Target Plans to Have Midnight Sales at 500 Stores to Sell Taylor Swift’s ‘Life of a Showgirl’ Album

In a throwback to the retail traditions of the 1980s and ’90s, Target has announced that around 500 of its stores will stay open until midnight on October 3 to mark the release of Taylor Swift’s new album, "The Life of a Showgirl." This late-night event revives the once-common practice of midnight album launches, which faded with the rise of digital streaming. Both the standard edition and several retailer-exclusive variants will be available for purchase.

Target—which has collaborated with Swift for over a decade, including exclusive releases for albums like "1989" and "Midnights"—confirmed that stores will simply extend their hours rather than closing and reopening. For fans preferring to shop from home, all special editions can also be pre-ordered online. This initiative echoes an era when music retailers like Tower Records regularly hosted midnight events, often drawing long lines of eager fans ahead of new releases.

Such late-night openings have become rare in today’s retail landscape, particularly for large chains. According to Dr. Elena Torres, a music industry historian at Berklee College of Music, "Swift’s cultural impact allows her to reactivate physical sales channels in a way few artists can. She turns album releases into experiential milestones." This isn’t the first time Swift has driven significant in-store traffic; last year, Target’s exclusive vinyl and tour book offering for "The Tortured Poets Department" sold out almost instantly, demonstrating her consistent ability to create retail events that feel both nostalgic and new.

While vinyl has been Swift’s dominant physical format in recent years, "The Life of a Showgirl" also emphasizes CDs, with three exclusive variants already selling out via her webstore. The new Target editions—titled "It’s Frightening," "It’s Rapturous," and "It’s Beautiful"—each include a unique poster and feature artwork similar to the sold-out online versions. This multi-format, collectible-driven approach not only stimulates demand among dedicated fans but reinforces the cultural relevance of physical media in a digital-dominated industry.

Industry outlets such as Variety are tracking the growing number of album variants across LP, CD, and cassette formats, a list that now includes these Target exclusives. Whether motivated by nostalgia, fandom, or the appeal of tangible merchandise, Swift’s audience continues to show that physical releases—and the experiences built around them—still hold powerful appeal when orchestrated by an artist with her level of influence and engagement.