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…and more graphic novels for young readers, coming to us from Penguin Random House. Possibly the strangest yet for the current crop: Shark and Bot, written and illustrated by Brian Yanish. “Shark loves water. Bot short circuits if he goes near water! Shark recites poetry. Bot recites facts. Can these two really be friends? They’re both a little awkward… They both love comics… And just wait til you see their dance moves when they confront a playground bully.” It’s available now in hardcover. Fun fact: Mr. Yanish works for the Jim Henson Company.
image c. 2020 Penguin Random House
Q&A with Finn, founder of the Fuzznet Music netlabel for furries.
“World’s first furry-centered, full-service music distribution netlabel.”
A new netlabel for furry music has been announced! When I think of a label, especially on the small indie side, I think of curation for a certain sound or scene. (Example: a Q&A is coming soon with a fur from Sri Lanka where I asked about Goa Trance.) Here’s one I’ve been enjoying: Numero Group is a reissue label. Imagine digging through thrift store junk and finding a weird one of a kind record that sounds amazing — that’s everything they put out. They specialize in the history of unsung niches, local scenes and their heroes. It makes richer music history than the well-worn stuff on classic rock channels.
Specialty and indie labels make diversity. With that in mind I talked to Finn.
A music style for furries?
From Fuzznet Music so far, I saw lots of EDM and electronic. Finn says: “That’s just the biggest amount. But we have classic, vocal and orchestral as well.” So will support for artists always be the main purpose or could there be more curation as it grows?
(Finn:) Yeah support for the involved artists is definitely the main goal. We don’t aim for a specific style or genre, but rather take in anyone that fits streaming requirements, sounds cool and wants to join. We define “Furry music” as anything that is made by furries, although there are a few furries who make songs with lyrics specifically tailored to furries, too. The idea is, by having all under one roof, if someone finds a song by our label the chances are high that they might check out the others and make a snowball effect.
If furry became attached to a certain style, what could it be? Imagine a cartoon world where Raccooncore is music from trash instruments.
I think apart from songs featuring furry lyrics (Fox and Pepper, NIIC, Nos Hyena etc.), music is a very broad and varied concept. I mean if the album cover, title or profile picture doesn’t feature an anthro character, there’s nothing that really “makes” it furry. A specific “furry sound” doesn’t exist, which is part of the reason it’s a less popular form of media inside this community. Personally I sure would be a fan of “Raccooncore” though. ;D
Further ambitions?
A label can back a scene, for example some are attached to record stores and festivals. It would be neat to have a con attract furry musicians. (There’s already a furry film fest — put ’em together!) You have ambitions to launch music, but do you foresee anything like that coming out? Is it just a matter of “time will tell?”
I think “Time will tell” fits best here. We’re still getting comfortable just launching and promoting music (I might add we also officially curate songs and artist that aren’t in Fuzznet via Spotify Playlists consisting only of Furry Musicians of various genres that are displayed on our Profile). Although we already have one small “gig” offering a few of our tracks to an upcoming furry-themed Minecraft con/event that has DJs playing live music. Doing similar things is something I’ll keep looking into.
Music Careers, Nuts and Bolts, and the Team
Well known musicians like Fox & Pepper or NIIC Dog built names by hard work on their own. Can you say more about working with a label, what a netlabel does, how it’s set up, the potential benefits of doing it for furry talent, and how artists or writers benefit from working together? Have you noticed anthology or collab projects that made an impact for musicians (like film scoring)? Is there a team collaborating with you?
The job of a traditional label ranges from management over distribution to marketing, or securing deals with other artists and projects. Though that often comes at quite a cost and turns increasingly less popular due to price and the fact that self-distribution becomes easier and cheaper each day (with the added benefit of keeping all your revenue to yourself). Same goes for promotion via social media if you know what you’re doing. Most furry musicians I know of run things by themselves for these reasons.
In terms of collab projects there’s the The Fandom documentary that has a completely original score by Fox & Pepper. I’d love to secure gigs and opportunities like these for our label.
A Netlabel is a rather new thing in the industry (obviously growing traction by growth of the internet itself). But it’s a rather loose term. Typically a netlabel is a small record label or brand name that almost exclusively exists in digital form and is run by a considerably lower number of people compared to a traditional label. Additionally artists often retain their copyright and more control over what happens with their music and data. Netlabels are often passion projects and tend to utilize guerrilla marketing rather than traditional means of promotion.
That’s pretty much the case for us. As of now, I run this whole project by myself, artists retain all their rights, we only distribute digitally and there’s no contractual limitations or obligations to speak of. I have a job in social media and online advertising so I put my profession to work, and mostly do it simply because I enjoy doing so. As of now we have 25 artists on board, and we communicate via our own chat group and frequently exchange ideas, opinions and updates.
How to Get Involved
Fuzznet has a Patreon. How else can potential members to join or support? What do you need? Are there any tips for what to avoid or how to stand out?
For people interested to join the project:
Officially sign ups are closed (there was more interest than expected and I’m working through backlog) but I’m still on the lookout for artists that seem particularly interesting or work outside the all-encompassing EDM/Electronic genre. We also prefer people who are not yet published on Spotify and other streaming platforms other than Bandcamp or Soundcloud. So if anyone reading this happens to still be unreleased and produces any genre that isn’t EDM (and I really don’t mean this in any bad way, I LOVE electronic music) I would be delighted to have a conversation with you!
For people interested supporting the project:
The easiest way to support would sure be to simply stream, favorite or add our music to your personal playlists on any streaming platforms we publish on. You can find all our main platforms here.
Otherwise we can always use more money (haha who doesn’t) for paid promotion, paying for tools/plugins and funding our online presence. We could also always need people just sharing our posts on Twitter and Instagram, or fellow people that know their way in the marketing world.
Tell me again where to find the music?
Our main links are fuzznet.world/music (landing page) and music.fuzznet.world (streaming links). Both pages include all the information about us, release dates, artists and social media links. We focus our main efforts on Spotify, as that one is the globally biggest platform to work with. For our Furry Musician playlists (for ALL furry musicians, in or outside of Fuzznet) we have playlists.fuzznet.world.
My main homepage is fuzznet.world where you’ll find all the various other projects I have to offer.
Like the article? These take hard work. For more free furry news, please follow on Twitter or support not-for-profit Dogpatch Press on Patreon. Want to get involved? Use these subreddits: r/furrydiscuss for anything — or r/waginheaven for the best of the community. Or send guest writing here. (Content Policy.)
Snack Pets
We’ve talked before about the works of Paige Braddock, both as a writer and an illustrator. Now they’re back with a new full-color graphic novel, Peanut, Butter, and Crackers Volume 1: Puppy Problems. (Woof, what a title!) “Crackers is a rescue dog who’s a bit on the nervous side, but pretty comfy at home with Butter, a very plump cat who–like all cats–is all about himself. The two pets have a good life: big backyard, nice couch, good eats, and an owner who goes to work every day so they can pretty much do what they want. Enter Peanut, a brand-new puppy with big floppy ears, unabashed energy, and no appreciation for the quiet life. The little dog is a chowhound who dips into everybody’s food bowl. He drools, he chews up stuff, he doesn’t get how stairs work, and he’s afraid of the dark. Yowl! Not to mention he’s hogging their owner’s lap. Even the squirrels in the yard are laughing at this goofy little canine. Butter and Crackers have had it! This puppy has to go! But when the backyard gate is left open (the cat’s idea, of course!) and Peanut wanders out and gets lost, the older animals remember what it was like to be alone–and lonely. Butter and Crackers to the rescue!” It’s available now in hardcover from Penguin Random House.
image c. 2020 Penguin Random House
Interview With Mark Lee - Murrsuits, Self Image, & Furcons
Resources, Social Media & Donation Links
Follow Mark Lee AD
Follow Mark Lee SFW
Join Rhyner’s Telegram Channel
Can You See Us Now?
On October 4th I sat down with the mystical Kitsune Mark Lee a half black, quarter Native American, quarter Greek, bi-curious furry living in California. (Near my hometown fun fact >_>) While he was nervous at first he had no trouble opening up about his experiences inside and outside the fandom. It's often overlooked but body image issues can have a serious effect on someone's self-esteem even in the furry fandom. Finding out there are people, not only accepting of you, but into you can make a HUGE difference.
Mark Lee discusses his struggles with police assuming the worst of him, having trouble getting down at furcons, and what he wants to see from the fandom to help it grow. I learned a lot about the small steps we can take to push for diversity to say the least. Disabilities and mental health were brought up, but I can't wait to delve into those topics more in future videos! It really opens the door to conversations we need to have. Stay tuned for that in the future.
Thanks for listening everyone! And if you wanna support us consider telling your friends about the show. Big thanks to Sal for drawing this episode's cover art consider commissioning him!
TigerTails Radio Season 12 Episode 44
To the Bat Garage, Robin!
Okay… Folks, we’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: We cannot make this stuff up. If we could, we’d be making a whole lot more money. This came across our Twitter feed, which lead us to an article from Variety: “Warner Bros. Animation has started production on an animated preschool series called Batwheels, which will star some of the most iconic vehicles from across the DC universe, fighting crime in Gotham City alongside the usual squad of Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and more. The show’s main crime-fighting crew is led by Bam (The Batmobile), and also includes Bibi (The Batgirl Cycle), Red (The Redbird), Jett (The Batwing), and Buff (The Bat Truck). Together, the sentient super-powered vehicles must navigate the growing pains of being a newly-formed super team, as well as the growing pains that come with just being a kid.” Batman meets Cars, coming to Cartoon Network and HBO Max. Did we mention that the series is aimed at preschoolers?
image c. 2020 Warner Bros. Animation
[ENG/CHN] Fursuited joy of giving: 2 Kloofsuits fursuits to be given away by nomination
It’s October, and although it’s the ‘spooky month’, the Christmas spirit of giving still prevails. In this case it involves fursuits, as Ash Coyote and Xavier Fox recently came together to give away 2 fursuits made by British fursuit maker Kloofsuits. Public nomination determines who will receive the fursuits. “So I was inspired to do […]
Furry music netlabel Fuzznet Music launches, aims to support furry musicians
The furry media landscape is small, but that has not stopped furries from bringing up initiatives to help develop and improve it for the fandom. Just recently, a fandom-grown internet music label by the name of Fuzznet Music has launched with the aim to support furry musicians. Self-proclaimed to be the world’s first furry music […]
[ENG/CHN] COVID-19 and Furries: #COVID-19FurconUpdates furcon status numbers and virtual event updates
As of this week, furry convention status numbers for 2020 remain constant; 87 cancelled, 1 deferred, 4 to hold this year and 27 furcons completed. The status for Painted Desert Furcon and Furry Snow Fest has been updated – they’ve completed their 2020 edition in February and October respectively. But at the same time, here […]
A Home For Kitties
And here’s another interesting graphic novel we found out about from Harper Collins: A Cat Story is a new full-color work written and illustrated by Ursula Husted. “Cilla and Betto are two friends who need a place to call home. The docks in Valletta are too wet, and the scraps of food too scarce. The city’s streets are too busy, and the humans too unreliable. But what about the quiet garden from old kitten tales—a place where all cats are welcome, and the humans are always kind? Could the stories really be true? As Cilla and Betto embark on a grand adventure to find out, they begin to spin a tale of their own—one that will take them through the art and stories of many journeyers who came before, and that will bring them to a surprising destination.” It’s available now — and hey, at the moment it’s on sale!
image c. 2020 Harper Collins
[Live] Suck Request
The usual package of roundup, news & emails.
FurCast is sponsored by Twin Tail Creations. Use coupon codes REDWOLF or BLUEFOX to save up to 20% on silicone products during checkout. Free FurCast Themed Colorations are also available which can be applied as a color choice to your toy purchase.
Link Roundup:- Supreme Court situation in the US already not looking good
- ProudBoys brand taken over by gay people
- Anthrocon announces delaying 2021 registrations
- SimonFox’s thread on con openings in 2021
- Google now lists “cheese” and “sergals” together
- Pittsburgh finally fills hole near Anthrocon
- New trailer for Wolfwalkers
- Paper on best practices for identifying animals on camera traps
- Study Confirms You Can Bond With Your Cat By Blinking Slowly
- Watch As Goat Walks On Hind Legs Through Village And Into Your Nightmares
- Danbury, Connecticut, To Rename Sewage Plant For John Oliver
- Once in a Blue Moon
Zinare — “Questions and Game Recommendation”
[Live] Suck RequestBearly Furcasting #24 - Fibre Kitty and Dusk Panda, Mad Llibs, Jokes and Trivia
MOOBARKFLUFF! Click here to send us a comment or message about the show!
This week we welcome Fibre Kitty and Dusk Panda to the show. Do you know what a PawPet is? How about the Monty Hall Problem? Come find out! Bearly and Taebyn have a super fun time with bad puns, stupid jokes, and a trivial amount of trivia.
Thanks to all our listeners and to our staff: Bearly Normal, Rayne Raccoon, Taebyn, Cheetaro, TickTock, and Ziggy the Meme Weasel.
You can send us a message on Telegram at BFFT Chat, or via email at: bearlyfurcasting@gmail.com
Episode 477 - News Crossing - This week has been wild. We catch up on the news, get some follow ups from last weeks topics, hear about some messed up situations in Michigan, some sus local politics, then pivot to dangerous IoT devices, a new Star Trek ser
This week has been wild. We catch up on the news, get some follow ups from last weeks topics, hear about some messed up situations in Michigan, some sus local politics, then pivot to dangerous IoT devices, a new Star Trek series being announced, and Savrin talks about playing a pretty good BotW clone with a mountain of caveats. Patreon- https://www.patreon.com/Southpawscast LINKS Carrollton politics are wild- https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/carrollton-mayoral-candidate-arrested-charged-with-84-counts-of-mail-ballot-application-fraud/2457417/?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_DFWBrand&&__twitter_impression=true Don't put these on your genitals - https://threatpost.com/male-chastity-device-massive-security-flaws/159896/
Telegram fan chat- https://t.me/joinchat/CGL2Zj9oiYOXuQPOJXOrsg
Episode 477 - News Crossing - This week has been wild. We catch up on the news, get some follow ups from last weeks topics, hear about some messed up situations in Michigan, some sus local politics, then pivot to dangerous IoT devices, a new Star Trek serParty with Particles
So we’ve been learning about Party Animals, a new multi-species game available on Steam. “A physics-based party game” — their words. Visit their official web site and it’ll make more sense… at least a little. The important thing is, there’s a free version available for download through October 13th, so hurry! They’re also looking to bring in new members for their development team.
image c. 2020 Recreate Games
(IVÁN): The entire EARTH baptized with YOU in water is the TEMPLE for HIS holy NAME fires forever:
Commentary: Tips on getting published
“Van Hill Millvele is a writer of clean romantic space fantasy novels with anthropomorphic elements.” Allauthor.com I have been published since 1992 in small, indie, and traditional education presses under a couple of different names. I was first published in ebooks form around 1996 under another name. Guess what. E-books are not a new thing. I have done this despite having a subtle disability that disrupts my fine motor and grammar. If an […]
Interview With Pan - London, Black Nerdiness, & Paws
Resources, Social Media & Donation Links
Follow Pan
Barcade Furs
Cosmopunk
Spectre in The Fog
Join Rhyner’s Telegram Channel
Can You See Us Now?
On September 27th 2020 I got the chance to sit down with Panic the bear! A fun loving black London-er unafraid to speak his mind and get my goat any time he gets the chance. This ain't his first rodeo either. This talented bear keeps his paws busy with all sorts of projects within the fandom and out! Including co-running the Furs of Color Telegram & Discord chats!
Be sure to check out the podcasts and other projects I've linked to down here. He's been in the fandom for more than a decade - things sure have changed a lot back then. But if you know furries you know some things just never change.
We discuss the quiet racism just below the surface of the UK's calm exterior, how Pan has made an impact on the BIPOC furry community, and what you can do to start learning about these difficult issues. Though, we did get distracted by things like dogs with shoes once or twice...
Thanks for listening, everyone! This was a fun episode.
Shout-outs to our newest addition to Team Rhyner: Sal! The artist of this episode's cover art. Send them some love!
TigerTails Radio Season 12 Episode 43
I've got no real idea what this place is, but it's damn well cool.
A Herd-Boiled Detective
Wow! Recently we were contacted by Devon McBride-Wilson, creator of Firewake. Here’s what he had to say: “Rabbit Valley continues to expand its equine portfolio as the second issue of Firewake has gone up for preorder. This comic series follows the down-to-earth veteran detective Firewake and his cocky rookie partner Zaffa as they investigate and pursue the unstable criminal mastermind Sable Nox. Issue 2, Questions, sees Zaffa get closer to Firewake’s niece as he confronts mobsters at the restaurant she waitresses at, while Firewake himself meets the mysterious biomancer mare Fancyber, who says she has information for him.” We like what we’ve seen — and we’ll let the creator explain why. “While Firewake is safe for readers 10 and up, its gritty atmosphere, semi-procedural style and fantastic action break new ground for equine stories. Influences from My Little Pony are mixed with elements from CSI and Batman, and if you’re a fan of those, this is definitely worth checking out.” What he said!
image c. 2020 Rabbit Valley