As the studies have revealed that a growing number of music fans are downloading their favorite songs rather than buying CDs, the music companies are forced to find new channels to promote and sell their music.

And Universal Music is leading the pack as the music company has supported every major music initiative such Amazon MP3, SpiralFrog or Nokia’s Comes with Music upcoming service.

Today, Universal Music signed a deal with Imeem, a social networking service launched in 2004, who claims to have over 19 million users every month. According to the terms of the agreement, Imeem users will be to listen to the free songs provided by 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.

With Universal Music in its portfolio, Imeem has now deals with all four major labels as well as a large number of independent labels. 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 stop the unauthorized spread of music on the internet. Imeem is known for advising its users to comply with the copyright laws. Also, Imeem is the fourth most popular multimedia entertainment site in the United States after YouTube, Google Video and MySpace Videos, according to the tracking firm Hitwise.

“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 have not 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."

In September SpiralFrog a download music service, which plans to pay for the music by sharing its ad-generated revenues with the music companies, opened its store.

SpiralFrog has signed the deal with Universal Music last year in August and the record company reportedly received an upfront payment from SpiralFrog and a portion of the company's advertising revenue.

Universal Music Group, world’s largest record company, has declined in early July to continue working on an exclusive basis with Apple’s iTunes service. "Universal Music Group has decided not to renew its long-term agreement for Apple’s iTunes service. Universal Music Group will now market its music to iTunes in an ‘at will’ capacity, as it does with its other retail partners," the company said at the time.

The three-year deal signed almost four years ago was prolonged for a year in 2006, with a one-year temporary agreement. However, Universal Music’s refusal to continue working with Apple in the same terms showed the media giant’s intention to emancipate from the latter’s tight grip on music sales.

Also there were rumors that Universal Music is trying to take on iTunes with a new music service. In October, BusinessWeek reported that Universal chief Doug Morris is enlisting other big music players for an online service, called Total Music. Among those mentioned is heavyweight Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group, another potential partner.