Imeem Rise and Fall Story

Imeem was founded in 2003 by a group of students from the University of California, Berkeley.

Imeem quickly gained popularity, especially among teenagers, as a social networking site that allowed users to share and discover music.

By 2007, Imeem had gained over 20 million users and was one of the fastest-growing social networks at the time.

Its user base was largely comprised of teenagers and young adults who used the site to connect with friends and discover new music.

Imeem's music discovery feature was a key factor in its success, allowing users to create playlists and share them with others.

The site also featured a "listen now" feature that allowed users to stream music directly from the site, making it a popular destination for music fans.

Broaden your view: Social Catfish

Imeem's history is a fascinating story of transformation and growth. The service was originally launched as a messaging application that allowed people to communicate through online chat, blogging, instant messaging, and file sharing.

It was billed as a "distributed, peer-to-peer, social network". I can only imagine how revolutionary that must have seemed back in the day.

In 2008, imeem made a significant move by acquiring Anywhere.FM, a music locker service, on January 28th. This acquisition marked a significant shift in imeem's focus towards music.

On February 1st, imeem acquired SNOCAP, a company that provided audio fingerprinting technology and a music database. SNOCAP's chief operating officer, Ali Aydar, joined imeem as part of the deal.

Imeem continued to innovate and expand its capabilities in 2008, launching a developer's platform on March 24th that allowed third-party developers to interact with imeem data. This move was a significant step towards opening up imeem's ecosystem to external developers.

In April 2008, imeem received a new round of funding from Sequoia Capital, which likely helped fuel the company's growth and innovation.

Intriguing read: Indaba Music

In 2006, imeem was still in its early stages, and it was initially introduced as a messaging application that allowed people to communicate through online chat, blogging, instant messaging, and file sharing.

The service was described as a "distributed, peer-to-peer, social network", which was a unique concept at the time.

Imeem's early design focused on facilitating communication and content sharing among users, setting the stage for its future growth and development.

In 2008, imeem made some significant moves that would shape its future. Imeem announced that it was acquiring Anywhere.FM, a music locker service, on January 28th.

Imeem was already using SNOCAP's audio fingerprinting technology and music database, so it made sense for them to acquire the company on February 1st. Ali Aydar, SNOCAP's chief operating officer, joined imeem as part of the deal.

Imeem launched a developer's platform on March 24th, allowing third-party developers to interact with imeem data. This move was a big step forward for the company.

Imeem received a new round of funding from Sequoia Capital in April 2008. This influx of cash likely helped imeem continue to grow and expand its services.

Imeem launched imeem Mobile, a free mobile music application, in October 2008. However, the company laid off 25% of its staff just a few days later, on the 22nd.

Imeem's acquisition by MySpace Music was a tumultuous process. MySpace Music completed its acquisition of imeem's assets in 2009, but the deal was finalized in December 2009.

Additional reading: Myspace IM

The acquisition was not without controversy, as imeem users were redirected to MySpace Music on the same day, December 8, 2009. This move was met with anger from imeem users, who felt that their playlists and music libraries were not properly transferred.

MySpace Music assured users that their playlists would be duplicated and migrated to MySpace Music, but the process was marred by technical issues and missing tracks. Users also reported issues with artist info, garbled tracks, and increased advertising.

Here's a timeline of the acquisition and closure of imeem:

The acquisition and closure of imeem marked the end of an era for music streaming services, and highlighted the challenges of navigating complex licensing agreements and user expectations.

In 2007, imeem took steps to limit the posting of imeem content on MySpace, removing any updates or comments with "imeem" mentioned in them upon posting.

MySpace stopped blocking imeem in 2008, but in March 2007, imeem announced a partnership with SNOCAP to enable legal uploading, streaming, and sharing of music on imeem.

You might enjoy: Myspace Html Code

This partnership utilized SNOCAP's content fingerprinting and digital registry technology to provide a way for consumers to upload and share music with their friends for free.

Imeem moved to an ad-supported model, where consumers could freely stream and share music and video content with costs supported by advertising.

Under this model, artists and labels were paid a share of the site's ad revenue in proportion to the popularity of their music on imeem.

Imeem phased out its messaging and file-sharing application due to it being a resource hog for power-users.

The site became entirely Web-based in June 2007, centralizing the innovative distributed database model.

Imeem negotiated with major labels to secure licenses for this new model, with Warner Music Group and imeem announcing a licensing agreement in July 2007.

Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Music followed suit with licensing agreements in September 2007.

Imeem signed a licensing agreement with Universal Music Group in December 2007, becoming the first online music service to partner with all four major music labels.

A different take: Sky Group

2009 was a pivotal year for imeem, marked by cash flow problems and a major overhaul of its services.

The company's troubles continued into 2009, as Warner Music wrote off its entire $15 million investment in anticipation that no return would come of it.

Imeem was able to renegotiate deals with its major label partners and found new investors to continue service, raising $6 million in a funding round with Morgenthaler Ventures and Warner Music Group among those investing.

In May 2009, imeem launched imeem Mobile for the iPhone and iPod Touch, which crossed a milestone of over 1 million installs on the Android and iPhone platforms by June 2009.

Imeem announced on June 25, 2009, that it was removing all user-uploaded video and photos from the site, giving users only a few days' notice to rescue their personal files.

In October 2009, imeem and Google announced the integration of links to music on imeem within Google search results.

MySpace acquired imeem in December 2009 for $1 million in cash, but the deal didn't close immediately due to leased assets. The final price was less than $1 million, and MySpace Music got the iMeem brand and users for next to nothing.

The acquisition was a strategic move to leverage imeem's industry-leading technology and integrate its products into the MySpace Music experience. MySpace Music plans to migrate imeem users' playlists to its platform, but users who depended on their favorites lists instead of normal playlists were unable to retrieve their music.

MySpace assured imeem users that their playlists are safe and that they are currently duplicating every user's playlist and will migrate them onto MySpace Music as soon as possible. However, songs that are currently not available via MySpace Music were not converted over, and there was no means provided to even recover the names of the missing tracks.

In 2007, imeem partnered with SNOCAP to enable legal uploading, streaming, and sharing of music on imeem, utilizing SNOCAP's content fingerprinting and digital registry technology. This partnership marked imeem's move to an ad-supported model, in which consumers could freely stream and share music and video content with the costs supported by advertising.

Suggestion: Xiaohongshu Users

Imeem had negotiated with the major labels to secure licenses for this new model, and in July 2007, Warner Music Group and imeem announced a licensing agreement for imeem's new Web-based service. This was followed by Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Music in September, and in December 2007, imeem signed a licensing agreement with Universal Music Group.

Here's a timeline of the major events leading up to MySpace's acquisition of imeem:

Imeem helped entice a segment of the live action vidding community into online streaming, raising awareness of the community's struggle against corporate interests and fair use.

The community's awareness was heightened in the summer of 2006, when Laura Shapiro pointed out the importance of understanding copyright law and technological tools used to combat fair use.

One month after the imeem migration, a "Meta Vidding" newsletter began offering updates on copyright law and technological tools, further highlighting the community's growing awareness.

By May 2007, fans needed a platform like An Archive of Our Own, which led to the founding of the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW).

Consider reading: How to Use Dropbox Paper

The imeem migration in 2007 marked a significant shift in the live action vidding community, enticing a segment of fans to online streaming.

In 2006, Laura Shapiro pointed out the importance of fair use and transformative works, which seemed to coincide with the imeem migration a month later.

Morgan Dawn and par avion responded by offering a "Meta Vidding" newsletter at veni-vidi-vids, focusing on copyright law and technological tools to combat fair use.

By May 2007, Astolat suggested the need for an archive of fan works, leading to the founding of the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW).

Many streaming websites used by fan vidders have come and gone, such as Bam Video Vault, which shut down in 2010, and Viddler, which ended free video hosting in 2014.

In 2010, Ning announced a change in its business model, affecting fan communities like Vidders Net, which was saved by VidderKidder after Bam Video Vault shut down.

Expand your knowledge: Online Video Platform

The VIP service offered by imeem in 2008 was a significant upgrade for users who wanted more features. It allowed subscribers to upload more music, with the "VIP Plus" plan enabling users to upload up to 20,000 songs.

The VIP plans started at $9.99 per year for the "VIP Lite" plan, which gave subscribers access to streaming songs through the VIP Player, and 480p video. This was a notable improvement over the basic user experience.

The "VIP" subscription option allowed uploading of up to 1,000 songs and viewing of 720p video, for $29.99 per year. This was a significant increase in video resolution.

The top-tier "VIP Plus" plan allowed users to upload up to 20,000 songs and view 1080p video, for $99.99 per year. This level of service was likely only accessible to serious music enthusiasts or professionals.

Take a look at this: Host Video on Google Drive

Imeem's back-end software was primarily written in C# and ran on a combination of Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems. The site heavily utilized Ajax programming and Flash animation to create a dynamic user experience.

Audio streams on imeem were delivered in the MP3 format at a quality of 128 kbps, while video streams were encoded in the Sorenson Videocodec at over 700 kbit/s. This was significantly better than other video sites at the time, like YouTube, which used 300 kbit/s video.

Imeem's original client software conducted network activity using an encrypted protocol, making it difficult to monitor user activity. This ensured that conversations and group chats remained private and secure.

Meems (Groups) was a key feature of imeem, allowing users to link to each other based on common interests. Users could create and join topic groups, which were originally called meems.

These groups, known as meems, could be created by both imeem itself and users. They served as online communities for various interests, such as artists, bands, clubs, films, schools, and sports enthusiasts.

Meems could be used to share media content, including music, videos, and playlists. This content could be placed in custom profile pages and topic groups, as well as in browseable content channels and charts.

A redesign of the site later replaced most of the "meem" references with the word "group". This change was made after imeem transitioned to a web-only service model.

Some official imeem-created groups had links added at creation time, but users were unable to add or remove links between groups.

For another approach, see: MSN Groups

The back-end software for imeem's services was primarily written in C#. This allowed the site to run efficiently and effectively.

Most of the front-end Web servers ran under Microsoft Windows, but some used the Linux operating system. This flexibility in operating systems helped imeem to reach a wider audience.

The Web site heavily used Ajax programming and Flash animation. These technologies enabled imeem to provide a rich and interactive user experience.

Audio streams were delivered as 128 kbps-quality MPEG-2 Audio Layer III (MP3) format. This format was widely supported and ensured that users could easily play audio files on their devices.

Video was encoded in the Sorenson Videocodec at >700 kbit/s, in the Flash Video (FLV) container format. This high-quality video encoding allowed imeem to stand out from other video sharing sites at the time.

The original imeem client software conducted most of its network activity using an encrypted protocol. This ensured that user activity was secure and private.

On startup, the application validated with a central server. This validation process helped to prevent unauthorized clients from connecting to the network.

Software updates were also delivered via the client and authenticated before they were installed. This ensured that users received safe and secure updates.

Consider reading: Global Network Navigator