My advice to other singers is, do as much of it as you can as long as you can, and keep looking ahead to where things are going. Because the one thing about the business right now, compared to the world I came from, is that change is happening rapidly. You’ve got to keep up with the technology as well as the different ways people market themselves.

Janice Pendarvis

Singer

Session singers, also called background and professional singers, have contributed to the rich sounds and harmonies of some of music’s most popular and legendary songs. But outside of the booth or life on tour, the professional lives of these performers are unique and involve skills in networking, self-management and other aspects of the music business. 

In this SAG-AFTRA podcast, hosts SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris and National Executive Director David White talk to singer-songwriters Janice Pendarvis and Carlos Ricketts Jr. about their lives and careers as SAG-AFTRA freelance singers. Pendarvis and Ricketts talk about their starts in music and the lessons they’ve learned along the way, as well as how things have changed in the face of emerging social media platforms and the COVID-19 pandemic. Also discussed is the development of the Music Modernization Act and how it continues to benefit singers and recording artists of the past, present and future. 

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Overcast, Pocket Casts or TuneIn.

 

The views expressed by the guests are their own and not that of SAG-AFTRA. Any mention of products or services does not imply SAG-AFTRA’s endorsement.

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