diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c b/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
index e124741..8842218 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
@@ -2241,10 +2241,11 @@
 	if (err < 0)
 		goto out_error_mmap;
 
+	if (!target__none(&trace->opts.target))
+		perf_evlist__enable(evlist);
+
 	if (forks)
 		perf_evlist__start_workload(evlist);
-	else
-		perf_evlist__enable(evlist);
 
 	trace->multiple_threads = evlist->threads->map[0] == -1 ||
 				  evlist->threads->nr > 1 ||