Swifties were beginning to lose faith that Target, Taylor Swift‘s longtime retail partner, would get its own exclusive vinyl edition of “The Life of a Showgirl,” as earlier rumored, with only nine days to go until the album’s Oct. 3 release date. But that stone is not going unturned after all. The singer announced Wednesday that Target will indeed carry a chain-exclusive LP variant — but that, unlike previous Swift/Target releases, this one will be a limited edition, with only one pressing before it goes out of print.
The Target edition has its own subtitle, as other variants she has been promising for this release have: It’s called the “The Life of a Showgirl: The Crowd Is Your King” edition, pressed in what is being officially billed as Summertime Spritz Pink Shimmer Vinyl. More specifically, it features an “opaque pink and pale-yellow pearlescent vinyl with gold shimmer,” a custom gatefold sleeve, a large double-sided poster, a poem written by Swift, and previously unseen photos.
The words that may be most meaningful here are: “Limited quantities available, while supplies last.” The album is being sold through Target’s website, and is expected to be a sellout there — for how long, few can guess, since the quantity being released is not being made public.
Fans who might miss out on it through the webstore — assuming it does sell out there — will get another shot at it when additional copies are released as the album goes on sale in brick-and-mortar locations at midnight next Thursday night. Target has issued a list of about 500 stores nationwide that will be remaining open past midnight local time to sell CDs and LPs at the stroke of 12.
“A showgirl knows to save some of her best tricks for the grand finale,” Swift posted on her Instagram account. “The Life of a Showgirl: The Crowd is Your King Edition on Summertime Spritz Pink Shimmer Vinyl is available to pre-order now exclusively at @target while supplies last.”
Along with news of the exclusive, Target has issued instructions on what Swifties should expect if they come for the late-night sales next Thursday.
“Target team members will distribute physical or digital tickets in the electronics section of the select Target stores Oct. 2 beginning at 10 p.m.; that will reserve your product for purchase,” the company said. “Once you have your ticket, you can continue shopping in the store and return to the designated queuing location at 11:45 p.m. to make your purchase at midnight. Limited stock is available. Ticketing will take place until all tickets are claimed or 10 minutes before midnight.”
The 50-some stores participating in the midnight on-sale will stay open till 1 a.m.
Target previously announced that it would have three exclusive CD pressings of the album on sale. Those were not designated as limited editions, and the cover art repeated images that Swift had already used for limited editions in her webstore, which had quickly sold out. At the time of that announcement, Target’s only reference to vinyl was the notice that it would carry the standard vinyl edition of the album.
This new LP release, though, besides being a limited run, includes front and back cover artwork that has not previously been used for any other edition, along with the promise of other heretofore unseen images inside the packaging.
(For what it’s worth, the Target announcements also reveal that the standard edition of the “Life of a Showgirl” vinyl, the “Sweat and Vanilla Perfume” edition, will only be sold on the chain’s website and not in retail stores… though it’s presumed that will change at some point after the “Crowd Is Your King” edition sells out.)
For this release, Swift has been adamant that all of the variants will include the exact same 12 songs, with no bonus tracks, unlike all of her other albums in recent years, so no one has to fret about missing any of her music, no matter which version(s) they get. But she is not stinting on the variables that are possible in vinyl, CD and cassette packaging. Variety is maintaining a log of all the other editions and their attendant cover art; most were only available at Swift’s webstore and sold out almost immediately upon being announced for sale.