We're very sad to have lost Rockdelux.

Yes, we are, of course. In fact, it's been many years of making a titanic effort to get a journal like ours, which was apparently not very commercial. It has been a disappointment that I would have had to close, but the decision was inevitable because it was not feasible to go ahead with the journal. Judging by the current situation, it was unwise.

After you advertise, you will receive many messages from groups, friends and subscribers.

Yes, we are very happy with the response of the people. 97% of people don't congratulate us or applaud us, yet they send us exciting messages. They are so welcoming, respectful and florid, that we feel in a cloud when we read them and that reduces sadness.

Remember the beginnings? You're sure to keep the beautiful memories of when you picked up the magazine.

As everyone who has followed us since the beginning knows, it was a very hybrid product at first. Very commercial. A kind of mix between heavy metal, which until then had been Special Rock and a consumer product. This lasted about two years. And after that, the magazine gradually grew until it was, where they took care of the nuances and the criteria were stricter. We went open to all styles, we started talking about proposals that moved away from pop and usual rock. And for so many years, we were establishing the characteristics that Rockdelux has defined.

All the bands wanted to leave in Rockdelux. Erais synonyms of musical prestige. Clear reference.

Well, it's a reputation won at the pulse, which has a lot of effort and work behind it. In the end it became a reality, and we were a benchmark for many artists, groups, stamps and festivals. Also for journalists from other media. It has been very stimulating, with the excessive flowers we have received now, to realize that all that was true. They make us feel very good and we get excited.

Has the confinement and lack of publicity as a result been the reason for closure? Or a reflection that already existed?

No, well, the last blow has been lockdown. The April issue was distributed, we are also distributing it in May, but the kiosks of the Spanish State are closed in general, the advertising has been zero more or less… Who will announce it in these times, when there are other more important things in this world that has touched us to live now, in the midst of crisis. And above all, not knowing what the end of all of this is, how long it would take us to go back to normal. Given that the situation was already complicated, it has caused the paper crisis and the closure of a thousand things.

Yesterday we said, how much does it cost to lift a magazine like Rockdelux and how easy does it seem to knock down, no?

Well, it's not easy. This is a decision that we have been reflecting on for a long time. Before or after it was clear that this end would be. It was a pity that we were in sales negotiations at Rockdelux with a large company that transformed the magazine into another, more cultural product, that maintained the same dynamic at Rockdelux, that continued with the musical spirit, but also included lifestyle elements. A magazine with new trends that are now very fashionable and that would have deep interviews with writers and musicians. It was a very interesting product to make a transition from the current Rockdelux. But with the coronavirus, everything stopped. The negotiations stopped when it was still to be closed. We agreed that it wasn't the right time to make this purchase, and so we stayed. In the end we had to close it.

You said that you are not going to propose a digital Rockdelux. We have already said that you have an amazing community, which values your work, also musical groups and artists. Isn't there enough community to make digital Rockdelux viable?

Yes, of course yes. If people pay, we'll start tomorrow. But for free. We are not going to work for free. People have to be aware, as they pay to watch series on Netflix or HBO, regardless of the usual pirate hunt, because the information has to be paid. It can't be consumed for free. The newspapers are now trying, through the payment walls, to see if they finally get it. Because you can't give away information like no one gives your job. That's one of the pains that has shattered journalism, that open window that gives free content, that's used to people having everything for free. It cannot be done, and we are not prepared to do so. When this is normalized, if it is normalized, we may be back. That people find out that they have to pay a fee, it can be in a thousand different ways, of a month, of a year, according to the contents they have consulted… You cannot keep a digital journal with dignity, prestige, paying the workers and collaborators, if there is no money that people can pay for the content. Advertising is very variable and not a variable able to maintain the wording.

So does it intend to go back to the digital edition?

Well, we have not raised it, because now it is not viable in the Spanish State. And think now about the economic crisis that has made the whole country vibrate, right? Now is not the best time, but if this is normalized, and people are aware that they want to pay for it and that they need it in exchange for that information, we will be the first to return it.

Before we have talked about agreements with large editorial groups, can there be such an agreement to lift the digital edition?

This was one of the projects. If this agreement had been on the right track, one of the things would have been the renewal of the website. We had already worked on the new web, which had nothing to do with what we have now. We already had it ready, but now it makes no sense to publish it. It is obvious. If Rockdelux on paper doesn't exist, the website was a complement. This project has been frozen.

This does not seem to be the right time to start a journal from scratch. And the gap that Rockdelux leaves is huge.

It seems like yes, if you look at people's messages. I'm getting a lot of messages from social media, email and whatsapp. People very touched, very excited, for them with the skin of what Rockdelux has meant. We are proud to read them. It is true that the shoppers of Rockdelux, at some stage of their lives, found ideal music in our magazine, met through us the groups that have marked their lives and that reminds them with a lot of emotion.

How is the wording? Have you had the opportunity to talk to journalists?

Of course, it is clear. They're all very sad because they're out of work. In addition, in a very bad state, because the world of culture is plunged into a terrible crisis and journalism as well. It is now very difficult to find work in the same field. It produces great sadness.

Let us hope that the other journals do not fall, because if this is not to be irretrievable.

I do not wish anyone to close their journal, but unfortunately we will not be the only ones. If this stays that way for a long time, more will fall. Because it's very hard to maintain. It will depend on the structure of each media. If you have a writing of two or three people you can keep it, but we were a writing of eight people and we paid the collaborators. The structure was more complex, although it was a small independent publishing house. And that's why we haven't been able to go on and we've had to close.

The last issue is 394, dedicated to containment. What will the reader find?

I think it's a very nice number. Not just because it's the last number, but because we've offered it to the people who are at home. It collects the recommendations of our 55 collaborators and each has had a page of the magazine to recommend whatever you want. Albums, comics, websites, movies, TV shows… all have recommended it. Lots of beautiful, entertaining and culturally excellent things. In addition, it shows very well what Rockdelux was, which was not just a music magazine, but a culture magazine. I have recommended 40 live albums, we don't have direct at this time. Inviting you to recover those beautiful live albums from the history of rock and other styles. To stay at home, we will be able to return to those directly waiting for the times.

The collaborators didn't know it was going to be the last Rockdelux, right?

They didn't know, no. We prefer not to say it, so that the sentimental tone does not take the journal to avoid greater emotion. Anyway, the last issue has been very exciting. I don't know if it's because it's written from home, in times of confinement, often written in solitude. Their tone is very solemn and emotional, although they do not know it will be the last number.

Well, we'll stay with that hope of getting to know the digital Rockdelux. We think there would be a lot of people willing to pay. As is already done in other newspapers.

Well, that's what we'd like, but in an effective way. A lot of people are sad, but maybe it's the last time you bought Rockdelux 10 years ago. Those people were losing everything and there was no relief. That is why the magazine weakened and led to an extreme situation, in which the servitude to advertising was too great. And the latest developments have been the final blow, as I said before. But well, if possible, we could rethink the account and create a digital journal, of course.