Despite how popping Beyonce's new visual album has proven to be (it moved 828,00 digital copies in three days), discount department store Target is refusing to offer it for sale.
"At Target we focus on offering our guests a wide assortment of physical CDs, and when a new album is available digitally before it is available physically, it impacts demand and sales projections," said Target spokesperson Erica Julkowski in a recent interview with Billboard. "While there are many aspects that contribute to our approach... we are primarily focused on offering CDs that will be available in a physical format at the same time as all other formats. At this time, Target will not be carrying Beyonce's new self-titled album Beyonce."
This news comes as a bit of a surprise, seeing as Bey has teamed up with Target in the past to release special editions of her albums. For example, the department store offered an exclusive version of her 2011 album 4 with six bonus tracks.
According to billlboard.com, the individual songs will be available for purchase on December 20th, with physical copies likely arriving in stores the same day. Until then, the project is being offered via an exclusive iTunes bundle.
For those who still do their music shopping in the real world, Walmart will be carrying a "non-explicit" version.
[VIA HHDX]
[UPDATE: Amazon Will Not Sell Beyonce's Album]
Beyonce choosing to drop her surprise album exclusively on iTunes, on which it stayed for a period of time before hitting retailers, has not only caused Target to make the decision not to sell Beyonce but now Amazon has followed suit.
Amazon will not sell Beyonce's album in full, rather they are offering digital downloads of singular mp3s and the videos separately.
Either way, she's on her way to platinum.