We recently connected with Melody Muze and have shared our conversation below.

Melody, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk that I’ve taken is definitely going full time as a voice actor. No matter what industry you’re in, going fulltime as a freelancer is scary and unstable. But, it is also one of the most fulfilling things you will ever do in your life, putting your all into something you genuinely love to do.

Life is far too short, far too cold and cruel to only try and survive, there has to be something worth living for and one of those things for me, is voice acting. Bringing stories and characters to life for people to enjoy and resonate with, to inspire. I tried the retail job and just knew I couldn’t do that for the next thirty years of my life, else I would be miserable and I was already there. So one day, I just quit and told my ex-boss “I’m going to be an actress”.

I had no plan. Just the will and determination to make it work and make it happen, with a huge help from my support system.

Melody, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a voice artist, a narrator, a singer and an artist. I like to think myself as a “muse”, meaning I dabble in all the arts and to me, all of these arts are connected. However, I specialize in bringing projects to life using my voice. Whether it’s for an audiobook, a specific character in animation or a game, or an advertisement…I’m here to tell stories and enrapture the audience and to help them connect with what they see.

With the dawn of AI approaching and with no regulations in place to control it, I’ve realized that people now more than ever, have a need for human voices to bring to life human stories. Our world is constantly evolving and advancing technologically, but we remain stagnant socially, economically.

With my experience as a living, breathing human being who has gone through her own trials, I offer a real voice, with real emotions to tell people’s stories. I make it so easy to work with me as I already understand what the script is saying before someone gives me additional information. I’m kind, compassionate, communicative and I make sure that I deliver the highest quality possible for my fellow creatives and collaboratives.

I am proud of the person I’ve become and when you’re a freelancer, the person you are is directly tied to your business. I’ve worked hard and I still have so much to strive for still! When you work with me, you’re not working with just another voice talent, you’re working with an artist who will work with you until we match your vision perfectly. That’s exactly what all of us deserve, is our stories and messages conveyed authentically and passionately. That’s what I’m proud of, that’s what I deliver.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I was about twelve years old, I came down with what seemed like just a really bad stomach virus. However, after we thought we had resolved it, my stomach issues returned and only got worse and worse with every year, to the point where I couldn’t leave my bathroom and go to school. My symptoms were horrible yet I wasn’t considered to be in critical condition, so every day for ten years, I had severe stomach issues.

It sent me into a deep, dark depression, I had friends move on without me, I lost on a lot of opportunities and I had doctors accuse me of lying. I was so young, yet I had been through multiple colonoscopies, endoscopes, and received steroid shots in my stomach. All while I was fighting the demons in my head.

This was a very dark time for me and my family because we visited countless doctors who didn’t take me seriously because hey, I was a plus size teenager and if I lost weight, all my problems would disappear. Finally, we met a Russian doctor who did a simple test on me, a breath test, and discovered I am fructose intolerant. Fructose, which is found in ALL the food we were consuming. I also have PCOS which explained my weight gain and inability to lose weight.

Despite all this, I remain very positive and optimistic. Art is what got me through that dark time and art is what inspires me to keep going!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think what society should do is strive to appreciate what artists actually do for society. Too many people scoff at it and don’t realize that art is just as much apart of everything we do as say, math or science for example. In fact, I bet you, you can find art in science and math. The movies you enjoy? That’s thanks to artists. Music? Books? Fashion? Decor…? All involve an artist’s hand.

As a society, we should all strive to pay for what an artist’s worth is and respect it. Keep in mind, you’re not just paying for the artist’s piece itself, you’re paying for the blood, sweat, tears and TIME they’ve put into their craft. Supporting an artist doesn’t have to always involve paying for their piece, but it never hurts to like, share, and talk about it.

I mentioned AI earlier and I’ll mention it again…AI as it is now, is a detriment to the creative industry as a whole. So I will encourage everyone to use it sparingly or to avoid using it at all to generate images OR to steal voice actor’s voices without their consent. We are here to entertain and to share a piece of our soul that we worked SO hard to build upon, so please don’t’ take from our identity. Message us for voice samples, hire newer talent, give artists a chance. We want to work with you as much as you want to work with us and most artists are very kind and accommodating.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.voicesofmelody.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melodymuze/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melodymuze/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/voicesofmelody/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/voicesofmelody

Image Credits
https://www.macyalexphotography.com/ for my professional headshot!