Will imeem Survive (and Become the Best Music Site)?
iMeem has stealthily advanced to become one of the best music sites on the Net, both because of its easy-to-use interface and the social networking features.
Actually, iMeem is a social-networking site built around the legal sharing of music and video, Imeem streams free music to users’ PCs. Founded in 2004, the company was considered a high-flier among the Web 2.0 music services. The site sees 25 million monthly visitors.
Last week, the company announced that their mobile app, the top music app in the Google Android marketplace, added a powerful new feature that lets users stream all of the MP3s they’ve uploaded to the service directly to their phone, for free.
But as CNET reports in their story about Web 2.0 music sites, Imeem is up for sale, has burnt through loads of cash and has struggled to generate income, say sources close to the company. Things were serious enough to prompt Imeem managers last year to ask the major recording companies for price breaks, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.
So where does all this leave iMeem? Supposedly they have enough cash to get through the economic downturn, but they’re not turning a profit, their music download sales have been below projections, and the labels are getting antsy.
The next 6 months will be key for the company. I hope they make it. They are one of the few sites I see that could eventually be competition for iTunes.
