Imaging In 2019 – Amanda Madi
- ImagingIn2019, Opinion, Radio Imaging
- Amanda Madi, CESD Talent Agency, Voiceover
- August 12, 2019
Welcome to the “Imaging In 2019 Series” – a blog series that interviews inspiring producers and great creators of Station Sound.
Amanda Madi
This week’s guest is someone who I’ve known about for a number of years and have been “social friends” for some time and I eventually got to meet in Los Angeles at WWRS 2019.
Amanda is a Radio Imaging and Commercial Voice based out of Canada. Chances are you have heard Amanda’s voice on your favourite Radio Station or Commercial for a world-wide Artist or Brand!
1. How did you get started in the Voiceover World?
I love this story so much…. After broadcasting school I started working on the promo team at Z103.5 here in Toronto, after about a month a full time receptionist job opened up and I jumped on it… From there management and the production team started getting me to voice commercials, entertainment updates and then one day they were between female imaging voices, so they got me on a promo… I didn’t really think anything of it at that time but then Chad Erickson was one of the voices and who I was on the promo with, he heard it and told Sean Galbraith (Imaging Director) that “that girl” should do imaging… And the rest is history!!!
2. Who are your idols and people you look for inspiration from?
My family, they remind me every day what life is all about.
In this business- Everyone is so kind and helpful. Plus each person is so unique which inspires me daily. Just to name some who continue to amaze me and are extremely helpful: Chad Erickson, Scott Fisher, K3, Taylor Kaye, Gary McClenaghan, Heather Walters, Steve Taylor, Wendy K Gray, and the list goes on…It’s so hard to only pick out a handful….
3. What is your opinion on Vocal Coaches - have you used one in the past and are they worth it?
I have never used a vocal coach but I want to… I keep saying I will… Hoping this year it will happen.
I’ve heard great things about a few coaches from reliable sources. Just have to find the right fit for me 🙂
4. What makes a killer demo for a voiceover? (Different styles/something creative that makes it different)
In the past year, I’ve worked with two amazing demo producers (ineedademo.com and Jay Helmus) as different as they are, the similarities that makes them both so great, is their ability to capture the exact sound and vision you’re going for but with all the fancy stuff on top.
In many cases, your demo is your first impression. It has to be true to you, showing off your different styles, your versatility.
5. You voice lots of radio stations, and I’m sure the copy can get repetitive. How do you keep it fresh, especially when you’re saying the same phrases or reading copy for the same collective contests all the time?
What’s great is that each station is different, even though the copy is repetitive in the way of phrasing… I try to adlib, do different read styles, sing stuff (hahahaha), sometimes I’ll even switch around the copy.
I also visit my station’s website frequently to see what else is happening and streaming the station helps too- you can get the feel of the audience especially when you hear the listeners interact with the DJs. That helps me keep things fresh-sometimes I’m not down with the lingo so I have to have a listen- like today for example I had no idea what ASMR was and had to google it… Hahahaha! Seriously google that!
6. What are your current goals as a voice artist?
Always on the top of my goals list is to continue to be the best VO for my clients.
To continue to book jobs and always be working
To book stations in NYC and LA 🙂
