A Personal Commitment to Spanish Pop

I started my career in music journalism in the Stone Age. And I started it by founding a magazine dedicated to one of my passions, Spanish pop. The magazine was and is called Popes80.com (if you are learning Spanish and you like good music, I will be happy to see you there). This year we turn 25 and before the summer I had some meetings about what we should do to stop being an obsolete product and get back to the forefront. There is nothing more costly than relaunching a successful product that has become more antiquated than Biden’s economic policy.

In these meetings, the two younger guys kept talking about implementing AI stuff. The more creative one suggested that we incorporate a store for merchandising. And the smartest of the team floated the happy idea of creating a weekly podcast, too bad we’ve already been doing that for two seasons now, which I host every Tuesday at 22:00 (“Boy, where have you been for the last two years? Or better: what did you smoke before coming to the meeting?”).

My financial advisor insists that the only way to keep it profitable is through a paid subscription. I have reminded him that for 25 years there is only one commitment that I have fulfilled in my entire life, which is to keep everything we offer at Popes80 open and free. And it will stay that way.

And my hippie friend, an idealist who believes that the world would be better if marijuana were legalized and we all bought our clothes in second hand stores, has suggested I should launch a crowdfunding campaign. He thinks that everyone who is wholeheartedly committed to Spanish pop and its bands will do their bit, and we will have the funds to relaunch the best website ever.

I had to explain to him that this is Spain, not the United States, where people still use their money to support what they love (except for their wives). Anyway, in the end I listened to the hippie: we have launched a donation campaign in Donorbox or whatever it is called, that you can access via the Popes80 homepage. I will inform you of the results (try not to donate all at once or the server will crash).

They also told me I should develop an app. I found it interesting and this week we tested it internally. The only useful thing, push notifications, doesn’t work. I’ve spent days thinking about the most painful way to strangle an IT guy with a mouse cable. I’m open to suggestions, folks.

We have made an effort to update the logo and maybe that’s what makes me the happiest. And, with the help of AI tools we have created a merchandising store in which we offer t-shirts and products with the slogan “Popes80. 25 years dancing with you.”

I also asked two other contributors to investigate what the world’s major music magazines are doing now. After diving into Rolling Stone, Billboard, NME and others, the conclusion is simple: they hardly talk about music anymore, they limit themselves to insulting Trump. I will not be tempted to turn my beautiful music magazine into a pigsty tainted by politics. Something has to be left out of the swamp.

To the suggestion about producing more audiovisual content I have answered with a “no more,” because we did it last year and it took us an awful lot of time and the result was nun too exciting. My theory about work, as you know, is to try to do as little as possible. And if you do work, make sure it’s worth it.

After seeing my results, I like a hell of a lot more what Melissa, Ellie, Grace, Paul, Aubrey, Lyrah and the others are doing on The American Spectator podcasts, with which by the way I am perfecting my spoken English. Right now I speak with the fluency and agility of an overweight adult bear who has had both legs amputated.

In 2025 we will do live events in Madrid, I suppose I will go back to the DJ booth for a couple of nights, we will double the media promotions of my book dedicated to the history of Spanish music Nos vimos en los bares, we will record a weekly live podcast with an audience from a pub where we can get drunk to our heart’s content, and we will continue to hail Hombres G, Los Secretos, Loquillo, Antonio Vega, and so many other great Spanish pop artists.

I am exhausted just thinking about it. But I will do it because this, more than a business project, is a project of the heart. The thing is that our hearts are happier when we make a lot of money, set audience records, and become relevant again.

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