UncategorizedApril 28, 2021

Meet Melody Muzljakovich | Voice Artist, Narrator, Streamer & Singer

Local Stories

Today we’re excited to introduce you to Melody Muzljakovich. Melody is a Voice Artist, Narrator, Streamer, Singer and is also a content partner. Content partners help Voyage in so many ways from spreading the word about the work that we do, sponsoring our mission and collaborating with us on content like this. Check out our conversation with Melody below.

Hi Melody, thank you so much for sitting down with us again. For folks who might have missed our initial interview, can you start by briefly introducing yourself?
Hello everyone! My name is Melody Muzljakovich but my stage name for my career is Melody Muze. I am a voice actor; an artist who specializes in providing voice over for things like commercials, eLearning modules, video games, animation, and audiobook narration. On top of this, I also offer up my singing abilities in character voices and different genres depending on what the client needs! When I’m not doing voice over, I am streaming on Twitch and playing video games to interact with my small and wonderful community, reading lots of books as well as tarot and oracle readings, and digital drawing or doing some traditional watercolor! Yes, I’m a *little* bit on the artsy side to say the least haha.

How has your career blossomed since the last time we’ve interviewed you?
Oh gosh, where has the time gone? It’s been a couple of years since we’ve last interviewed. I think quite a few things have changed about my career! When we last did this interview, I focused a lot on talking about character work and how that was my primary focus at the time. But the further I got into the voice over industry professionally, the more I’ve learned not to “pigeon hole” myself and that if I wanted to make this my full time career, I needed to expand to other branches of voice over that admittedly, I wasn’t sure I would be good with. I’ve definitely surprised myself! So, I can proudly say that I have broadened my horizons since then! I’ve done advertisement voice over, eLearning voice over and lots of narration voice over on top of continued and new character work! I’ve been so busy that I HAVE to do this full time to keep up with certain areas of voice over I’ve booked a ton on. Now, I’m still far from where I want to be, but I feel like that’s every small business owner or freelance artist ever hah. But I have a lot of great things going for me on my current path and I’ve experienced a lot of growth in only a couple of years. I’m also becoming more involved marketing wise, because hey, even if I don’t necessarily like social media, it’s exceptionally important! It’s becoming less of a chore and I’m pleasantly surprised at how much I’m starting to enjoy it. The biggest difference I’ve noticed about my career and myself, is my confidence. Its really true what experience does for you. It didn’t make me just wiser, it made me more fearless and self-assured. It’s incredible what a boost in confidence can do for you and your career!

What services do you provide and what makes you stand out in the field?
I primarily offer voice over services but I also provide singing services! What makes me pop is that I’m not just another voice actor, I’m a fellow artist and content creator who understands the process and can contribute even more to it should the client desire that. This means that when a client hires me, they’re working with someone with naturally strong instincts on how the dialogue should be portrayed without them giving me much direction. This means working with someone who can easily improv and bring her own ideas about the character or story’s portrayal to the table! This means working with someone who just “gets it”. My range is dynamic and extremely broad in vocal pitch, vocal texture, and voice age. Most importantly though, my acting is refined and can go from animated and over the top, to something more nuanced and natural. On top of this, I offer reliable and friendly and frequent communication during the project and after the project! I’m not just a talent you hire, pay, then never hear from again. I’m someone who will stick around and be involved with promoting your projects, your social media, and what we’ve accomplished together. I am your team mate all the way. Recently, I recorded two songs for two separate games. One of the songs was more story-telling like and had a Disney feel to it. I sung that song in the character’s voice which is soft, mid pitch and airy. The second song had more of a folk feel to it and reminded me of a lullaby…in a character’s voice that was more mature and grown. I am a writer, a reader, a singer, a listener, a story teller, an actor, a digital painter! I am an artist. When you hire me, you’re hiring someone who understands what it takes to bring that immersion to the table. Whether it’s for a commercial ad, an audiobook narration, a video game character, a song… we all want that immersion that people can really connect to and to bring the project to life. So, let’s make that magic happen!

What practices have you learned to do to forward your career?
Besides constantly auditioning for opportunities that I find or that are brought to me, I’ve found that marketing consistently is extremely important. I’m still improving upon it every day, but marketing to potential clients, showing off work I’ve done on my social media, just showing myself on social media… doing this has impacted my career immensely. Social media is an extremely powerful tool and the more I utilize it and promote my career and work on it, the better! This might be an obvious one, but also just taking care of myself mentally and emotionally and giving myself a rest when I need it. I think every freelancer or small business owner can relate to this, but we often put immense pressure on ourselves and we can be highly critical of our own progress and work. This isn’t great for morale, so I’ve been practicing being happy with the progress I am making and understanding patience. The biggest thing that I’ve improved upon (but still need to continue to work on) is consistence. Consistency and adaptability are extremely important in this industry. I must be willing to put in x amount of time and x amount of work in every day (except weekends) to progress, but I also must be always willing to learn. The voice over industry is always changing after all!

Have you started on anything else exciting that ties into your career?
Yes actually! A few months ago, I started up Twitch streaming. I actually have a slight confession on this! When I was in my teenage years, I secretly wanted to be a content creator and a YouTuber. I loved playing video games, I was animated, and I had a lot of opinions to offer. But I was going through a lot at the time and it wasn’t a priority! Now that I’m grown up, making money and have a newfound confidence in myself, I’ve learned that it’s never too late to start pursuing things you’re genuinely interested in. The beauty of Twitch streaming is that it’s a way for me to interact with my small fanbase and a way for them to interact with me! I incorporate my voice over into it because I myself, am always changing up my voice when I just normally speak. My career and business, at the end of the day, is me! Moreover, when my viewers watch me, they collect channel points they can exchange for rewards. Most of the rewards are “Redeem x amount of points to make Melody speak in a cutesy voice or character voice for the next two minutes!” or something similar. This makes for really fun and silly content, but also shows off my ability to switch from one voice to the next and provide acting that goes well with it too. Because I’ve mostly voice acted in video games, this will also come in handy when I’m promoting a developer and their game, I’ve worked with them on!

If you could go back in time and start freshly on your career, what would you do differently?
The main thing I would do differently is get a coach immediately (the coaches I have now are awesome, but I wish I had looked into it way back then). I genuinely feel like if I had done that, I would be so much further along! However, I’m still very happy with my progress and where I’m at though.

What advice do you want to give to those who want to get into the voice over industry?
Voice acting is SO much more than having a pleasant voice or doing impressions. If you want to get involved in the industry professionally, you have to focus on your voice and what you yourself can provide. I recommend dabbling in acting first and seeing if it’s something you can resonate with. That’s the most important thing in voice over after all; versatile, dynamic, believable acting! Please do yourself a huge favor and invest in a certified coach! Someone who has connections and has been in the industry for several years. They know what they’re doing and talking about and they will lead you on a strong path. Yes, they might be expensive if they’re highly reputable, but I promise you it will be worth it in the long run! If they’re an amazing coach, they won’t be just your mentor and guide, they’ll be one of your strongest supporters in more ways than one! Mostly though, if this is something you fall in love with, do not give up and try not to look at it as solely a competition. This is something I struggled with when I first started out and even sometimes still, I get a pang of jealousy when I see a fellow voice actor get a super sweet gig. But I promise that other voice actors are not your enemies or people you have to “beat”, regardless of what that little voice tells you. Those are friends, allies, and people who want to see you succeed! You need to understand that you aren’t going to be just a voice actor in this industry. The reality is, is that we voice actors are also audio engineers (novice level at least), editors, and marketers. We’re also our own agents (for those of us who don’t use agents). This means you’ll have to learn how to promote your business and find the work yourself! You’ll also have to edit your own audio sometimes too! The more you fall down the rabbit hole that is this industry, the more skills you’ll find yourself developing that you never expected, haha. Remember, that regardless if someone else has your skill or talent, they will not have YOUR twist. Be your wonderful self and let yourself shine!

Alright, so before we go, how can our readers connect with you to learn more and show support?
If you wish to follow me on my journey, please check out my website and socials here:
https://www.voicesofmelody.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/voicesofmelody/
https://www.twitch.tv/melthemuze
https://www.facebook.com/melodymuze
https://twitter.com/voicesofmelody
https://www.instagram.com/melodymuze/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC93xxYj8VH_YofYWEvnwZAg?view_as=subscriber
Also on TiKTok @voicesofmelody I’m active on all of my socials, so you won’t be missing out on anything if you prefer one over the other!