Facing an uncertain future, Amoeba Music launches GoFundMe campaign: 'We are in trouble'

Amoeba Music's San Francisco storefront. Amoeba Music's San Francisco storefront. Photo: Courtesy Of Amoeba Music Photo: Courtesy Of Amoeba Music Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Facing an uncertain future, Amoeba Music launches GoFundMe campaign: 'We are in trouble' 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

Things were looking bleak for Amoeba Music even before the COVID-19 crisis closed in on California.

Foot traffic was dropping. The flow of tourists was dwindling. And the familiar faces often obscured by rows of endless records had all but disappeared as they grew apprehensive of their tactile, treasure-seeking hobby.

On the Monday that Amoeba shuttered for the foreseeable future, all three of their record shops had collectively generated about a third of the sales they normally make in a day. Now, as the duration of the closure creeps past a month, San Francisco manager Tony Green says there’s very little money coming in — and the bills aren’t going away.

“It’s been tough going for all three stores, and COVID-19 has taken our condition from serious to critical,” he said.

But people wanted to know how they could help, and a GoFundMe seemed to be the answer. Amoeba launched their campaign on Monday morning, imploring fans to donate to the independent record store chain, which was founded in Berkeley just over 30 years ago.

Amoeba expanded to San Francisco in 1997 and later to Hollywood in 2001. In addition to selling records, cassettes, CDs and DVDs, Amoeba has hosted thousands of live, in-store performances from iconic artists like Brian Wilson, Sir Paul McCartney, Patti Smith and Raphael Saadiq of Tony! Toni! Toné! In the past year, Amoeba San Francisco saw ‘90s singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb, multi-instrumentalist blues artist Booker T. Jones and the creators of "The Last Black Man in San Francisco" for a signing of the soundtrack pressed on vinyl.

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“We don’t want to close,” said Green. “We feel like we’re offering a very organic service to art and music fans, it would be terrible for it to go away. This is something we wouldn’t do unless it was necessary for our survival. We are in trouble.”

Online sales are helping, but they only account for a small percentage of total profits. Like many other cultural institutions in the city — indie bookstores, longtime florists — Amoeba relies on transactions made in person.

“There’s a lot of visual stimulation in our store that’s hard to duplicate online,” said Green.

The current crisis certainly isn’t the first faced by Amoeba, which has endured countless hurdles from the recession to the rise of the Internet and the shift to digital listening formats. Green said there’s infrastructure in place to keep things going if the store is able to re-open in May, per Gov. Gavin Newsom’s current shelter-in-place orders.

And if not?

“We don’t know that we can weather the COVID-19 storm,” reads Amoeba’s GoFundMe campaign. “With no way to generate income, our savings are running out, with bills and rent coming due, and with a primary commitment to our staff, who we are trying to keep as healthy and financially sound as possible.”

ALSO: 'A devastating loss': SF record shops lament closures on what should have been Record Store Day

Donations will help compensate Amoeba’s base of over 400 employees, and will assist in covering the cost of rent at all three locations including Amoeba Hollywood, which was supposed to move to a new location in October.

“If and when the reopening happens, we’ll have to be very careful with every penny we spend,” said Green.

Unsure of what kind of financial aid he might receive from the government, he feels that his options are otherwise limited. But he hopes the support of the public will help Amoeba to someday re-open and continue to thrive as a San Francisco landmark — not just for his own sake, but the city's.

“San Francisco will lose its identity if these businesses close down and we’re left with more of the cookie-cutter chain stores that are taking over a lot of the retail space out there,” said Green. “The character of the city, that’s what’s at stake.”

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Amanda Bartlett is an SFGATE associate digital reporter. Email: amanda.bartlett@sfgate.com | Twitter: @byabartlett