Happy New Years!

After the overwhelmingly positive reception I received on the Retrospective journal in November, the status on the Express Yourself Contest and the future of Furry Musicians has changed. We have not one, not two, but five new volunteers ready to go for 2026! So, what's next?


The Spotlight and biweekly content
Regular scheduling will not return in 2026, as 2026 will be used to workshop long-term programming for 2027 and beyond. There may be new content coming to FM periodically as we pilot some of the ideas cooked up by our volunteers, but that's it! If you have an idea of something you would like to do, send me a note and we can talk about it!


The Express Yourself Contest
The EYC will be experiencing some of its most radical changes to date, so read the following closely!

> The EYC will be broken into 3 separate categories evenly spaced throughout the year
... each will be fully contained within a total of 1-2 months
... the fixed start dates are February, June, & November

> The EYC will be divided into 3 categories: Instrumental-forward / Electronic-forward / Wildcard
... Instrumental is things like Orchestral, Folk, Country and so on
... Electronic is hyperpop, house, breakbeat, and so on
... Wildcard is experimental, undefinable, and wholly unexpected

> The only monetary prize will be money
... each prize pool will max out at 300 USD
... the prize pool scales off of participant submission count, so the more competitors, the larger the pool!
... 1st place in each category will be promoted on Furry Musicians, and the top three will receive TNA VST access

> There will be a rotating cast of judges for each category of the larger contest circuit
... the judging teams we've pulled together specialize in their chosen category
... this will hopefully allow for fair & informed judging

> There will not be a public voting round
... there has rarely been a good turnout for public voting, and it extends the contest out waaaay too long

> Users may compete in one, or all three of the categories, no matter their final placement in the other categories
... should an artist place in top 3 for two or more contests in a given year, they will not be able to compete the following year

And that, folks, is all he barked! Here's to a musical 2026!!

~Puppy