A guide to Target CDs
'Target CD' means one of the earliest CD pressings of all — identified by the bullseye printed on the disc face.
What makes a Target
In the mid-1980s WEA-family labels (Warner, Elektra, Atlantic) printed their discs with concentric red and black rings around the centre hole — a target. Most were manufactured in Japan for the US and European markets before local CD plants came online, which makes them both early and, to collectors, desirable.
How to identify one
Look at the disc, not the case: the bullseye print is the defining feature. Then check the matrix for a Japanese plant, and the rear insert for the absence of a barcode, both of which point to a genuine early pressing rather than a later repress in similar artwork.
Which ones are worth money
Value follows the album, not the format. Targets of major, heavily collected titles command real premiums; Targets of albums nobody chases are simply old CDs. Sealed copies and copies with complete original inserts sit at the top.
Common traps
A later pressing in the same sleeve is not a Target. Neither is a disc with a plain silver face and a target-style booklet. And an early pressing that skips is worth less than a clean later one — condition still governs everything.