Many stores around Houston will be involved in selling special releases and giving away items reserved for this day and they include Soundwaves, Sig’s Lagoon, Vinal Edge, Sound Exchange, Serious Sounds, Black Dog Records among others. will also be missed.What started 15 years ago as a bunch of store owners coming up with the audio equivalent to Free Comic Book Day has become a global day of celebration for music obsessives and the independent record stores they frequent. "Some of the only opportunities for people to meet their musical heroes was at those in-store performances. "It's a dark day for that neighborhood," says Dave Manning, 43, a Cactus customer since 1989. He concedes that Cactus' successes don't make its demise any easier for him or the store's 35 employees. Though some indies, such as Austin's Waterloo Records and California's Amoeba, have flourished, others like the storied Rhino and Aarons in California, have not.īishop is pleased that Cactus is able to leave on its own terms and that it was able to stay above the national average in retail sales even as receipts started to drop off five years ago. 22, Best Buy's Sunday advertisement offered albums by such under-the-radar artists as Antony and the Johnsons and Danger Doom for $7.99. Like music buyers, the new players in the retail game are also beginning to look beyond mainstream releases. In addition to electronic outlets, bigger retailers that don't specialize in music - Wal-Mart (the nation's biggest music seller), Target and Best Buy - have further complicated business for record stores by offering hit CDs at discounted prices. FDA's 'NyQuil Chicken' warning may have ignited a cough medicine cooking frenzy.How a 12-year-old Astros fan got all of baseball to clap in unison.How long will the Houston Astros’ World Series window be open?.Video shows American Airlines passenger punching flight attendant in head.Ted Cruz roasted for praising highway project he voted against.Harris County Constable Chief Deputy Brian Harris arrested in undercover prostitution sting.Country star Maren Morris: 'I don't feel comfortable going' to the CMA Awards.Still, Bishop says Cactus flourished as one of the leading independent storefronts in the country in the '90s the store successfully included other draws such as video rental. There was extensive flooding during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 and a battle with property managers to keep the store's iconic street-side sign when the Alabama Center, which houses the store, was remodeled in 2003. The store had several retail outlets that endured ups and downs in the '80s before all resources were consolidated into the 9,000-square-foot space at West Alabama and South Shepherd.Įven then, the store endured difficult times. The Dailys opened Cactus Records in 1975. Daily sold the store to Bud and Don in 1959. He moved into the record business in 1946, opening Daily's Record Ranch, a store that sold records for under $1. ![]() The elder Daily left an accounting job with Southern Pacific railroad in 1933 and opened a downtown store on Travis, selling coin-operated jukeboxes. The end of Cactus Music & Video closes a chapter in Houston's music history that began with the Daily brothers' father, H.W. Bishop started circulating a letter this week to vendors and other business ties that announces the closing. The store also has less inventory to move after the holidays than at other times of the year. If all we have is the Best Buys of the world, then we don't have much control there." A part of historyĬactus' closing is timed to the end of the business quarter. "Cactus closing is a big deal if other retailers won't put (a band's) product out. "The place has personality and a lot of artists work there as a hub," says Calvin Stanley, lead singer of Pale, one of the many local bands that stocked its CDs in the store. ![]() "The places where people can congregate to talk about and listen to music are disappearing quickly."Īrtists were a big part of that community. "Music is such a part of people's lives and we have created such a community here," says Quinn Bishop, the store's general manager for the past 20 years. ![]() Though electronic distribution of music looks to be the industry's future, some music fans will always prefer a centralized brick-and-mortar destination. The sad reality for fans of independent retail stores - those that offer eclectic and local titles and host in-store performances by artists - is that few investors are interested in picking up the reins in this kind of business climate.
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