Coronavirus: Hollywood's Iconic Amoeba Music Fights To Stay Afloat

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Amoeba Music, one of California's most famous independent record establishments, has launched an effort to try and stay in business amid a coronavirus pandemic which has threatened to force it to shut down permanently.

Amoeba -- whose three stores in Hollywood, Berkeley and San Francisco have been closed since mid-March due to the statewide stay-at-home order -- has launched a GoFundMe page to keep the company afloat.

"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," Amoeba co-founders Dave Prinz and Marc Weinstein wrote on their GoFundMe page.

As of Wednesday, just over $120,000 of the $400,000 goal had been reached.

Weinstein and Prinz said the money will go towards Amoeba's 400-plus employees and helping it "continue operations."

Back in February, Amoeba Music announced that this coming fall it would be relocating its flagship Hollywood store from its current location at 6400 Sunset Blvd., to a new one at 6200 Hollywood Blvd.

Amoeba opened its first store back in 1990 in Berkeley. It's Hollywood store, which takes up an entire city block, opened in 2001.