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Todd Rundgren

Did you know Todd Rundgren envisioned our current media landscape — in 1978? In a backstage interview from the late ’70s, the legendary guitarist and producer held court on the tectonic shifts of industry that computers would eventually bring.

“Computer technology and storage is moving at such a revolutionary pace,” Rundgren says, amidst bizarre extreme close-ups. “The people behind computers know that computers are a happening thing, and are going to be applicable in all areas. Computers are coming on so heavy that nobody’s going to bother with this intermediate technology,” he continued, referencing cable television.

“The economic structure will shift itself. You’ll no longer go out and buy permanently recorded things, because, eventually, they do one of two things — they wear out, or you wear out. You get tired of them and don’t want them anymore.”

While Rundgren may have gotten it backwards — “I don’t think people who make records have as much to worry about as people who run television networks” — he was still spot-on about the future of the music industry (and Netflix), 37 years ago.

Oh, he was wrong about one other thing: when asked when he was going to be the host of Saturday Night Live, Rundgren was doubtful of its stamina. “I don’t know if it’ll last that long… I may have my own TV show before that!”

Watch the full interview below.

[Billboard]