Music Swapping

Global music sales have been on the downtrend in the recent years. Interestingly, the number of music listeners has been on the rise, thereby creating an unrealistic landscape of the events that transpire in the sector. The music industry has undergone several restructuring initiatives, which have made it redundant in the past decade. The swapping of music files in the sector has created an ideal avenue upon which music piracy now thrives. Reliable statistics indicates that over 30 billion songs were illegally downloaded in the periods 2004-2009 (Hammond 387). Illegal downloads of music files have had an adverse impact on the performance of the industry. A majority of those in the industry decry massive losses, thereby leading to layoffs. Similarly, artists are discouraged by such trends because they do not gain what is rightfully theirs. To this effect, if the authorities do not find a reliable way to mitigate music swapping, the music industry will soon be on the downward trend.
A major effect of music swapping is financial losses. Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reports indicate that music sales in the U.S have dropped by a whopping 47% since 1999. The ease of access of music files has led to an economic loss of up to $12.5 billion (Hammond 390). Several lawsuits have been filed by major players in the industry as an ideal way to deter criminals from further downloading music without the consent of the artists. Unfortunately, such lawsuits are also expensive to maintain, which makes the activity a vicious cycle for hardworking artists
Singers and bands form a major component of the face of the music industry.

However, what a majority of the people fail to realize is that the work put in place to ensure that singers and band members release their works is because of the efforts of recording and promoting companies. However, the profitability of record labels goes down when music swapping takes place. As a result, more people are laid off to enable the companies to meet their expenses. Evidence indicates that the industry faces up to 71000 job cuts because of illegal downloading of music (Hammond 392).
Music artists have been forced to adopt more expensive methods of marketing and distributing their music. The effect of using such expensive avenues is that the cost of music production goes high. Nonetheless, most musicians agree that the only way to enable them to reap what they sow is by using digital music platforms such as YouTube and Pandora, whose aims are to ensure that digital licensing of music takes place fairly. Controversially, some studies indicate that other artists have gained popularity because of music swapping. In fact, a majority if the listeners interviewed in several studies argued that they would only attend concerts of musicians whose music they have heard before. Interestingly, such consumers do not purchase the music but opt to download. Thus, attendances of live music shows would be low if the listeners are unaware of the existence of their music.
The above findings are evidence that music swapping has both negative and positive effects on the performance of the industry. However, artists can work with musical digital platforms rather than share with incredible sites to sell the popularity of their songs. Such arrangements would offer the industry an ideal platform to grow in all aspects.

Great Divide
Ways in which young people use the web:
Watching movies
Social media
Research work and homework
Finding new recipes
Internet banking
Listening to music online
Football and Soccer Reviews
Online shopping
Identifying latest news and trends
Playing video games
Dominant way in which people were first exposed to the Web
Social media was the first platform upon which most of the people in school had experience with the internet. Later, academic needs and learning purposes prompted a majority of the school mates to learn more regarding the usability of the internet. Over the years, the web has become an influential source of information for virtually everything. Today, practically all information is found conveniently on the internet.
How parents use the web
Social media
Emailing
Making Reservations
Government services
The parent interviewed agreed that her first interaction with the web was when seeking government services. Some of the initiatives have been digitalized thus forcing individuals to make applications and even renew their social security details online. Social media was also an ideal avenue upon which the interviewee learnt how to use the web. The need to get in touch with relatives overseas ay have prompted her to use the internet. Emailing remains a paramount reason why most parents would use the web.
The above analysis is evidence that young and senior citizens use the internet for varying and different reasons. Generation X are more likely to use the internet for a variety of purposes access to government services, making travel reservations and emailing. Conversely, the young generation will use the internet for virtually all their activities including social media, online shopping, educational purposes, online games and videos amongst others. The most popular reason for being online is social networks. The dramatic ease of access to the internet may have prompted the increase in the use of the web (Garikapati et al. 570). However, the analysis indicates that a majority of the old population only uses the internet for formal functions, unlike the younger generation which is more engrossed in the virtual world.

Works Cited
Garikapati, Venu M., et al. “Activity patterns, time use, and travel of millennials: a generation in transition?.” Transport Reviews 36.5 (2016): 558-584.
Hammond, Robert G. “Profit Leak? Pre‐Release File Sharing and the Music Industry.” Southern Economic Journal 81.2 (2014): 387-408.