The second JAM (Jobs in the Audiobook Market), held February 8 in New York City, built on the success of last year's event. Publishers and narrators unanimously pronounced it "stronger" and "more organized" this year. The job market allows prescreened narrators to audition before an audience of audio publishers. This year, 35 narrators (as well as one editor and one producer who discussed their work) performed before 17 publishers and four independent producers.
Attendees praised the new format of the event, which allowed all the narrators to perform before all of the publishers, rather than splitting the auditions into two groups performing simultaneously, as was done last year.
"The talent level was consistently higher," said Beth Baxter, organizer of the APA event. "Some of the narrators were so terrific—I ran from the room once in tears. Every single publisher and independent producer that I talked to afterward was planning to hire at least one of the narrators. Some said they would hire five. Last year, about 70% of the publishers ended up hiring from the job market; this year I anticipate a 90%—95% hiring rate."
Paul Jobling, president of Chivers North America, concurred. "Last year we signed up two actors. This year we've got a shortlist of about five or six who would probably fit the bill," he said. "Some of the narrators had little audiobook experience, but there was a lot of potential. Finding new talent on our own is a very costly exercise, so a forum like this is very worthwhile for publishers."
"We hired some people last year, and there are several people from this year that we'll want to hire as soon as possible," Brilliance v-p/associate director Eileen Hutton told PW, "We'll definitely be back next year."
The day proved profitable for Pamela Dillman, a voice-over professional, who came to the job market hoping to break into the audiobook field as a narrator. "I got two pretty firm offers of narration work, and six other publishers wanted to check into my availability," she said.
For Richard Allen, narrator of The Men of Brewster Place (John Curley & Associates) and Terry McMillan's new A Day Late and a Dollar Short (Penguin), this year's event was a chance to solidify contacts and update his portfolio. "Last year was a gangbuster year for me," he said. "I was offered a job before I got to the elevator, and then that job became two, and that two became six by the end of the year. Now the publishers know what I do, so I'm in a position of sending out CDs to people who wanted updated material, and to see that the books I've done since last year are on the shelf."
For a narrator, JAM is a must, Allen said. "It offers one-stop shopping, so instead of flying all over the country or spending hundreds on Fed Ex, hoping your CDs get to the right person, you see all of them in person, and they're ready to listen," he said.
Baxter added that the atmosphere was more intimate and friendly this year, noting that last year, only 25% of the attendees stayed for the cocktail party. "The whole show had a better feel to it this year and everybody was friendlier and they all decided to stay for the party," Baxter said. "There was tremendous and relaxed communications between the talent and the publishers, and we didn't have that last year."
