Voices knowledge base
Short, human explanations of the terms we use every day: voice-over, phone menu, IVR, hold music, buy-out, usage rights, audio formats, and more. For clients, partners, and anyone working with voice.
Phone menu, IVR, hold music and every voice you hear when you call.
Automatic menu of a telephone system (IVR) that routes callers based on choices.
Voice-overs for telephone menus, messages on hold, and voicemails. We charge per prompt (one short message) or per word, depending on the scope. For larger telephony projects (mul…
An IVR (Interactive Voice Response) is an automated telephone system that allows callers to make choices in a menu via their keypad or voice. Why is a good IVR voice important? An…
IVR selection menu with options ("press 1", "press 2"). Helps callers reach the correct service more quickly.
Music while waiting. Technically, this must be suitable for telephone systems (quality/codec).
A message played while the caller is on hold. It can provide information and make the wait more pleasant.
The short greeting a caller hears before or upon answering. Often the first point of contact for your telephone system.
The opening sentence of your voicemail or telephone system. Short, friendly and clear.
A short notification that you are absent, with instructions on what the caller can do.
A holiday voicemail message for closures, including an alternative channel or opening hours.
A voicemail message for when you are (temporarily) closed for holidays, with a clear return time.
A voicemail confirming that you are closed and clearly stating when you will be available again.
A message that plays when you do not answer outside of opening hours, with a next step for the caller.
A message stating that you are temporarily unavailable and when you will return, including an alternative contact channel.
French term for "answering machine" (often more informal). Professionally, "messagerie vocale" is also used.
Business French term for voicemail. Often used in a professional context.
Spots, billboards, pre-/mid-/post-roll and everything involving media buy-outs.
A voice-over project with a media buy-out: TV, radio, Spotify ads, YouTube pre-rolls or sponsored social media. The rate consists of two parts: BSF (the recording) and the buy-out…
A voice-over project without a paid media buy-out. Think of corporate films, e-learning, internal presentations or organic social media. "Unpaid" in our price list does not mean "…
Short mentions on TV or radio: "This programme was made possible by...". It is not a full commercial but a sponsorship mention. Therefore, a different (lower) rate often applies t…
A short audio or video advertisement played before the main content. Well-known on YouTube, Spotify, or podcast platforms. Pre-roll falls under the buy-out category "Online" or "P…
An advertisement played during the main content — typically halfway through a podcast or a long YouTube video. Mid-roll requires a buy-out for the chosen term and channel.
An advertisement played after the main content. Less common than pre-roll, but works well for branding. Buy-out conditions are the same as for pre-roll and mid-roll (Online or Pod…
A short addition (often 5 seconds) at the end of an existing commercial: "Now with 20% discount" or a promo code. The voice is the same as in the main spot. For a tag-on, we charg…
Briefing, recording, retakes, mastering and live direction.
The step in our checkout where you provide everything the actor needs: the script, the tone of voice (warm/business-like/energetic/...), reference videos or audio, deadline and an…
A re-recording of (part of) the voice-over. At Voices, 1 retake for tone-of-voice is included as standard. Script changes — replacing a word, adding a sentence, or a new script —…
A pickup is a small re-recording of a specific part of your script, for example, because the text has changed or a name needs to be pronounced differently. How does it work with u…
A temporary, rough recording — often recorded by the director, editor, or the client themselves — that serves as a timing reference for the final voice actor. The scratch track is…
A voice-over that does not need to synchronise tightly to the millisecond with the visuals. The standard for corporate videos, explainer animations and e-learning. Wildtrack is fa…
The exact synchronisation of existing image or film content into another language. The voice must be synchronised with the lip movements to the millisecond. Dubbing takes consider…
Educational audio content: course modules, instructional videos, training. Often long texts — that is why we charge per word or per finished hour of audio instead of a standard BS…
A recording session where you listen in live via Zoom, Teams or Source-Connect to direct the actor during the recording. An extra studio fee is charged for live direction, as the…
At Voices.be, we do not deliver "raw" recordings. Every voice recording passes through our mastering engine . What we do: Loudness Normalisation: We ensure the volume is exactly r…
A voice actor who speaks the language as their mother tongue, without a foreign accent. This is often a strict requirement for international productions. At Voices, we work with n…
The emotion or style with which a text is recorded: warm, professional, energetic, persuasive, soft, authoritative, friendly. Choosing the right tone-of-voice is more important th…
You first look for the perfect voice and then write or adapt the script to that voice. Our grid and demo streams are designed for this "feel-first" flow.
You already have a finished script and are looking for the right voice to match it. Our configurator then first filters by tone-of-voice, language, and style.
Not every telephone system or medium is the same. That is why Voices.be delivers your recording in three specific formats by default: 8kHz (Telephone Quality): Specially optimised…
The interactive tool on a voice actor's profile page. This is where you put your project together: medium (TV, radio, online, podcast), length (indicated in seconds), number of sp…
A hidden, custom-made URL with a selected set of voices — pre-selected by the Voices Agency based on your briefing. Useful for larger campaigns where the end client can choose fro…
Buy-outs, BSF, NDAs, VAT reverse charge and how Voices invoices.
The basic session fee (BSF) of a voice actor for the recording itself. The BSF excludes the usage rights (buy-out) — these are calculated separately per medium and term. The BSF c…
A Buy-out is the fee you pay for the right to use a voice recording for a specific period and a specific medium (e.g. Radio, TV or Online). How does it work at Voices.be? For our…
The central pricing engine of Voices. All calculations — BSF, buy-out, bundle discounts, VAT, rush fee — happen in one place, so that the price in the configurator is always the s…
A quick way to get an indication of budget, approach and planning for a voice recording.
When a project is too complex for the standard configurator (for example, 5 TV spots in 3 countries, or a dubbing project with 20 characters), it automatically enters a quote flow…
For B2B orders within the European Union (outside Belgium) where the customer provides a valid VAT number, we reverse charge the VAT (0%). The customer processes the VAT themselve…
A Non-Disclosure Agreement or confidentiality agreement. Often required for major commercials, product launches or confidential corporate content before the script can be shared.…
You are the direct owner of the brand or company for which the voice-over is being used. No intermediary, no extra invoice flow.
You are booking for an end client — a video editor, advertising agency, or production house. Our workflow provides project names, billing addresses, and delivery for agencies and…
A specific date and time when a Voices workshop takes place in the Studio: Voice-acting Basics, Commercial, Audiobook or Podcast. You can register per edition. Places are limited…
A person who has registered for a Workshop edition in the Voices Studio. Each participant has a personal account with their own session planning and feedback.
Industry terms that span everything we do.
A Flemish voice-over is a professional recording recorded in Belgian Dutch with a recognisable Flemish accent and intonation. Producers opt for Flemish when they want a familiar,…
The Flemish accent refers to the pronunciation characteristics of Belgian Dutch that distinguish it from Dutch spoken in the Netherlands: shorter vowels, a more relaxed intonation…
Belgian Dutch is the standard variety of Dutch as spoken and written in Flanders. It shares the same grammar and spelling as Dutch spoken in the Netherlands, but differs in pronun…
To the untrained ear, Dutch and Flemish voices sound the same, but professional producers can hear the difference immediately. Flemish uses shorter vowels, softer consonants and a…
Meditation is a conscious practice designed to train the mind and find mental calm, often through breathing exercises, body scans or guided visualisation. At Voices Ademing, we co…
A breathing exercise helps you regulate your heart rate and stress levels using a fixed rhythm or counting pattern. Breathing is the quickest way to calm your nervous system witho…
Peace and relaxation means consciously slowing down: fewer stimuli, gentler breathing and space to let go of tension. It forms the basis of every Ademing session on voices.be.
Becoming a voice-over artist means learning to record voice-overs for videos, adverts, e-learning or telephone services. You’ll practise breathing, articulation and reading rhythm…