Physical media collectors’ jobs just got that much harder.
The Big Picture
- Looks like physical media is on the decline as Target follows Best Buy’s lead in moving away from Blu-rays and video games.
- Retailers are shiftingaway from physical media, leaving fans of physical media in a tough spot.
- By 2025, Target plans to exit the physical media market, joining the trend towards digital content distribution.
It seems like physical media is taking another crushing blow. After Best Buy got out of the Blu-ray and video game scene earlier this year, it’s now being reported that Target will be doing the same by 2025. The move comes as more and more retailers move away from physical media, in favor of an all-digital marketplace, making things tricky for those who like the guarantee of physical media.
This comes from the “President of Physical Media’ on X who claimed their “Target Sources” have said that the big chain retailer will not be selling any more physical media within the next year. This needs to be taken with a big grain of salt as we don’t know who these Target sources are at the moment. We also don’t know what lengths Target will take, if any. If true, like Best Buy, they’ll stop selling physical media in-store and online. However, unlike Best Buy, Target’s physical media supply extends beyond movies and games. Target also sells books and vinyals. Both have taken over the movie section at most stores in recent years.
The Epic Highs and Lows of Physical Media
Now this is simply a massive rumor, but it would be shocking to anyone in the physical media collecting space if this turns out to be true. Best Buy was the first store to cut off their movie sales which was quickly followed by Disney who shut down their beloved Disney Movie Club earlier this year. Disney also announced that they were going to stop releasing physical media to the entire continent of Australia last year. The writing on the wall for physical media has been felt for a while now, but there’s still a bit of hope for movie lovers to hold on to. Walmart has been the unsung hero of the story so far as they’ve taken the exact opposite approach of stores like Best Buy. They’ve beefed up their physical media section, adding in a Steelbook section that has taken in most of Best Buy’s previous exclusives. Disney Movie Club exclusives have been popping up at Walmart as well. It will be interesting to see, if this news is true, if Target exclusives will end up at Walmart too.
Target has been a staple of physical media consumption for as long as the store has been in existence. These are just reports with no real confirmation. As we wait for more concert information to come, Target will at least be selling Blu-rays and DVDs for the remainder of the year. Whatever the case may be, online boutique labels like Shout Factory and Kino Lorber are keeping physical media alive for the foreseeable future.
This article was originally published on collider.com