Donating to a business to keep it afloat seems a bit odd, but Amoeba Records isn't just any business. It's the last mega-sized record store in Los Angeles, in an age where stalwarts like Aron's, Rhino, Tower and Virgin Megastore went away, and only smaller stores still remain. It's still a wonderland where you can spend hours and never tire of discovering all sorts of finds. Which is why I wound up donating to a Go Fund Me (a clearly sentimental move that surprised even my own cheapskate self). After all, I don't want to live in a Los Angeles without Amoeba!
Amoeba is now halfway to its $400,000 goal — you can donate here.
My Variety colleague Chris Willman describes the draw, and why thousands of people like me have also donated, in an interview he did with Amoeba co-founder Marc Weinstein. Amoeba's 400 employees (between the Hollywood location and its two Bay Area spots) are currently furloughed, and the Hollywood location's move to a new spot — as its current location is about to be redeveloped — is in a bit of a limbo at the moment.
"We are launching the GoFundMe campaign before everyone’s tapped out to try to give our fans a chance to help us here," Weinstein told Willman. "There are still so many unanswered questions about where we’re going to end up. We’re really just trying to get to opening our new store on Hollywood Blvd. We have this cool new space and a plan to get in there. But between now and then, we are trying to get whatever resources we can to help with the move and help us cover our staff. Every one of our staff is on unemployment now. We’re chipping in, in that we’re covering all their benefits, making sure everybody has health. But otherwise, everyone that works for us is on unemployment right now. Including me."
Read more here.
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