Interested in competing? Very important information below the white line, folks!!!

Hello Furry Musicians! Wow, how fast this year has flown by...

Which means, just as we've done now for three years already, the Express Yourself Contest will be coming back January 1st, 2017! (the submission journal will be opened at 12:01 AM, January First, and will run for a month)

Many of you look forwards to this contest, that I know! But to the newcomers within our group, let me explain what it's all about, and why you should be hyped!

The Express Yourself Contest is a yearly contest with amazing opportunities for exposure, prizes, and musical expression! It's broken into four rounds, the open bracket where you submit your song, the wildcard round, the semi-finals, and then the finals. Cool thing is, third, second, and first place all get rewards for their effort!

Last year, first place got a great art commission from residential FM-affiliated artist  orcaowl, a promotional interview from residential interviewer  KhordKitty, the potential for a song commission from the year before's winner (as is tradition), and the most coveted prize of all, a year long promotion of a song of their choice in the featured window on our homepage!

Second place received a promotional interview from Khord and a song commission from  Eluti!

Third place had a promotional interview from the cat that was uploaded to our page with the other two, and a super cute Chibi badge commission from  birbseeds!

Pretty sweet, right?!

Better yet, I'm going to try my best to make the prizes bigger and better then ever before this year!

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION BELOW!!!

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[edited from last year, but still relevant now]

<<<<<<The Contest>>>>>>

Hello everyone!

Each year for the past three years I’ve hosted a contest. It’s called the Express Yourself Contest: a challenge open to all that begins January 1st. Interested? Read on!

To see last year’s contest, check out these links:
- https://www.furaffinity.net/view/19747588/(Pictogram of contenders from wildcard round to finals)
- https://www.furaffinity.net/view/19244900/ (Wildcard Round)
- https://www.furaffinity.net/view/19402430/ (Semi-finals)
- https://www.furaffinity.net/view/19622601/ (Finals)
- https://www.furaffinity.net/view/19923778/ (Contest winner song promotion)

And now, without further ado, see below for the rules!

<<<<<The Rules>>>>>

To compete, you may create up to three songs (under one minute each) (max 1:05 min) that you think best expresses yourself, post them up on FA, and then send a link to me in the comment section of a journal I’ll be putting out in the New Year

I will go through every link posted on the submission journal and comment, so even if you don’t win we’ll still have considered and listened to what you made (perhaps bringing you and your music into my cross-hairs for future promotions when we return to our regular scheduling)! It’s a win-win situation, folks, so don’t be shy!

The length of the song will both open the contest up to beginner musicians who will be relying more heavily on loops, and yet at the same time present a challenge to the advanced, as you’re working with a time limit. The shortness of your song should carry its weight with depth and layering, so don’t think just because the song is short you can get away with copy and pasting your favorite loop over five times and calling it a song!

All songs must have been posted after 2016 , meaning any song submitted in 2017 is fair game, but any before will not be considered!

<<<<<To Clarify>>>>>

+ The contest has three rounds. The first one is a general round, where you the musician links your submission on the submission journal, and I will rate them. The second round will be the top ten submissions we’ve chosen(twelve, as there is also a wildcard round where two will be selected by the community to join the semi-finalists). The third round will be the top three submissions, chosen via a polling system by you guys tuning in, and of course, the final round will be where you vote once more for first, second, and third place!

+ The first round ends when the second round starts, and voting for the second round ends by the time the third round starts

+ The genre of the song can be anything!

+ Your song must be PG

+ You may submit up to three songs to this contest, but all three songs must be linked to us before we choose the top ten semifinalists and top five wildcards. Only one of your submissions can make it to the second round.

+ The first round of the contest will end at the end of January or February

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And there we go! Remember, this journal is not the submission jurnal. THAT will be coming out as soon as 2017 commences. Any questions? I'd be more then happy to answer them below.

~Puppy