Are stores like AmazonMP3 and iTunes just tapped out, plateauing, and soon-to-be declining?  Everything has its saturation point, and the paid download as presently packaged may already be past its prime.

But wait.  Ideas are still floating on ways to stimulate more purchasing, for those that still believe.  Among them is SonicSwap, a music technology shop based in Palo Alto. The startup first emerged late last year, and the team has been tinkering with b2b-focused playlisting and social networking concepts ever since.  Backing the company are Allegis Capital and some angels, according to the company.

The latest SonicSwap concoction is an Amazon-geared feature called 'Shop Smart,' according to a pre-launch briefing with Digital Music News this week.  Essentially, the solution analyzes an existing digital music collection (paid or unpaid), then suggests additional purchases to complete a playlist, album or artist collection.  The entire recommendation system is directly tied into the AmazonMP3 catalog, so every recommended track is available for instant purchase.

But like spoiled children, don't music fans already have everything they need?  The answer is frequently yes, and according to  SonicSwap president and CEO Dan Skilken, sometimes people purchase tracks they already own.  "As track collections have grown quite large, it becomes more difficult to find and purchase new music without worrying that you might already have the tracks," Skilken relayed.  

The SonicSwap technology runs deeper than Shop Smart, and focuses on applications for existing collections.  For example, the SonicSwap engine quickly reads an iTunes collection, then makes recommendations, calls related YouTube videos, and unleashes a number of social networking concepts.

But is it robust, to use the overused term?  Actually, the system as presented on sonicswap.com is a bit clunky, and prospective partners will need to go beyond a good tire-kicking.  Part of the reason is that the SonicSwap site is really a beta-stage testbed, not a slicked-out, consumer interface.

Actually, according to one source, SonicSwap has gotten some 'looks' from potential music ecommerce partners, though that discussion could be premature.  "The whole site is actually a beta," Skilken told Digital Music News.  "We're in the middle of the whole thing."

An official announcement on Shop Smart is expected early next week.

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Burnt out on MJ already?  In terms of cultural earthquakes, this is one of the biggest in recent history, perhaps outdoing the deaths of Elvis and Lennon.  But despite the craziness, the frenzy seems to be cooling down a bit, as the devoted get back to their everyday lives.

On Tuesday, data partner BigChampagne shared the latest intelligence, plumbing the depths of BitTorrent, Twitter, YouTube, and other playgrounds.  The takeaway?  Michael is still very much alive across these platforms, though the pace is starting to slow.

On BitTorrent, Jackson torrents have been clogging charts on trackers like Mininova and the Pirate Bay, just to name a few.  Custom-crafted torrents spanning all types of assets - music, videos, remixes, images, and more - have been inundating these indexes.

But despite bunches of new torrents daily, a saturation point is appearing.  "In the BitTorrent world, it looks like folks continue to add new torrents at a steady pace, but overall we're starting to see a plateau emerging on the horizon," analyst John Robinson relayed.

Jackson is also trending back downward on Twitter.  According to Twitter tracker Twist, Jackson topics are currently stirring a small fraction of the initial Thursday surge.

Meanwhile, the YouTube picture is also calming down.  Since the death, views of videos like "Rock With You," "Thriller," and "Billie Jean" have surged, sending cumulative figures into the cumulus range.  But the biggest gains happened ahead of the weekend, and day-to-day increases are now subsiding.

What else?  On the sales side, digital rankings are already clogged with Jackson purchases.  The iTunes a-la-carte and album rankings were quickly dominated by the King of Pop, and first-week physical sales will also show surges.  During its recent fiscal year review, HMV Group pointed to a big Jackson splurge.  But HMV chief executive Simon Fox predicted a short-term rush, instead of a sustained increase.  "I doubt it will have a material affect on the business," Fox stated.

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The music industry can be a violent place, especially when egos are bruised.  Combine that with the bright lights of an awards show, and the powder keg is perfect.  

In the most recent flare-up, Perez Hilton was attacked by will.i.am manager Liborio Molina at the MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto.  Molina turned himself in after punching Hilton several times, an assault that followed a perceived 'disrespect' by will.i.am.  

Hilton posted details of the assault on Twitter, and asked followers to call the police.  "I was assaulted by Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas and his security guards," Perez tweeted.  The attacker was not will.i.am, though the rapper was involved in the run-up and may have ordered the strike by Molina.  

Some incidents are better than others, at least from a publicity standpoint.  Both will.i.am and Perez will probably gain publicity and attention from their face-off.  But for Chris Brown and Rihanna, the benefits are slim, especially for Brown.  On Monday, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered 180 days of community service and five years of probation for Brown, part of a plea deal that avoids jail time.  But the bigger penalty comes in the form of an abruptly-halted career.  

Report by Alexandra Osorio.

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