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Summary of site status for 2010
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• Posted by: Christian Clemmensen   <Send E-Mail>
• Date: Monday, January 17, 2011, at 12:06 p.m.
• IP Address: chevrolet.filmtracks.com

2010 Summary of the Reviews:
--------------------------------------------------------

With the five-year process of re-writing 941 reviews at Filmtracks finished in 2009, this past year was the first opportunity to move forward with a concentration on new content. The recent plethora of re-issues of older soundtracks led to more than twice the anticipated number of re-writes in 2010, however, and that trend promises to continue. As for brand new reviews, the site began with composer-specific surveys and then worked further down the list of "modern classics" as determined by Filmtracks' internal search queries.

The goals for 2010, as stated in last year's summary of site status, included a projection of 60 reviews of all-new 2010 (or late 2009) scores, 80 reviews of older scores, and 15 revisions of older reviews. Ultimately, I came close to hitting those goals on the mark, with 57 reviews of new scores, 84 new reviews of older titles, and 34 re-writes done. In terms of the reviews of current album releases (both for new scores and re-issues of older titles), 2010 was the most fruitful year of coverage since 2005. With nearly all of the necessary "modern classics" now featured at the site, expect an emphasis on reviews of new releases to continue.

Despite meeting my writing goals for 2010, I'm decreasing the overall expected number of reviews in 2011 due to a number of factors mostly related to offline household and family projects. For 2011, I hope to write 60 reviews of all-new 2011 scores, 40 new reviews of older scores, and 30 revisions of older reviews. That's about eleven reviews per month, down from thirteen last year. Still on the horizon is the project of re-writing the remaining 62 reviews written from April to December, 2004 as well (items not handled in the aforementioned five-year project).

By the numbers:

2010 Goals:
--------------------------------------
New Reviews of New Albums: 60
New Reviews of Old Albums: 80
Re-Writes: 15

2010 Final Stats:
--------------------------------------
New Reviews of New Albums: 57
New Reviews of Old Albums: 84
Re-Writes: 34

2011 Goals:
--------------------------------------
New Reviews of New Albums: 60
New Reviews of Old Albums: 40
Re-Writes: 30



2010 Summary of the Overall Site:
--------------------------------------------------------

Several important positives highlighted the year for Filmtracks, including the smooth upgrade to a much improved server and a steady rise in traffic that continues into 2011. The dip in readership from 2006 to 2008 (caused by the re-write process) has been mostly erased, with overall traffic numbers that are beginning to resemble the site's final year of massive return viewership that ended in 2004 after six or seven years.

While the increase in traffic did help revenue streams from commission and keyword-based advertising (except for iTunes, which has turned into a major bust), the loss of Filmtracks' final sponsor in the latter half of the year caused the site's overall net profit to decline for yet another year. With the assistance of user donations, Filmtracks retained enough cash to upgrade its server and ensure survival well into 2011. The site lost money in two of the final four months of the year, however, and it is projected to finish in the red in January of 2011 as well. A strong December did recover the losses from September and November.

With efforts to find dedicated sponsors continuing to fail in this slushy economy, the finances at Filmtracks will once again be tough in 2011. Outside of a quick economic recovery or the discovery of a sponsor, the site will lose money at a projected rate of about $150 per month, depending upon seasonal shifts in ad buys through Google and consumer spending at the other sources of revenue. Donations will undoubtedly cover some of those losses, though there will be a very slim budget for the purchasing of CDs for coverage. Periodic updates will be posted about this issue at the donation page.

Thanks once again to all those who have donated funds to Filmtracks over the past year or two. Your generosity made the server upgrade last year possible and continues to give the site a chance to survive both macro-economic factors and fundamental changes within the music industry that affect how coverage is sought by promoters.

Aside from working to resolve the financial challenges, the only noteworthy non-review projects to be tackled at Filmtracks in 2011 include revisions to the composer tributes and awards sections, the former the highest current priority. Keeping a sane mind from an operational standpoint would be good, too, though the peddlers of religion that continue their unyielding assault on the site seem to think I've already lost that battle.

Best wishes to all in 2011,

Christian






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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast,
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.