Sad news:
Cactus Music & Video, one of Houston’s best-loved and best-stocked independent music retailers, will close on March 31.
General manager Quinn Bishop announced the closing in a letter today.
Several reasons for the closing were cited. On the business side, Bishop’s letter mentioned industry-wide problems that have plagued the music business: high list prices and sluggish CD sales due to downloading, file-sharing and burning; and competition from larger retailers like Best Buy, which can afford to sell CDs as a loss-leader. Cactus’ video-rental service also experienced lagging business as well.
Another cause is the retirement of Bud and Don Daily, who owned the store. The Daily brothers’ father H.W. “Pappy” Daily was a legendary figure in Texas and Houston music. He got his music biz start in jukebox distribution in the 1930s and opened one of the first record retail outlets in the region.
The elder Daily chased other music-related pursuits and sold Cactus to his sons in 1959.
Cactus grew into a small retail chain, though, as Bishop mentioned in his letter, it endured difficult times including flooding during Tropical Storm Allison. Through it all, it remained a respected and well-run indie, with knowledgable staff and diverse stock that always had room for local talent.
“We appreciate your understanding for how difficult it can be for an independent music store,” Bishop wrote. “Thank you for looking out for us and for your efforts which established us as the “go-to” store in the Houston market.”
–from chron.com
6 responses so far ↓
1 JB // Feb 3, 2006 at 7:30 pm
That’s awful news! I only hope that the same fate is not waiting for Audio/Video Plus (http://www.google.com/local?hl=en&lr=&q=audio+video+plus&near=Houston,+TX&sa=X&oi=localr).
It was too long ago that the thought of taking the sign down (http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2003/06/23/newscolumn2.html) put a lump in my throat; this is a sad day for Houston.
2 johnster // Feb 4, 2006 at 1:24 am
this sucks
3 DAC // Feb 4, 2006 at 8:03 am
Yeah, it’s sad. I always try my best to buy CDs there — sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. But no place in town has been as supportive of local music as Cactus. Just thinking about not having a place to go to at 3 o’clock on a Saturday to watch a great band on a small stage with free drinks and a bit of album shopping makes me cringe.
With all of the money in Houston, you’d think an investor or someone with some money would step up and save it…
4 Jamie // Feb 4, 2006 at 12:47 pm
🙁
No!!!!!!!!
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6 robert-d // Mar 29, 2006 at 10:39 am
Cactus is leaving, but doing it in style. You can catch some really good shows on the very last day. Check out Program’s show at 7:00 on April 1, 2006 inside Cactus. You know where it is, and yes -it will be your last chance to experience the good old days.
Listen to them online first if you like…
http://www.program-music.net
http://www.myspace.com/programa