1. You walk into a McDonalds & order a Big Mac. Pay for it & walk out. Can you go back a day later and get a refund for your burger if you haven’t eaten it?
2. You book a room at a fancy 5-star hotel. Pay online the day before your first night. Can you go back a week later and get a refund if you didn’t even check-in?
3. You want to use a production library music track for your TV ad. Pay the appropriate license fee and download it. Can you go back a month later and get a refund if you decided not to use it?
F#CK NO.
In some countries (the US, UK, and Australia come to mind), unions guide pricing for voice work. A voice talent might record a TV ad script for a basic fee; if the recording is used, get an additional loading fee as per union guidelines.
However, in most countries, especially in Asia, there are no voice unions. So, the rules are totally different. Since voice talents can’t monitor media 24/7 to check for copyright infringements, everyone operates on the basis that once they’ve recorded the script and handed over pristine 24-bit 48kHz WAV files, it’s a done deal.
We treat audio the same way that production music libraries do with their music. Once it’s been paid for, the audio has been licensed as per the agreed usage. If the client then chooses not to use the audio, or use only a portion, that’s their choice, but there’s no refund coming.
Once you’ve purcahsed a license, it’s yours. No Give Backs.