Imeem, the giant internet service launched in 2004, with over 19 million users every month, announces signing a deal with Universal Music Group that will allow its users to listen to free music from the major music label. The users will only be able to store music on personal pages, but Imeem offers direct links to Apple’s iTunes store or Amazon.com for those who wish to download and store them on their computers or MP3 players.

Universal is just one of the four major groups Imeem plans to sign deals with and according to a statement of Universal Chairman Doug Morris, "Imeem has developed an innovative way to make our artists' music a central part of the social-networking experience. More importantly, they've done so the right way, by working with Universal to provide an exciting musical experience for consumers, while ensuring that our artists are fairly compensated for the use of their works."

The agreement between the two labels is a clear attempt of Universal Music to find alternatives to a continuous decrease in CD sales and also to stop the unauthorized spread of music on the internet. Imeem is known for advising its users to comply with the copyright laws.

“We’re definitely not a music store, and we don’t want to be a music store”, Imeem Chief Executive Dalton Caldwell said. According to the Imeem representative, Universal has not imposed any restrictions concerning the number of times a song can be played, but the exact terms of the agreement between the two labels haven’t been disclosed yet. It is said though that in addition to receiving a fraction of the advertising revenue that is associated with certain songs, Universal will receive a guaranteed payment each time a user listens to one of their songs. What the Imeem representative would say though was that Imeem now had to “"make a bunch of money. We have to see if ad-supported music really works."