Like an EF5 tornado ripping through a community, technology has been a massively disruptive force, driving a pace of change unlike anything in history. Entire industries have been completely transformed, while others have been eradicated altogether. Companies that once dominated markets were either unable or unwilling to adapt, while high-tech innovation delivered devastating knockout blows.
Let’s take a look back in history to perhaps head off future collisions created by time and innovation.
Video Rental Business
The most famous example is the now-defunct video rental business. Boomers and Gen-Xers will remember when Friday nights in the ’90s meant a trip to Blockbuster or the local video store. At its peak, Blockbuster operated more than 9,000 stores worldwide. Its video rental model made the company a household favorite.
Then, like a guided missile, Netflix introduced subscription-based services. Shortly thereafter, broadband internet fundamentally changed the industry.
Within a decade, streaming platforms had made brick-and-mortar rental outlets obsolete. Interestingly, consumers didn’t just switch products—they abandoned an entire experience. Consider that just 26 years ago, Netflix founders Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph offered their DVD-by-mail startup to Blockbuster for a measly $50 million. Blockbuster CEO John Antioco turned them down, dismissing Netflix as a tiny, unprofitable niche business.
Whoops!!
Like most of us, Netflix believes generative AI is transforming content production and says it was used in about 300 titles this year. The company recently announced a new documentary called American Experiment, which features 17 minutes of AI-enhanced footage produced “twice as fast and at half the cost.”
Photography
The world of photography experienced devastating blunt-force trauma beginning with digital cameras in the 1990s. Film and camera manufacturers, photo-processing labs, and one-hour photo stores were once fixtures in nearly every community and drugstore. Digital cameras quickly reduced the demand for traditional cameras and film. The introduction of smartphones finished the job in the late 2000s, eventually eliminating the need for standalone digital cameras. These days, iPhones are even used to make commercial movies.
Following a 2012 bankruptcy, Eastman Kodak became a much smaller company and now focuses on commercial printing, advanced materials and chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and analog film production. Amazingly, billions of photos will be taken in the next 24 hours without a single roll of film.
Travel
The travel industry has also undergone a technological transformation. Travel agents were once the primary resource for airline tickets, hotel reservations, and vacation planning. When I owned my research firm, my travel agent handled all of our company travel arrangements. That changed once online booking sites gave consumers direct access to virtually every travel option imaginable. It allowed us to comparison shop ourselves.
While specialized travel advisors still serve luxury travelers and those with highly complex itineraries, traditional neighborhood travel agents have largely disappeared.
Print Advertising
Print advertising in traditional newspapers has also been profoundly disrupted. For decades, newspaper advertising generated enormous revenue, including classified listings for jobs, real estate, automobiles, and personal ads.
The internet rapidly replaced nearly all of those categories with faster, searchable, and often free alternatives such as Craigslist and, eventually, Facebook Marketplace. While newspapers continue to publish, their business model has fundamentally shifted toward digital.
Music
The music industry offers another powerful example in our own backyard. Record stores were once neighborhood gathering places where we purchased albums, cassettes, and CDs. They were also where we discovered new music.
Then came digital downloads, which significantly disrupted physical sales. The final blow came when streaming transformed the industry into a subscription model rather than one built on ownership.
Today, we have instant access to tens of millions of songs from virtually any device. Frankly, I miss the hundreds of albums lining the bookshelves in my living room alongside the turntable, amplifier, and speakers. They’ve all been replaced by Bluetooth soundbars.
Banks
Even banking has undergone an evolutionary transformation because of technology. Who needs to visit a local branch with mobile banking, online bill payment, remote deposits, digital wallets, and mobile check deposits allowing us to manage nearly every transaction from our phones?
Physical branches are now used primarily for complex financial services, business banking, and customers who are less comfortable with technology. Without question, technology has permanently shifted consumer needs and expectations.
Broadcast Media
The impact of technology on broadcast media hardly needs to be summarized for us.
We have experienced more than our share of technological disruption. Radio and television no longer compete only with each other. They now compete with streaming audio, podcasts, YouTube, social media creators, gaming, and countless other digital entertainment options. Yet unlike some industries, broadcasting hasn’t disappeared. Instead, many successful media companies have expanded into digital marketing, streaming content, podcasts, connected TV, and social media services, transforming themselves from broadcasters into multi-platform media companies.
The lesson across every industry is clear and consistent. Technology rarely asks permission before changing consumer behavior. Companies that cling to legacy business models often struggle, while those willing to innovate and take risks frequently discover entirely new opportunities.
History suggests that technology doesn’t simply change industries—it rewards organizations willing to evolve. The businesses that survive aren’t always the biggest or the oldest. They’re the ones that recognize change early, embrace innovation, and continually redefine the value they provide to customers. In today’s economy, adaptability may be the most valuable competitive advantage any organization can possess.
Next week, I’ll discuss 10 industries that likely have a target on their backs for a technology makeover—or takeover.
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Bob Lawrence writes weekly columns on radio leadership and business. He most recently served as market manager for MacDonald Broadcasting in Saginaw, Michigan. Throughout his career, Bob has held virtually every position in the business over his 40+ year career, from being on-air in Philadelphia, San Diego, and San Francisco to programming legendary stations including KHTR St. Louis, KITS Hot Hits and KIOI (K101) San Francisco to serving as the head of all programming for Saga Communications and working for the Radio Advertising Bureau. Before landing his current role, Bob helped lead Seven Mountains Media’s cluster in Parkersburg, WV/Marietta, OH. He can be reached by email at BGLawrence@me.com.
Bob also honed his research skills over ten years as Senior VP of Operations at Broadcast Architecture, eventually launching his own research company and serving as President/CEO of Pinnacle Media Worldwide for 15 years. Bob spent five years as VP of Programming for Saga Communications before joining New South Radio in Jackson, Mississippi as GM/Market Manager. Prior to joining Seven Mountains Media, Bob served as General Manager for the Radio Advertising Bureau, overseeing its “National Radio Talent System”.