are not television or radio. Organic website content, internal training and unpaid social may be treated differently.[2][3] Put optional and excluded uses on separate lines instead of relying on an undefined “buyout”, which does not automatically mean unrestricted perpetual rights.[2]

MVM vs BigMouth: auditions, direction and pickups

Compare the approval track, directed recording and revision allowance separately.

Melbourne Voices Management

• Audition or guide rights: MVM lists a paid commercial submission track. An internet submission is guide-only and is not licensed for on-air use.[4]
• Live direction: Have the quote identify the chosen artist’s availability, connection method, session length, included takes and price.
• Pickups: Internal presentation or e-learning pickups and corporate-video pickups are priced as half-hour bookings. Radio and television or cinema revision charges depend on whether the previous recording has aired or been communicated to the public.[4]

BigMouth Voices

• Audition or guide rights: Under BigMouth’s terms, agreed rights in auditions, guide reads and other Voicework pass after the job is completed and full payment is received. The licence still needs to define the permitted use.[1]
• Live direction: Availability, delivery, rights and price are negotiated case by case.[1] Have the quote identify the session method, attendance window and take allowance.
• Pickups: Specify the included pickup allowance and editing boundary. BigMouth says a change in final usage or voice selection may change the fee by mutual written agreement using its then-current rates.[1]

Separate recording charges from usage rights

Industry guidance distinguishes a session fee for recording time and performance from a usage fee for permission to use the recording. Usage pricing can vary with medium, market or reach, and duration.[2][6]

MVM publishes a full rate card effective 1 July 2025, presented as an image and PDF, which lists Australian-dollar base rates by media type, excluding GST, and applies region-based loadings to overseas use; some artists may charge more. The figures in the page’s HTML text do not match the rate card, so rely on the rate card and a written quote for pricing.[4] Rate-card categories include:

• Internal presentations and e-learning: priced per hour, per script, for Australian-only internal use, with a separate half-hour pickup booking.[4]
• Corporate video: priced per script, per hour, for Australian in-house use, with a separate half-hour pickup booking.[4]
• IVR: priced per hour, per script, for Australian use. Revisions and pickups are charged at the same rate.[4]
• On-hold messaging: priced per hour, per entity. Revisions and pickups are charged at the same category rate.[4]

BigMouth divides its total fee into a Voice Fee payable to the performer and an Agency Fee for booking management and agency services. The amount varies with the work and licence and, under its terms, becomes binding when invoiced unless changed by mutual written agreement.[1] Payment must go through BigMouth, and work originating on its platform remains there unless otherwise agreed in writing.[1]

Define pickups and script changes before recording

The booking should distinguish performer corrections from client script changes, alternate lines, extra takes and post-approval pickups. Confirm:

• the number of included takes and edits;
• the revision window and any word or scope limit;
• the minimum rebooking period and remote-session charges; and
• how charges change after first air.

For MVM radio, a revision is charged at the submission rate if the earlier track has not aired; after airing, final-fee rates apply. For television or cinema, later recording hours remain at the submission rate only while the earlier recording has not been communicated to the public.[4]

Record the permitted media, territory and term

Write the licence as specific placement boundaries rather than simply “online use”. It should identify:

• Work: client, product and final spot or version.
• Use: every paid and organic medium and placement type.
• Scope: territory, intended reach, licence start and end dates, competitor exclusivity and renewal arrangements.[2][3][5]

Using The Voice Realm’s format, wording could read: “Paid social and website, Australia, 12 months from first air.” List internal, organic and overseas uses separately.[2]

BigMouth says its licences may vary by period, publication method or medium, territory and recording length. Its terms do not include exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable or worldwide rights unless expressly agreed in writing.[1]

Industry descriptions of a “buyout” differ: The Voice Realm describes one payment for a defined scope that is not automatically perpetual, while Backstage says non-broadcast work is usually licensed through perpetual full buyouts.[2][6] The written licence therefore needs to define the actual scope. A licence log can record the client, spot, medium, market and end date.[2]

What happens if campaign use expands

MVM’s rate card prices overseas use through region-based loadings on the Australian fee; confirm the loading for each territory in the written quote.[4]

If several media are required from the outset, confirm in writing which media MVM’s rate card allows to be bundled and the resulting fee.[4]

BigMouth says a mutually agreed change to final usage may be repriced at the rates applying when the change is made.[1] Its terms price unauthorised additional use at the greater of the current rate-card amount plus 15%, or a pro-rated increase for the expanded use plus 15%. BigMouth may demand payment and require the additional use to stop.[1]

Obtain written approval and a revised fee before adding a medium, territory or licence period.

Control assignment and synthetic reuse

Keep AI and transfer permissions separate from the ordinary usage licence. Neither provider’s terms support treating a conventional voice booking as automatic permission to clone, train on or transfer a performance.[1][4]

MVM says a recording or performance cannot be used in AI without advance written consent from both the artist and MVM, along with advance compensation. AI pricing is negotiated.[4]

BigMouth’s terms prohibit AI or machine-learning use, cloning, synthesis, simulation, sampling, training and harvesting of protected voice material without further written consent.[1] Assignment requires written permission and equivalent downstream AI and protection covenants. BigMouth must be notified in writing within 14 days of an assignment or transfer.[1]

The booking should expressly permit or prohibit AI training, voice cloning, synthetic derivatives, model development, future reuse and assignment to another agency, client or distributor.

How the two booking models differ

Melbourne Voices Management

MVM publishes a full rate card effective 1 July 2025 with base rates by media type and region-based overseas loadings, although individual artists may charge more. Because the page text and the rate card differ, base pricing on the rate card and a written quote.[4]

BigMouth Voices

BigMouth uses a case-by-case, agency-managed model in which fees depend on the work and licence.[1] BigMouth Limited is a New Zealand company, and its terms page does not identify a specific Australian service area.[1] Its terms say customer termination requires prior written agreement, while BigMouth may terminate on one day’s written notice.[1]

What to confirm with each provider

Before booking, obtain one written quote covering:

• audition or guide status and whether the track may be aired;
• audition turnaround and the number of auditions;
• directed-session availability, connection method and price;
• included takes, edits, pickups and script-change limits;
• separate recording and usage fees;
• every medium, paid or organic placement, territory and licence date;
• competitor exclusivity, renewal and overseas expansion;
• assignment and AI or synthetic-use restrictions;
• cancellation, rescheduling and refund terms; and
• the person authorised to approve recordings and request changes.

The source lists 24h delivery and a 5.0 score for featured talent, but does not publish independent comparative evidence for ranking audio quality.[3] For broad, high-value, transferable or synthetic-use rights, seek Australian legal advice rather than treating provider terms or rate cards as statements of Australian law.[1][4]

References

1. BigMouth Limited Terms of Service | BigMouth Voices (bigmouthvoices.com)
2. Voice Over Usage Rights Explained for Voice Actors – The Voice Realm (thevoicerealm.com)
3. Voiceover Licensing: Commercial vs Broadcast | RealVOTalent (realvotalent.com, 2026)
4. RATES | Melbourne Voices Management (melbournevoicesmanagement.com.au)
5. Voice-Over Usage Rights Explained: A Commis… – OutSpoken Voices Blog (outspokenvoices.com)
6. Voiceover Usage Rights Explained: A Guide for Voice Actors | Backstage (backstage.com, 2023)