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Summary of site status for 2008
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• Posted by: Christian Clemmensen   <Send E-Mail>
• Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2009, at 9:18 a.m.
• IP Address: chevrolet.filmtracks.com

Re-Write Project Update:
-------------------------------

Below is an update on progress in the review re-write process at the site through the end of 2008. If you are unfamiliar with this ongoing project, view the previous entries at Filmtracks' Site Status page.

The goals for review writing in 2008 were to reach 40 reviews of all-new products (the same as the prior two years) and 180 revisions of older reviews (an increase of 40 from 2007). In the end, I was able to review 42 new albums and finish 319 re-writes (much higher than anticipated). Only re-writes that involved the replacement of a significant portion of the original review qualified in that latter figure. The total of 361 reviews written in 2008 is a record for the site, surpassing the previous year's previous record of 233 reviews. I doubt that I'll ever be able to surpass that sum for a single year, especially with the re-write process wrapping up in the middle of 2009.

My goals for 2009 are to write 50 reviews of all-new albums and complete the remaining 100+ re-writes. Beyond those remaining re-writes, there are another 120 or so reviews from 2003 and 2004 that will require another sweep of proof-reading and, if necessary, slight revision. This additional process should only take two months to finish once the actual re-write project is done, and they will not be included in Filmtracks' review tally for the year.

A general summary of the re-write process and its various phases is below. Some of the tallies have shifted slighty through the years as I discovered a few that slipped through the cracks at the time of categorization. These numbers will finally be accurate, however:

    • Older Rewrites: 88 Albums (done in 2003 and 2004)
    • Phase I Rewrites: 188 Albums (3/9/05 - 7/29/06)
    • Phase II Rewrites: 490 Albums (7/30/06 - 10/1/08)
            Major Revisions: 87 (7/30/06 - 4/22/07)
            Moderate Revisions: 303 (5/6/07 - 7/20/08)
            Minor Revisions: 100 (7/21/08 - 10/1/08)
    • Phase III Rewrites: 175 Albums (10/4/08 - current) (108 remaining)

Unless real life factors interfere, I anticipate finishing the 3rd Phase of re-writes in May of 2009. This is about a year and a half ahead of my original schedule; like many readers, I've become impatient with the process myself, and I've been working overtime to get this endeavor done as quickly as humanly possible. By the end of 2009, a new routine of all-new album coverage should be in place. This might include a survey of some of the scores not reviewed from 2006 to 2008.


2008 Site Summary:
---------------------------

Another weaker than expected year for film scores in 2008 contributed, along with the ongoing re-write process, to a very slight decrease of traffic (0.4%) compared to the averages of 2007. While this marks the third consecutive year of declining traffic at Filmtracks, the overall decline represents only about a 4.5% loss from 2005 numbers. Compared to the wild swings that the site experienced between 1996 and 2004, the traffic levels in general have remained remarkably steady during these last three years.

Gross revenue increased slightly from 2007 levels, but it is still 16% lower than the last height of revenue seen in 2006. Costs, however, have remained very low compared to early-2000's standards (due to cheaper bandwidth, mainly), and they should remain there in 2009. I anticipate a decrease in sponsorships 2009 because of the much-discussed global recession that has not spared the entertainment industry, and this could hit the site hard. It's possible that the decline will finally break the site's streak of grossing twice its expenses every month, a stability in revenue that Filmtracks has been able to accomplish each month since late 1997.

While 2007 and 2008 did not see any significant changes to areas of the site not pertaining to the reviews, 2009 will be far more exciting. Significant software, graphic, and structural changes are all planned for the site once the content of the reviews is of consistent quality. A total revision of the site's look (something that hasn't really changed since 2000) will be the obvious improvement. After spending so long on the re-write process, it'll be refreshing to tackle all of the long overdue projects that the site has badly needed for several years.

Best wishes to all in 2009,

Christian






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rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. Scoreboard created 7/24/98 and last updated 4/25/15.