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A message from Christian Clemmensen, Filmtracks owner and editor:

Since Filmtracks has historically served as a bridge between the dedicated film music collecting community and mainstream movie-goers exploring soundtracks for the first time, the site has always remained a free service. Charging readers with subscription fees for accessing the content at Filmtracks would defeat that purpose, and there has never been any consideration given to the idea. Also not an option is the use of obnoxious advertisements such a pop-unders, excessive keyword ads dividing the review paragraphs, landing pages, or any other irritations that especially newspapers are using today. I would rather close this site than employ those money-making tactics.

During the first dozen years of Filmtracks' existence, financing the site was never a problem. Through a combination of sponsorships and commissions, the site always maintained the ability to cover its fixed expenses and expand when necessary. A number of factors in late 2008 changed this reality, however. In part likely due to the global recession, revenue to Filmtracks through commissions and content-related keyword advertising decreased to 35% of previous levels (despite practically no traffic or click decline) while reduced money in the industry caused a total loss of contractual sponsorships in late 2009. Filmtracks' traffic base has remained consistent, but those visitors are rarely buying through affiliate links anymore and sponsors, despite their desire to continue advertising at Filmtracks, have tightly restricted or completely eliminated their marketing budgets.

The size of Filmtracks' viewership requires a dedicated server and all of its associated costs to host the site, as well as a plethora of smaller fees relating to banking, domain names, business licenses, etc. As of 2009, the absolute minimum amount of money Filmtracks needs on a monthly basis simply to survive is $527 ($6,321.91 in 2008). This figure is the lowest number that could be obtained after all cost-cutting measures. If you include auxiliary costs such as CD purchases for reviews, rent and utilities, ISP access costs, and other items that I might pay even if not running Filmtracks, that number escalates to $744 per month ($8,928.70 in 2008). I have not paid myself a salary for my work at Filmtracks since 2004, nor do I plan on doing so in the near future. In fact, the site has technically shown a loss on taxes since 2007.

On the bright side, a handful of (sometimes anonymous) Filmtracks visitors have, since 1999, sent donations to the site through personal checks in the mail or transfers via PayPal. These dedicated readers range from close friends to complete strangers from around the world and, regardless of their identity or level of generosity, their support is very appreciated. To help solicit assistance to cover Filmtracks' costs from 2009 forward, this page was created to facilitate and encourage such donations. The link at the upper right of this page leads to a PayPal donation form that you can use to send any amount of money you choose to Filmtracks, regardless of whether you have a PayPal account or not. That service takes $0.30 and 2%-4% for their own costs out of the donated amount if you use a credit or debit card (PayPal balance or bank transfers have no fee), and you can choose to cover this small fee if you want. For those who prefer the old fashioned method of support, you can send a check made out to "Filmtracks Publications" to the mailing address on Filmtracks' contact page.

Where does the site stand now? It was projected that in August of 2009, the site would lose money in a practical sense for the first time, failing to gross the necessary $527 and burning through the site's small reserve of savings meant for a server upgrade in 2010. If revenue doesn't at least return to 2008 levels by the end of 2009, there will be no further funds to continue running the site. At that point, none of the options is good, whether relying on a line of credit, raiding my family's household savings, or closing the site. Because the amount of traffic to the site continues to be high, there is unfortunately no middle ground in a technical sense. Selling Filmtracks to another person or company, a possibility due to legitimate interest, is a worst-case scenario that is less appealing than closing the site and retaining ownership of its components.

It is my hope that support by Filmtracks' most dedicated readers during this time of economic woes will keep the doors open until revenue through traditional means returns to previous levels. In the meantime, I plan on continuing to operate and write for Filmtracks as though money were no issue. Keep checking back for new content!