CanvasRebel interview
This article was originally published by CanvasRebel on March 1, 2026. You can read the original here.
We were lucky to catch up with Mel Dalton recently and have shared our conversation below.
Mel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you been 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? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
I am so lucky to be a full-time musician. So many people dream of that, but I feel like they all expect success to mean the same thing – name in lights, big tours, that sort of thing. To be honest, I thought the same thing myself when I started. The reality is that success in the music industry looks different for everyone.
One of the biggest hurdles musicians face is the devaluing of our product. Free music is everywhere, cheap music is everywhere, and a lot of potential listeners are surviving on really tight budgets and are going to opt for free options. Hell, pay for live musicians in a lot of areas hasn’t changed since the 70s and 80s! So we need to get creative. We can’t expect to pay our bills by playing bars with a tip jar and selling some t-shirts and CDs. Not to mention, lots of consumers don’t even buy music any more – they just stream it. And sure, we’re getting paid for those streams. But when it takes dozens or hundreds of streams to make a dollar, that’s not a viable way for us to make a living either.
Fortunately we live in the internet age. And even though modern technology has given us a lot of problems, such as streaming and now generative AI, it’s also given us a lot of new tools. For example, we can reach audiences all around the world easily. I do a live stream every Monday morning on Facebook and YouTube, and I’ve had viewers tune in from all over the world! Europe, Asia, Australia, it’s so cool to see somebody pop up in the comments and as I talk to them I find out they’re in Finland or Japan. And it’s really fun that I get this weekly hangout session with friends and followers who I don’t always get to see in person!
One real game changer for me is the subscription model. I have a small but marvelous group of Patreon subscribers who felt enough of a connection to me and to my music that they show their generosity every month. For a musician whose income can vary drastically, having that reliable base line is vital. You know you can at least keep the lights on.
I would definitely say the biggest factor I’ve found to get any kind of paid work is the ability to make connections with people. Most of my gigs come from people who get referred to me. “We’re booking for the fall and I was told to call you.” “I need someone to play this event and your name keeps coming up.” Even if you’re the one reaching out to book, being known already can turn a cold email warmer. “Oh yeah, I’ve heard good things about you.” Reputation isn’t just good for getting fans, it’s vital for getting work too. And the way to get people talking about you is to make lots of social and working connections around your art.
Of course all of this is going to take time. I think the only way to speed up the process is to pursue multiple revenue sources. Session work and teaching don’t feel as glamorous as headlining a tour, but you know what’s really not glamorous? Having your heat turned off.
The bottom line? If you want to do this for a living, expand your definition of success and don’t assume the only way to make it is to headline a huge stage.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’ve been performing since I was a kid – I can still remember the day in 5th grade when I first auditioned for a solo part in choir. I didn’t get it, by the way, but the director did put me in a trio for the concert. I sang all through my teen years and into college – sang in school, sang in church, sang along to the radio, sang with my family, sang by myself. Music, all the time. When I was a college freshman, at school for a music performance degree, I read several books on the music industry and how to be successful. My plan was to go to Nashville and get discovered. I mean, whose isn’t at that age?
But the more I read, the more I tried to prepare myself for making that big leap, the less confident I became. I couldn’t write my own songs, I couldn’t play an instrument. Being able to sing and perform is important, but I felt like it wasn’t enough to get a record deal. And honestly, it probably wasn’t back then. It definitely isn’t enough now! So I kept working my day job, singing karaoke and dreaming of someday making it big while I struggled to learn guitar and write songs.
Eventually a friend of a friend introduced me to someone who was looking for a new musical partner, and we started performing regularly as a duo. After several years he moved on, but in the mean time I’d made enough connections (and enough of a name for myself) that I was able to put a band together. The relationships I forged there helped me grow confident enough to share my original songs, and the guitarists I was playing with were generous in helping me improve my playing skills.
Fast forward to 2020, and I was living in Idaho and taking a proper shot at playing full time. That spring I started a weekly live stream called Monday Music, which I’m still doing six years later. As I built my reputation in a new town, having that consistency helped – not only to keep me practicing but also to give folks a way to hear my music before I had many gigs or much music released.
After a couple years I got up the courage to record my first solo EP, which was an adventure in and of itself. And since then I’ve been putting out singles, ramping up for a full album next year. In the past few years I’ve really started to feel like I’m coming into my own. My confidence has grown, and my skills have too. My support system has grown as well! I like to say that I have a depth of support – folks who have backed me emotionally and financially for years – that comes from building real relationships with people, rather than a broad support of millions of casual listeners who may not really care the next time I put a new song out.
My most recent adventure is to start a charity, called The Lighthouse Showcase. Our mission is to build community by putting on live music events in and around North Idaho. Everyone’s been really supportive; most of our recent shows have sold out and we’ve helped some fairly unknown local musicians get a lot of very well deserved attention that will hopefully push their careers forward. This work is important for the community because music is such a powerful force! Music heals, it brings people together, it changes perception and shows us things we wouldn’t otherwise see. Meanwhile we have a loneliness epidemic and folks spend so much time at home with their faces in screens – TV, internet, gaming consoles. I’m honored that I get to put my love of music together with my love of community and use that combination to make them both better.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
One of my greatest strengths is my desire to learn how to do things for myself. Being able to control all aspects of my craft means that I don’t have to wait for somebody else to move me and my work to the top of their to-do list. And when I understand tasks that I do hire out, I can evaluate that work much more readily. Plus, I really enjoy have a broad skill base.
At the same time it’s also one of my weaknesses! Mostly because I tend to get myself overwhelmed and overcommitted, and then the task ends up getting pushed down my to-do list. Or worse, it just never gets done.
A great example of this is recording. I decided last fall that I was going to record an EP of love songs. Just me and the guitar, stripped-down versions of two originals and two covers. I have the equipment, I can do this myself, right ? Maybe send it out for mixing if I can’t get that right. No problem.
Yeah, Problem. Multiple problems, in fact. Hardware problems. Software problems. Decisions I needed to make, and found myself waffling on.
With 3 weeks left before my self-imposed deadline and nowhere near on track for success, I decided to pivot. I cut the EP down to a single song, and enlisted the (previously offered) help of a local recording artist who was setting up his own studio. In the course of a couple weeks we re-recorded everything I’d done already, added everything I wasn’t able to do yet, and he had it mixed and ready for me JUST IN TIME. The single dropped on Valentine’s Day itself, which was literally the last possible second to accomplish what I wanted.
So yeah, score one for asking for help.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Social media is awful. And wonderful. And frustrating. And pretty much necessary if you want to get any attention.
The number one thing to remember is that you have to be consistent, and you have to tailor that consistency to what’s realistic for you to accomplish. Planning an intricate video every day, then getting stressed out and either putting out half-finished garbage or nothing at all? Not the path to success. Pull back your expectations to something you can really, definitely do. Do the intricate video once a month, simple videos once a week, and a quick post daily.
The number two thing is to post the same thing multiple times. Seriously. You’re gonna feel silly, but it works. First because very few of your audience will see all of those posts. Second because the ones who do see them all will either not remember the last one or they’ll see it and it’ll be familiar, which is good. And third because it’s going to make your life SO MUCH EASIER if you regularly get 3-5 pieces of content out of the same post idea!
The number three thing is to experiment. Somewhere out there are a bunch of people who want to hear your music, see your art, eat your food. And I’d you keep looking you can find them. So when there’s a type of post that tends to be successful for you, try creating a slightly altered version. Slower or faster cuts between scenes. Use a different filter on your photos. Write shorter or longer captions. You may find that using ambient music and putting captions on the screen instead of using a voice-over gets you a lot more attention. Shake it up and see what works, and then shake it again.