This morning YLE announced a revamp of UMK.
UMK is now coming into it’s fourth year and the producer promises big changes. Anssi Autio revealed that the major changes will be that all UMK programs will now be broadcast live and there will be no jurors at all.
UPDATE
It has become apparent that there are several ways in which this information could be interpreted. While it may indeed be that there will be no jurors, another way of interpreting it as suggested by some of our Finnish readers is that they may just not be present during the show, suggesting that they may still be a part of the voting.
A new director for the show will also be introduced; Juha-Matti Valtonen who previously directed Channel Four’s Dancing On Ice series.
YLE also announced the dates for song enteries, to be sent between September 1st – 8th!
Here are the list of rules published for those interested in entering:
- Piece must be unpublished
- Songs by an artist must be 16 years of age or older by 05/16/2015
- At least one copy of factors/musicans must be in Finnish citizenship or permanent residence in Finland
- Contestants will be accepted up to one (1) song / artist
- Competition block is not allowed to participate with other countries in the Eurovision qualifiers
- Track demo version for an unlimited time and given in the assembly shall not exceed 6 people
- The required materials must be sent to Yle Sept. 1 to Sept. 8, 2014 during the period in digital format (not CD!)
- By submitting material you agree to the contest rules and the competitive process
- If you win UMK’s, will come into force by the EBU rules – for example, the duration of the competition track is where a maximum of 3 minutes
- Final regulations shall be published no later than 09/01/2014.
Will these changes be better compared to previous years? Let us know your thoughts!
