Targets scores a win with an exclusive Taylor Swift deal, stocking 2 million copies of her official self-published Eras Tour book.
Target has secured an exclusive deal to sell Taylor Swift’s self-published official Eras Tour book, of which the retailer has stocked 2 million copies for the holidays. The book went on sale for $39.99 at Target stores beginning on Friday (November 29) and became available on the retailer’s website the following day.
It’s been a lackluster year for Target, which has increasingly lost ground to competitors like Amazon and Walmart, especially in a struggling economy that sees consumers focus on groceries and other staples rather than home goods.
Taylor Swift is no stranger to doing things her way. Her self publishing her Eras Tour book through her own imprint, Taylor Swift Publications, rather than going through a traditional publisher, is highly unorthodox.
“It’s been done in the past, but it’s rare because there are a lot of moving parts,” said Lorraine Shanley, President of Market Partners International, an industry consulting company. “In the case of Taylor, anybody would be willing to work with her in any capacity,” and most of the heavy lifting can easily be outsourced.
But Taylor has been known for keeping as much of her material in-house as possible. Her in-theater deal with AMC for the Eras Tour film cut out the distribution middleman too. And it’s no surprise she doesn’t trust easily, having lost the rights to her early catalog, leading her to re-recording her masters.
Target’s exclusivity deal is perhaps even more unusual, and 2 million copies might seem like a strange number. Comparatively, the biggest selling book in 2023, Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us,” sold nearly 1.3 million physical copies, according to data from Circana BookScan.
But Swift’s book might be better compared to Michelle Obama’s memoir, which sold 3.1 million copies in 2018 after being released only in November that year. “The big difference is that Michelle Obama’s book was available for sale everywhere, while Taylor Swift’s book is only being sold by Target,” industry analyst Brenna Connor told the Wall Street Journal.
Like most Taylor Swift memorabilia, the book is chock full of easter eggs and fun details for the discerning Swiftie. The 256-page book features over 500 glossy photos of the tour, as well as costume sketches and rehearsal shots, and musings by Swift in between.
“For a lot of people it’s a keepsake of the best time they’ve had in a long time,” said literary agent Richard Pine. “Target is going to sell an enormous number of copies, and she and they will be happy.”
