We were lucky to catch up with C-Dot 416 recently and have shared our conversation below.

C-Dot 416, appreciate you joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

When I started releasing music professionally 7 years ago, I didn’t really believe I would make it as far as I have today. I got a job at my local sandwich shop Amatos, I was 18 making $10 an hour. I knew I wanted to pursue music, but I was starting to realize how expensive it was to work independently in the industry. I experienced a hard life growing up, so I knew all too well what it felt like to not have money, so by 18 I had learned to become a great money saver. Every week I would put part of my check away saving up until I could afford to release my first project. From a years’ worth of work and a donation from my friend tom’s sister Whitney I was able to release my first album “Precipice” on all music platforms. At the time releasing 12 songs and promoting the album cost me just under $4000. This was an incredible amount of money to me at the time, but it was worth every penny. With continued release and promotion of new songs over the years my music income has steadily grown. My first year at 18 I made roughly $1000 from music; my next two years around $5000. Just shortly after my 22nd birthday (4 years into music) I was in a position where I could take a step back from a normal 9-5 job and focus primarily on music. Now at 25, 7 years later I am a full-time independent artist. Money isn’t consistent but it is there, I’m able to support myself and continue growing my music, I’m so thankful of what I’ve achieved and the experiences I’ve been a part of. I guess looking back on everything, of course I could have done things better to speed up the process instead of taking 7 years, but at the time I was as fresh as it gets to music, basically zero knowledge of the industry. Simply, I had to live and learn.

C-Dot 416, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a singer and songwriter by the stage name C-Dot 416, my real name is Caleb, I grew up in Toronto Canada until I was 13, then moved just outside of Portland Maine where I still currently live. Since I was a kid I always loved music and the way the instruments sound and the singers use of melody. At the time I didn’t know how to direct my passion for music so like most people I would just sing along to songs and sometimes imagine my own versions of them. Over the years heading into my early 20’s I’ve been able to find my path in music and direct my passion into lyrics and melodies of my own.

I hate to say it, but when you put a song on and listen to the lyrics 8/10 times the artist has created those lyrics from their imagination to pitch what they think the listener is looking to hear. With my music, everything I sing I’ve written 100% myself, about my own life, happiness, sadness, struggles, my music is my life. I think that’s why when I gain a new fan they’re a fan for life, they hear my voice and my words, and they know I’m speaking my past. This is why I think a lot of people can easily relate to my music when they hear it, everyone’s been through their own struggles in life just as I have, my music is a place for them to not feel alone. I truly believe my music can be therapeutic to many troubled souls young or old.

I’d say right now what I’m most proud of is staying true to myself and my values, not selling out for a quick buck even when my back was against the wall. Honoring my mum Hilary and spreading her name and love as far as I can. If you’re new to my music, don’t stop yourself from feeling it. Whatever emotion I can pull from you, let it flow.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My mum had just passed away, and my music career doubled over the next year. It was a crazy rollercoaster of emotions, happiness and sadness overflowing often overwhelming me at times. I was struggling to balance my personal life, mental health, and my music career. At my then peek of 175k monthly listeners on Spotify, performing multiple arena shows Infront of 5000+ people and making more money than I knew what to do with, I should’ve felt on top of the world, but with the absence of my best friend, my mum, I felt an emptiness I couldn’t fill with the exciting life of music.

I fell into a darkness and found myself taking a step back from music and filling that void with going out and drinking. Over the course of 6 months in 2023 I lost my momentum and fell from 175k to 60k listeners, I lost one of my social media platforms I had grown for 10 years gaining over 10 thousand fans on there. Those two hard hits along with some major personal financial issues my life was heading in a fast downward spiral.

2023 and early 2024 were the hardest times for me in my music career, I started having doubts and thinking about giving up. I woke up one morning after having a dream of my mum, and I told myself “Knock it off, you can’t let this all go to waste.” I have slowly been rebuilding my mental strength and motivation to try different angles and ideas in this new evolving music industry. As of now I’m back on track to regaining what I once had, I’m not fully back to where I was but I know with time it will come.

My message here is even when you get cut in half and you think your dreams are fading, you have to pull yourself together, keep your head up and push on forward no matter what disappointment lies in your path.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The thing I love the most about my career, besides being my own boss is being able to see firsthand what my music is doing for people. I answer countless messages and talk to as many fans as I can at shows about their lives and what they’ve been through and how my music has guided them, let them express themselves, and even saved their lives.

Of course, being there for these fans has its ups and downs. I’ve been up for hours on social media messaging fans helping them cope with the situation they were currently going through. Getting them through that is such a relieving feeling and definitely a bonding moment for us, but there have been times where i’ve missed a message from someone struggling, and it’s been too late by the time I see it. those fans I will never forget.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cdot_416/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cdot416/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GBSProductions
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1rP2X9nvJrBjsO3umLS7Vb