Backup your voice archive

Backup your voice archive and current voice-over work is fundamental because it’s your capital and your treasure. Imagine what you would feel like if you lost all the voice over files that you have created. It doesn’t bear thinking about, does it? If you’re serious about your voice over business then you should be serious about backup as well. After all, you have spent time, money, sweat and maybe even a few tears over those files so to lose them would be devastating. Not only that, what if a client wants another copy and you can’t provide one? You’re going to look pretty unprofessional if you can’t produce it.

Having access to your previously recorded work or what is still in process at your studio also helps you to pitch for other similar jobs and remind yourself how you recorded a particular voice over. To lose these files could potentially damage your credibility, your business and your inspiration!

If you are not in the habit of backing up then let me take you through these potential scenarios:

• Crash hard disc while recording –  Your hard disc finally gives up after years of use and it’s basically reached the end of its life span. This creates a dramatic situation in which you  lose all your data in the middle of a recording, right before a crucial delivery. In this particular case you should have a mirroring or a RAID on your work station. These are a series of hard discs that copy your data instantly, therefore you can record and be sure that the files will be not be lost.
• File corruption and viruses – not a day goes by where you don’t get some kind of dodgy email that could potentially do a lot of damage if you open it up. If a virus or a piece of malware hits your computer then copying your files can’t always be done safely and they can easily corrupt, making them unreadable. It goes without saying that you need to buy an antivirus. Don’t spare on this crucial software.
• Deletion or overwriting – we’ve all done it. Deleted an important file or overwritten a piece of work that you needed to keep. This is probably one of the most common ways that we lose data. To fix this you have to make an external copy, once you have finished your recording.  There are plenty of options in the Cloud  like buying up space from Amazon, Google or Apple or just copy everything on a good Hard Disc.
• Theft/Damage – having your computer stolen or dropping it, spilling coffee all over it and any other kind of mishap could wreck your computer and everything you have on it. Some paranoids just make a copy right after the recording and then put it a safe fire-resistant box. This might make sense if you recording is worth thousands of $$$.

Without backup, any of the above scenarios could mean the loss of all your voice over files and a lot of heartache. This is applicable for your VO files, but also your invoices, account information, and all data related to your VO business.

The most important thing is that you do it and you do it regularly. Just ask yourself the question – how much could you stand to lose? That will answer how frequently you should be backing up your voice over files!

A final thought. Backup is just like insurance. It may cost a little time and money to insure your precious possessions but it’s great to have that peace of mind that should the worst happen, you’ve got things covered. That’s why backup is so important.

What do you think? When was the last time you backed up your voice over files? It would be good to hear from you…