Fanlistings over the years
Fanlistings are nowhere near as popular as they used to be back when I started building them, and it's been interesting navigating this different landscape. To some extent it has become much easier to get wishlister fanlistings which back in the day I could only dream of.
I remember how excited I used to be when I got approved for a fanlisting of a song I really liked, knowing that album or artist fanlistings were entirely out of reach. Nowadays, because the fandom is far less crowded and in order to keep the amount of fanlistings I run in check, I don't tend to run song fanlistings anymore. And while there are certainly amazing artists out there whose fanlistings are owned by other wonderful people who still share an interest in running them, I am proud to say I now own the fanlistings for most of my favourites.
I could tell a similar story for other fanlisting categories - notably video games, because I've always been a big fan of PC gaming.
On the flipside, these once out of reach fanlistings are left with only a handful of members and there's no reason to think the member count will ever go up significantly. Sadly, those times now appear to be long gone, and it's only the older fanlistings that will have a significant number.
My collective contains a mix of fanlistings that are rather old and hence have hundreds or even thousands of members, and new ones where in some cases I am the only member. Because I have not lost my love for this hobby, I am proud to run either kind. Ultimately, the part I enjoy is creating a tribute to something that is close to my heart.