These terms apply to voiceover services provided by Caroline Ashby trading as Audio Caroline (“the Voice Artist”). The person or organisation commissioning the work is referred to as “the Client”.
Unless alternative terms are agreed in writing, these terms apply to voiceover work commissioned from the Voice Artist. Any project-specific terms agreed in writing, including the fee, usage, media, territory and duration, take precedence where they differ from these standard terms.
1. Fees & Payment
Fees will be agreed before work begins wherever reasonably possible.
Invoices are payable within 30 days of the invoice date unless otherwise agreed in writing. Earlier payment is always appreciated.
The Voice Artist reserves all statutory rights relating to late commercial payments, including the right to claim applicable interest and recovery costs on overdue invoices.
Any licence to use the recording is conditional upon payment in full in accordance with the agreed payment terms.
2. Usage & Licensing
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the Client is granted a non-exclusive licence to use the final recording for 12 months from first use, solely for the specific project, product or service for which it was commissioned.
Except where expressly agreed in writing, the Client receives a licence to use the recording as set out in these terms rather than a transfer or assignment of the Voice Artist’s rights in the performance.
Where specific usage, media, territory or duration has been agreed for a project, those agreed terms apply instead.
Any extension of the agreed usage period, additional use, or reuse of the recording for another project, product, service or campaign must be agreed separately and may be subject to an additional usage fee.
No category, brand or competitor exclusivity is granted unless expressly agreed in writing.
3. AI, Voice Cloning & Synthetic Voice
No permission is granted for the Voice Artist’s voice, performance or recordings — including final recordings, raw audio, outtakes, auditions or other supplied audio — to be used for the training, development, testing or operation of artificial intelligence or machine-learning systems without the Voice Artist’s prior express written consent.
This includes, but is not limited to, voice cloning, synthetic voice or speech generation, text-to-speech systems, digital replicas, datasets, generative AI systems, or the creation of new or derivative synthetic performances.
Recordings may not be uploaded, supplied, transferred or otherwise made available to a third party for any such purpose.
No AI, synthetic voice or voice-cloning rights are granted by payment of an invoice or by any general licence to use the commissioned recording. Any such use requires a separate written agreement with the Voice Artist.
4. Re-records, Pickups & Script Changes
Any recording errors made by the Voice Artist will be corrected free of charge.
Reasonable performance pickups requested within 14 days of delivery, where the approved script and original brief have not changed, will normally be provided at no additional charge.
Changes to the script, brief, pronunciation guidance or creative direction after recording may be treated as additional work and charged accordingly. Substantial re-recording or a significant change of direction from the original agreed brief may also incur an additional fee.
Any additional charge will be discussed before the additional work is undertaken.
5. Live Directed Sessions & Additional Studio Time
Where a live directed session is booked, the agreed fee covers the session duration specified at the time of booking.
If the session runs beyond the booked time at the Client’s request, or due to circumstances within the Client’s or production team’s control, additional studio time may be charged.
Where possible, any additional charge will be confirmed before the session continues beyond the booked time.
6. Cancellation
If a project is cancelled before recording has begun, no recording fee will normally be charged unless dedicated studio time or a live directed session has been specifically reserved at short notice.
Where a confirmed live session is cancelled or significantly rescheduled with less than 24 hours’ notice, up to 50% of the agreed session or recording fee may be charged.
Where recording has already begun or been completed, the Voice Artist may charge for work undertaken up to the point of cancellation, including the agreed recording fee where the recording has been completed.
Usage fees will not normally be payable for recordings which are not used, unless otherwise agreed.
7. Client-Supplied Material
The Client is responsible for ensuring that it has the necessary rights, permissions and approvals for any scripts, trademarks, names, music, reference material or other content supplied to the Voice Artist for the project.
The Voice Artist is not responsible for claims arising from Client-supplied material where the recording has been produced in accordance with the Client’s instructions.
8. Transfer & Sublicensing
The Client may supply the recording to production partners, agencies, editors, broadcasters, platforms or other suppliers where reasonably necessary to produce, deliver or distribute the agreed project.
This does not grant those parties any independent right to use the recording for another purpose.
The licence may not otherwise be sold, assigned, transferred or sublicensed to another party without the Voice Artist’s prior written consent.
9. Portfolio & Promotional Use
Once a project has been publicly released, the Voice Artist may identify the Client and use reasonable extracts from the finished, publicly available work for professional self-promotion, including on the Voice Artist’s website, showreels, portfolio and professional social media.
Confidential, internal, embargoed or unreleased material will not be used for promotional purposes without permission.
If the Client has a reasonable requirement that publicly released work should not be used for portfolio purposes, this can be agreed in writing.
10. Confidentiality
Any confidential information or material supplied in connection with a project will be treated as confidential and will not knowingly be disclosed to third parties except where reasonably necessary to complete the agreed work or where disclosure is required by law.
11. Changes to the Agreed Project
The quotation or agreed fee is based on the information available when the project is commissioned.
Material changes to the script length, scope, usage, territory, media, session requirements or other agreed specifications may require the fee to be revised. Any revised fee will be discussed before the additional or changed work is undertaken.
12. These Terms
These terms should be read alongside any project-specific quotation, email agreement, purchase order or other written agreement between the Voice Artist and the Client.
Where separately negotiated written terms conflict with these standard terms, the separately agreed terms will take precedence for that project.
These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.
Caroline Ashby trading as Audio Caroline
British Voiceover Artist
audiocaroline.com