The prediction, in brief:

Technophiles maintain that the Internet will put an end to the record store, just as indoor plumbing put an end to the outhouse. One day 90 percent of music purchases will take place online, eliminating not just record stores and manufacturers but also record labels.

Predictor: Curry, Adam

Prediction, in context:

In a 1995 article for The New York Times, Neil Strauss covers the future of recorded music, quoting Adam Curry, a former MTV video jockey. Strauss writes:”Traditionalists say the Internet will never replace record stores, just as video recorders in the home didn’t replace the communal experience of movie-going. Technophiles maintain that the Internet will put an end to the record store, just as indoor plumbing put an end to the outhouse. Mr. [Adam] Curry is among the technophiles. He believes that one day 90 percent of music purchases will take place online, eliminating not just record stores and manufacturers but also record labels. ‘A record company essentially does a number of things: it produces records, promotes them and distributes them,’ he said. ‘On the Internet, there’s promotion and distribution. And with digital technology, musicians don’t need a high-cost studio any more. The new up-and-coming artist has everything at home.'”

Date of prediction: January 1, 1995

Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information

Subtopic: Music

Name of publication: New York Times

Title, headline, chapter name: Records of the Future: At Your Fingertips

Quote Type: Paraphrase

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=026ec071862bc0c693159432b586268b&_docnum=1&wchp=dGLbVtb-lSlAl&_md5=372dda92b5d07a2763adb86480c1cd9f

This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Garrison, Betty