UMG Imeem Details Emerging

From Saul Hansell, New York Times:

It is still unclear how many sites will be able to make enough money from advertising to pay what the labels want. Imeem has given Universal some stock and a large upfront cash payment. The Financial Times reported that the payment was $20 million, although Imeem has disputed that figure.

The record labels have given Imeem a break on their normal fee of one cent every time a song is played. But in return they have asked for a share of the advertising, not just on the pages related to music, but on the whole site. So I’m not entirely sure how this model will work on a site that is simpler to use than Imeem and thus has fewer pages on which ads can be sold.

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