Charles Melcher was born in 1965 and raised in New York City. He graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988. In his youth, he was a two-time Junior Olympic Fencing champion in 1980 and 1981.
After graduating, Melcher launched Melcher Press, Inc., which he renamed Melcher Media, Inc. in 1993. The company began by creating custom print materials and later established a publishing imprint for MTV, MTV Books.