Nearly two years ago, Target was reimagining how to best serve superfans across all sectors, from books and toys to sports and music. “One of the things that we started obsessing over is this idea that everyone is a fan of something, from Bluey to The Beatles and everything in between,” recalls Cassandra Jones, senior vp of merchandising.
That thread led to the late 2025 rebrand and launch of Fun 101, Target’s strategic merchandising initiative (formerly known as Hardlines). “It was this idea that we are the beginning of all this fun stuff and we’re here to serve everyone — not just the experts or those people who have access… Our guests are everywhere.”
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Jones explains that a key component of Fun 101 is an emphasis on community over product, noting that for most music fans, their experience with a new album release begins before they even step foot in the store. “I like to say that the community starts in the line, before you even get in the door,” she says. “When you actually get to stand in line with somebody who’s obsessed over the same thing you are and share that experience, you walk away with more than a pink album.”
And once fans do step inside, the focus remains on fostering that in-person connection with in-store experiences, from midnight openings and release parties to artist meet-and-greets. As Jones says, her “music-obsessed” team is out and about observing exactly how to deliver on what fans are seeking. “They go to concerts. They’re watching people in lines for concerts. They’re looking at record shops. They go to places where fans are gathering, and that’s that intersection between, yeah, vinyl was selling, but fans want participation.’” As for what the artist gains, beyond boosted sales? “Where we have deep expertise that most artists want to connect into is who is the fan, and what experience would resonate for them?”
Last year, Target partnered with KATSEYE on the release of its Beautiful Chaos EP, driven by the group’s desire to connect with local fans on tour. “We said, ‘Okay, you have stops in Chicago and Minneapolis. We can create a moment for you.’ And that happened really fast. That wasn’t months and months of planning, it was an ability to say, ‘You always have a line to Target. Call us when you’re thinking about something.’” Target not only created an exclusive collection of tour merchandise in select U.S. cities located near tour stops, but also hosted two in-store meet-and-greets with the group.
More recently, Noah Kahan stopped by Target’s SoHo location in New York City following the release of his latest album, The Great Divide. The Billboard 200 chart-topping set was available on vinyl in a variety of variants, including a Target-exclusive pressing in a “morning fog” colorway complete with two bonus live tracks.
And while Fun 101 is built around fostering connection, that’s not to deny the role that vinyl has played — and continues to play — in fandom, especially among a tangible, collectible-driven Gen-Z and millennial demographic. According to the retailer, in 2025 more than 70% of Target’s music sales were driven by such exclusive releases on vinyl and CD.
The approach translates beyond physical music as well. Take Taylor Swift’s official The Eras Tour Book, released in 2024 as a Target exclusive on Black Friday. It sold nearly 1 million copies in its first week alone. And in 2025, for the release of Swift’s 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl, Target was the only retailer (outside of Swift’s own site) to offer exclusive vinyl and CDs. “We have a guest population who love Taylor, and so an ability to bring those experiences to life with midnight openings where people could stand in line, or even going back to when we launched the book with her and you could see dads and daughters waiting for us to open, that’s really meaningful, and that brings access into this audience base that she deeply respects,” says Jones.
Similarly, for the release of BTS’ post-hiatus album ARIRANG, which released this March, Target was the sole retailer to offer exclusive collectibles, from the official tour light stick to specialized album art and more. Ahead, Target will offer an exclusive variant of JAŸ-Z’s Reasonable Doubt 30th anniversary release (on white vinyl). And for Olivia Rodrigo’s third album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, out Friday (June 12), the retailer went all out with three exclusive vinyl variants plus an apparel and accessories line. Later this month, Target will continue with its community-driven approach, offering a special in-store fan event with Rodrigo that offers even more exclusives.
“What Target does so well is this combination of product and experience,” says Jones. “The music is the beginning of the experience, but not the end.”