Society of Voice Arts and Sciences

What Society of Voice Arts and Sciences does

Society of Voice Arts and Sciences (SOVAS), legally SOVAS INC, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded on August 26, 2013, in New York by Rudy Gaskins (Chairman & CEO) and Joan Baker (Senior Vice President). SOVAS operates as a community platform serving the global voice acting ecosystem — voice actors (beginners and professionals), talent agents, casting directors, content producers, labor organizations, teachers, and buyers — through four primary pillars: That's Voiceover! Career Expo (the longest-running voiceover conference in the world, held annually in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles), the Voice Arts Awards (an international recognition program with 100+ categories covering motion picture animation, TV commercials, audiobooks, spoken word, political ads, toys, and audio description), SOVAS Scholarships (educational and financial support ranging from $600 to $10,000), and a five-tier membership program (Basic, Advantage, Silver, Gold, Platinum).

SOVAS's digital infrastructure is assembled from off-the-shelf SaaS platforms rather than proprietary technology: JoinIT powers membership management, Squadup handles event ticketing, SmugMug hosts photo galleries, Constant Contact runs email marketing, and secure-platform.com processes award submissions. The proprietary surface area is concentrated in the Voice Arts Awards online entry and voting platform integrated with the secure-platform.com system. The organization holds three registered trademarks (Voice Arts®, SOVAS™, That's Voiceover!™) and partners with R.S. Owens Company — the same manufacturer of the Oscar, Emmy, and MTV Music Awards statuettes — to produce its award hardware.

The business model is a diversified nonprofit revenue stack: event ticket sales (That's Voiceover! and Voice Arts Awards Gala), award entry fees, sales of statues/plaques/certificates, tiered membership dues, corporate sponsorships (Source Elements, Sennheiser, Comcast/NBC, Voice123, Backstage Magazine, SiriusXM/Pandora, Telemundo, CBS LA, SAG-AFTRA FCU, Neumann), donations, and naming rights for both scholarships and award categories. Charitable partners include the Alzheimer's Association (5% of That's Voiceover! ticket sales) and the Muhammad Ali Center. SOVAS operates with 1-10 employees and extends its reach through an international ambassador network spanning Brazil, Colombia, China, Japan, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Syria, Australia, and the USA.

Name

Society of Voice Arts and Sciences

Legal name

SOVAS INC

Website

https://sovas.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Society of Voice Arts and Sciences is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports the global voice acting community through an annual career expo, international awards program, scholarships, and a tiered membership program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Voice Arts Industry Association

NAICS

Business Associations (81391), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Training, Enablement & Talent Development Summits (THAHAMAH)

Keywords

• Voice acting awards
• Voiceover career expo
• Voice talent training
• Voiceover industry events
• Voice acting scholarships

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Event Ticket Sales: Revenue from That's Voiceover! Career Expo and Voice Arts Awards Gala ticket sales
2. Award Entry Fees: Submission fees for Voice Arts Awards competition entries
3. Award Statuettes and Merchandise: Sales of Voice Arts Award statuettes, plaques, and certificates
4. Sponsorship: Corporate sponsorships from companies like Source Elements, Sennheiser, Comcast, Voice123, and others
5. Membership Dues: Basic, Advantage, Silver, Gold and Platinum tiered membership program
6. Donations: Charitable donations supporting scholarships and relief funding
7. Scholarship Naming Rights: Naming rights for scholarships such as Stella Adler & SOVAS Actor Training Scholarships and Source Elements × SOVAS Scholarship
8. Award Naming Rights: Naming rights for specific award categories during Voice Arts Awards

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SOVAS operates four primary pillars: (1) That's Voiceover! Career Expo, the longest-running voiceover conference in the world held annually in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles providing training, networking, auditions, and job opportunities; (2) the Voice Arts Awards, an international recognition program with 100+ categories across multiple languages; (3) SOVAS Scholarships providing educational and financial support valued from $600 to $10,000; and (4) SOVAS Membership, a tiered program (Basic, Advantage, Silver, Gold, Platinum) offering exclusive industry benefits.

Product overview

SOVAS (Society of Voice Arts and Sciences) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that operates as a platform rather than a single unified product. The organization's core offerings include four primary pillars: That's Voiceover! Career Expo (the longest-running voiceover conference featuring networking, training, and auditions), the Voice Arts Awards (an international award program with over 100 categories), SOVAS Scholarships (educational and financial support ranging from $600-$10,000), and SOVAS Membership (tiered membership with Basic through Platinum levels). Additional programs include Speed Dating with Your Demo Reel, Audio Description Jam, The PaRé Way audition methodology, and the SOVAS Forum community platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• That's Voiceover!: Annual career expo bringing together voiceover industry players, including newcomers and professionals for networking, employment, training, education, and auditions.
• Voice Arts Awards
• TVO

Products and services

• That's Voiceover! Career Expo Annual career expo and conference for voice actors featuring networking, training, education, auditions, and job opportunities with major brands; recognized as the longest-running voiceover conference in the world.
• Voice Arts Awards International award program recognizing excellence in voice acting, similar to Oscars, Emmys, and Tonys for voice work; covers 100+ categories across multiple languages including English, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and Mandarin.
• SOVAS Scholarships Educational and financial scholarship programs providing job training, free admission to events, coaching, demo reel production, and acting classes for financially underprivileged individuals; scholarship values range from $600 to $10,000.
• SOVAS Membership Tiered membership program offering Basic, Advantage, Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels with exclusive benefits for voice actors and industry professionals, delivered via the JoinIT membership platform with annual billing cadence.
• Speed Dating with Your Demo Reel Audition sessions where voice actors present their demo reels to casting directors, talent agents, and producers; available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese versions.
• Audio Description Jam Specialized audition event focused on audio description, a technique that makes visual media accessible to people who are blind or have low vision.
• The PaRé Way Audition technique and methodology program developed by SOVAS for voice actors to improve their audition skills.
• SOVAS Forum Digital community platform featuring discussions, resources, and networking opportunities for voice actors and industry professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% of organizational time dedicated to Voice Arts Awards program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Source ElementscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor and partner providing the Source Elements × SOVAS Scholarship. Source Elements provides remote recording technology solutions for the voiceover industry.
• Stella Adler Studio of ActingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partner offering the Stella Adler & SOVAS Actor Training Scholarships for voice acting education.
• Sennheiser ElectronicsmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor sponsor providing audio equipment support for events and promotional activities.
• Voice123majorGTM or Marketing PartnerPromotional partner providing advertising and lead generation for SOVAS events and membership.
• Backstage MagazinemajorGTM or Marketing PartnerIndustry publication partner providing online subscriptions to members and promotional coverage.
• Comcast/NBCmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor media sponsor and supporter of voice arts programs and events.
• SAG-AFTRA FCUminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCredit union sponsor advertising at events and serving the entertainment industry community.
• SiriusXM/PandoramajorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner supporting voice arts initiatives and providing audition opportunities.
• TelemundominorGTM or Marketing PartnerHispanic media partner supporting diversity initiatives in voice acting.
• CBS Los AngelesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBroadcast partner supporting regional voice arts programming.
• VoDojominorGTM or Marketing PartnerVoiceover training platform partner supporting educational initiatives.
• Schulman LobelminorOthersOfficial accountants providing financial services for the Voice Arts Awards.
• Neumann Microphone CompanymajorGTM or Marketing PartnerPremium microphone manufacturer supporting events and providing equipment for voice recording education.
• Muhammad Ali CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharitable partner for the Charity Scholarship program featuring honorary sponsorship at SOVAS events.
• Alzheimer's AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesignated charity of choice receiving 5% of That's Voiceover! ticket sales and on-site presence.
• R.S. Owens CompanycoreTechnology or IntegrationManufacturer of the Voice Arts Award statuette, same company that manufactures Oscar, Emmy and MTV Music Awards.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Voice123: Voiceover talent marketplace platform and SOVAS promotional partner. Serves the same voice actor/buyer community, providing audition and job-matching functionality parallel to SOVAS's speed-dating audition programs.
• Voices.com: Online voiceover talent marketplace connecting professional voice actors with buyers across commercials, audiobooks, and animation. Directly serves the same core customer segment as SOVAS and competes for voice-actor mindshare and community engagement.
• Edge Studio: Long-running voiceover training, coaching, and demo production company serving beginners and professional voice actors. Competes directly with SOVAS's educational programming delivered via That's Voiceover! Career Expo.
• Such A Voice: Voice acting training and demo production company serving aspiring and working voice actors. Directly competes with SOVAS on training/coaching and serves the same beginner-to-pro talent persona.
• Voicebank.net: Voice casting marketplace for agencies and voice talent. Overlaps with SOVAS's audition and industry-connection programs (e.g., Speed Dating with Your Demo Reel), and has historical board-level connections to SOVAS.
• Behind The Voice Actors: Voice acting community database and content platform covering animated films, games, and TV. Targets the same voice-actor persona as SOVAS with credits, interviews, and recognition features.

Broad incumbents

• Backstage: Casting platform and trade publication for actors, including voiceover talent. A SOVAS promotional partner but also a broader incumbent serving the same performer's career-development and audition-discovery needs.
• SAG-AFTRA: Major labor union representing voice actors (among other performers). Overlaps with SOVAS's advocacy and industry-credentialing functions but at much broader scale and with collective bargaining rather than awards/events as the core offering.

Regional players

• Gravy For The Brain: UK-based voice acting training, coaching, and business education platform with similar training/mentorship content. Competes with SOVAS for English-language voice talent outside the US market.
• The Voiceover Network: UK-focused voice actor community, directory, and event platform. Provides similar community/recognition value to UK and European voice actors that SOVAS targets through its UK ambassador program.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SovasVoice
• Facebookfacebook.com/SovasVoice
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/society-of-voice-arts-and-sciences-inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/sovasvoice

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Society of Voice Arts and Sciences