What's Changed in the Past 10 Years for Backing Vocalists?

The central demand of a background vocalist’s job—singing well—has remained constant over the years, but the last decade has shown that another aspect of the job will never change: the inevitability of change itself. In today’s landscape, as ever, the best way for a backing vocalist to survive change is to have the versatility, the flexibility, the skill, and the will to evolve with the industry.

Shifts in the economics of touring, the advent of recording technology, and evolving business practices have all had a significant effect on the way background vocalists find and do their work.

Chief among these developments is how digital recording has changed studio work. Whereas previous generations of singers worked in groups harmonizing their voices around a single mic, now each singer typically has his or her own mic in an isolation booth, and the blend and intonation are managed by an engineer.

“That makes it harder for those of us who are used to controlling the sound of the blend,” says Berklee Professor Janice Pendarvis, background singer for Roberta Flack, David Bowie ’99H, the Rolling Stones, and others. “I’ve learned to keep going back in the control room to hear what blend the engineer is trying to achieve, and that gives us a clue as to what it is that we need to do on those separate mics.”

She recalls doing disco records in which she’d sing a nine-minute vamp, then double and triple it, straight through each pass. Now, singers may record just four bars, and the engineers will lay that sample wherever it’s needed. The problem is that singers may not get a chance to find the deep groove like they used to do.

To find that groove, Pendarvis has advice for singers today: “If you’re recording on a long vamp, ask the engineer to give you a chance to sing the vamp over and over until you find a pocket for it. Then start recording and import that pocket wherever you need it.”

“You are leading people through an experience. It’s like you’re throwing a 90-minute party every night.”

— Mark Joseph '15, background vocalist

The economics of being a background singer have also evolved. “As home recording technology emerged, more people were able to make respectable sound recordings at home, singing their own backing vocals and using Auto-Tune to make them sound decent,” says Kudisan Kai, a former Berklee faculty member who’s sung with Chaka Khan ’04H, Elton John, Mary J. Blige, and many others. “Labels cut their budgets, and they stopped hiring background singers.”

Moreover, streaming has changed the field. “It’s a whole different animal now,” says Associate Professor Joey Blake, who has backed Bobby McFerrin ’03H and Gladys Knight. “Art is ever evolving and ever changing anyway, and because of technology, things have to change and adapt. Now everything is streaming, so it’s more complicated to figure out how to monetize your musical offerings. You have to be innovative. Everything has to move and grow, otherwise you are going to get stale. If you’re not willing to get with the technology, then eventually you’re going to get left behind.”

Touring has transformed, too. Operations have downsized and budgets have tightened, Kai says, adding that whereas touring background singers were once accustomed to generous paychecks, in recent years (pandemic notwithstanding) they are often paid per gig.

Maureen Murphy ’99, a Nashville vocal coach and background singer who works with a long list of local, national, and international artists, including Phish, the Zac Brown Band, and Old Crow Medicine Show, says that artists often struggle to get paid: “Work-for-hire agreements are common practice, but they exploit the performers’ rights.”

Still, says Pendarvis, there is touring work to be had, at all levels, from arena shows with superstars to more local events. And Blake agrees that live performance continues to be a good way to make a living although he cautions, “People have to find new ways to tour. You can only sell so many tickets and you can only travel to so many venues. You have to pour a lot of money into advertising to make that work for you.”

Background singers play an important role in creating the overall experience, says Mark Joseph ’15, who today tours with the Jonas Brothers. “You are leading people through an experience. It’s like you’re throwing a 90-minute party every night.” That hasn’t changed over time, nor has the way artists find work: through their network and reputation. His first break singing with Nick Jonas was through Mike Wooten ’17, who was working as Jonas’s keyboard player. They were distant connections at Berklee, Joseph says, but Wooten remembered both his voice and his vibe. “I think that’s why people get the gig—it’s 40 percent talent and 60 percent vibe check.”

And though touring gigs are harder to get than they once were, the one thing that has remained constant, according to Kai, is work in film and television, whether it is doing background vocals, scores, award shows, or singing shows, such as American Idol and The Voice, which have boomed in popularity over the past couple of decades. “Some artists might call session singers every now and then, but the majority of the work I’ve done over the last decade is for television and film, and that’s truly in Los Angeles.”

In L.A., professional singers are found and hired by vocal contractors. “Once the word is out and you are on the list with vocal contractors, you become part of their network,” Kai says. Excellent sight-reading skills are critical in this environment. “You have to be able to do it really fast and accurately, and be able to improvise on the turn of a dime, with emotion and feeling. In the studio, time is everything.” And since film and television gigs are governed by SAG-AFTRA, they pay union scale, making these more lucrative than other work.

Artists everywhere hope that the lack of live music over the past two years has helped people realize its value. Now, after the pandemic, “Broadway, recordings, and gigs are all slowly coming back, and we are all trying to refind our footing,” says Professor Gabrielle Goodman, who’s worked with Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau ’91H, and many others.

“Keep chipping away at it,” she says. “Put yourself on Instagram and knock people out. Find your niche and keep doing the small gigs so you’re networking with people and getting your name out there.”
 

This article appeared in the spring/summer 2022 issue of Berklee Today.