Universal, Last of Majors, Signs On to Imeem

Universal Music Group is the last of the major record label groups, and the largest, to sign a deal with social-networking site Imeem. The site allows users to upload songs to their pages, but not download or store them on computers or iPods, reports the Wall Street Journal. Every time someone plays a track, Imeem will pay Universal a fixed fee, in addition to sharing ad revenues.

Most such deals involve only a share of revenue, the Journal notes; the fixed fee provides labels "a revenue stream they've never seen before," Imeem's CEO says. The deal is also significant because Universal sued music-sharing site MySpace last year for copyright infringement. Imeem will include links to online music stores but won’t sell music. (More Imeem stories.)