Lopez counseled Michael Jackson, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Buble, and the Eagles among others, and was married to Catherine Bach, the original Daisy Duke from ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’.

Sources to TMZ pointed to a suicide note that asked for forgiveness, but lacked any concrete reasons for the extreme move.  Ahead of the death, the article pointed to a ‘stressed’ Lopez, though separately, a source to Digital Music News pointed to a recent ‘dinner with Jimmy I[ovine],” and “lots of good business,” suggesting non-monetary reasons for the act.

So, is this a space you want to be in? For fresh entrants MusikPitch and MusicRevolution, the answer is yes.

Perhaps the secret sauce is specialization. Nashville-based MusikPitch is launching a marketplace for custom songwriting, and inviting music supervisors, brands, videogame developers, and other potential licensors to join the fun. Songwriters compete to meet client requirements, and MusikPitch takes a cut of the resulting match.

And MusicRevolution? Also an online marketplace, musicrevolution.com focuses on royalty-free production music. “The production music business is still largely conducted offline,” said MusicRevolution cofounder Christopher Cardell. And this goes beyond strict synchronization and into retail and website background music, on-hold music, and other business applications.

On Wednesday, SoundExchange started sharing more details. On the aggregate, since 2001, the group counted royalty payouts of $360 million to more than 45,000 musicians and other copyright holders. That covers internet, cable, and satellite revenue sources, all developing formats.

The disclosure is part of a broader hearts-and-minds campaign, one that now includes glowing testimonials from artists. In reality, most artists will be getting paltry checks based on their body of work and the modest size of the overall pool. But a number of bigger artists are truly benefiting from the ‘found money’ exercise. “SoundExchange actually contacts artists to let them know royalties are due, a pretty novel idea in the music business,” said Ronnie Spector. “They are looking out for the artist… that’s refreshing.”

Big number, but this is also a deceptively complicated space. Pure-play internet radio stations are just part of the picture, attracting a healthy 38 million (or 62 percent) for at least five minutes a week. That overlaps with the important category of terrestrial simulcasts, which lure a weightier 82 percent. That shows the potency of local stations, though Bridge notes that internet-only and terrestrial simulcasts will reach parity by 2017.

In turn, the internet radio finding is just one component of a far broader report that also analyzes terrestrial radio and audio device habits. On the terrestrial side, listener levels are predictably eroding, though the study details a considerable decline. Specifically, Americans are now listening to an average of 18 hours per week – still a considerable amount, but 4 hours less than 2005. That attrition is happening across the board, though most acutely within the teenage and 18-24 demographics.

A portion of those hours are getting absorbed by digital platforms, across PCs and devices. The disconnected MP3 player is now clocking 11 hours per week, up 7 percent since 2007, though the bigger growth curve belongs to the smartphone. Those are “creating all the disruption in this study,” according to Bridge, for obvious reasons.

But how much disruption? According to Bridge, smartphone-based streaming audio is experiencing double-digit growth across every demographic. The 18-24 set is clocking the most with 5 hours weekly, though the 55-plus category is growing the fastest. Listening hours among the older set has expanded nearly 28 percent (to 2.3 hours weekly) since 2007.

But this is far broader than just a download sensation. The clever, lyrically-alive video is also gaining on YouTube, and the song continues to grow on traditional radio. Currently, “Hey” is ranked 10th across terrestrial radio as tracked by Mediabase (also part of BigChampagne’s BC Dash interface). And, the growth has been happening since August, a tough feat in the current, oversaturated media landscape.

But the ukulele-spiced song clearly has that special something that hits are made of, and that is cutting through. Train is a hit-ready trio fronted by the radio-friendly voice of Patrick Monahan, and this is a song that works perfectly for the ensemble. But why did it take so long for the spotlight to return? “It’s a funny business,” Train manager Jonathan Daniel told Digital Music News in Los Angeles. “To me it’s the song, it starts and ends with it and no one’s exempt from having a great song.”

Indeed, some newer fans may not be connecting the dots between “Hey, Soul Sister,” “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me),” and other hits like “Meet Virginia” and “Calling All Angels”. Instead, the return for a band like Train is a top-heavy affair, one that requires an out-of-the-park smash. “There’s something about this song that really resonates with people,” Daniel continued, while pointing to strong early response across Twitter and first-wave stations.

Digging a bit deeper, Daniel credited radio for generating the current mass appeal, especially among the older demographic. That is a fanbase “borne of the radio generation,” and Daniel noted that Train themselves only recently jumped onto platforms like Facebook and Twitter. “You really need radio if you want to reach critical mass,” Daniel continued, while candidly noting that “we were not expecting Z100 to be playing Train in 2010.”

But the real tipping point actually came from television. The rocket fuel was CSI, which featured “Hey, Soul Sister” and “Calling All Angels,” the beginning of “an all out hit” that is now stretching around the world. That includes serious reactions across Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, the UK and the Netherlands, both online and off.

A recent reduction of tens of employees – not hundreds – by Sony Music Entertainment offers the perfect example. According to numerous major label executives, smaller reductions fly below the radar and are more difficult for the media to report.

Additionally, reductions are often spread over a number of different departments, making it difficult to distinguish between restructuring and reduction. “Big layoffs are generally spread out over time, and spread out across the company,” one executive shared.

Theoretically, that approach keeps artists, managers, partners, and even existing employees more calm. But arguments can also be made for bigger, more pronounced chops, especially when it comes to employee morale. The reason is that a piecemeal approach creates the problem of the perennially-dangling ax. On numerous occasions, executives have complained that media reporting of ongoing layoffs – including by Digital Music News – has helped to sap morale, especially when the information is coming entirely from the outside.

But the recording side is also enjoying a few bright spots, however dispersed. This week, EMI Music scored a chart-topping release, this time through the returning Lady Antebellum (on Capitol Nashville). The top-ranked Antebellum album, Need You Now, scored another 93,061 units in its eighth week, according to US-based figures from Nielsen Soundscan. Need You Now is currently approaching sales of 1.5 million units.

Also in the top ten is Gorillaz. The EMI (Virgin) artist ranked 9th on Plastic Beach with 37,869 units in its second week. In a bout of positive spinning on Wednesday, the label group also reported a gain in album-related market share to 11.74 percent, year-to-date, better than a year-ago 8.77 percent.

Other (non-EMI) chart-toppers included Marvin Sapp, whose Here I Am scored 75,534 in its debut week, enough for a second-place finish. That was followed by Ludacris (Battle of the Sexes, 61,198); The Edge compilation (53,141); Lady Gaga (The Fame, 48,210); and Sade (Soldier of Love; 40,274).

Online formats will boost the bottom line. These are still early days, and BIA/Kelsey projects a 16.5 percent compound growth rate from internet and other nascent formats. “The industry will continue to grow its online revenues in 2010 as increasingly more progressive radio groups recognize they are more than just over-the-air transmitters and begin to integrate cross-platform promotions with their broadcast and web operations,” commented Mark Fratrik, vice president of BIA/Kelsey.

And, ignore the local connection at your peril. The community aspect remains incredibly important, especially on the traditional dial but also across other delivery formats. On that note, most of the biggest earners are from Los Angeles or New York, an outcome that maps to population densities.

Braun did not respond quickly enough, according to the charges. Island Def Jam executive James Roppo also declined to Twitter-it-off, and faces similar charges.

Braun surrendered to police, but pled ‘not guilty’ to charges of reckless endangerment, criminal nuisance and endangering the welfare of children. Braun allegedly sent a pair of tweets after about two hours, but Braun claims that he was unable to access a computer when contacted. That defense will be tested in court.

Bieber is standing by his manager, and was filmed donning a ‘Free Scooter’ t-shirt in Chicago.