US retailer will continue to stock music in its stores and online despite confirmation yesterday that it would have to adhere to a Friday global release day.
Prior to the IFPI’s announcement that Friday had been chosen as the aligned international release day for music in all territories, it was rumoured that Target would drop music.
US companies are among those that will have to make significant changes and incur costs to release music on a Friday, with Tuesday the current release day in the territory.
But Target says that it completely supports the music industry’s effort to fight piracy and is “aligned on having one global release day”.
“Target has absolutely no plans to stop selling music in our stores or on Target.com,” a spokesperson told Music Week.
“Music has long been an important part of Target’s brand and we have a history of collaborating with world-class musicians across a variety of genres. A recent example of this is our collaboration with Imagine Dragons. Through this partnership, Target brought music fans #moremusic by delivering a live performance during a commercial break of this year’s Grammy Awards. In addition, Target is the only place music fans can get their hands on four bonus tracks from the band’s new album, “Smoke + Mirrors.” Previous partnerships with artists including Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Taylor Swift and Coldplay have resulted in unparalleled experiences and access to these artists – and there will be more to come.”
