July 3 - 12:20pm EDT   imeem is gradually building its own music store that may afford it independence from Apple's iTunes or Amazon MP3, an investigation has found. Normally, those buying permanent copies of music from the site must go through an Amazon or iTunes link and buy it off-site; quietly, however, the company has been adding direct-download MP3 purchases of its own for certain artists, such as Iron and Wine. The payment system is direct and uses either credit cards or PayPal. [full story]

October 23 - 10:35am EDT   A previously hinted-at Facebook music service could be true after all, a claim made by VentureBeat suggests. Previously discredited, a now supported rumor asserts that the social network is allegedly planning to team up with a partner such as iLike, imeem, Lala or RealNetworks' Rhapsody to offer a way of at least streaming full songs over artist pages or those friends who bring up songs in the regular Facebook news feed. The service would potentially let users buy downloads, though whether this would involve the partner or simply linking to a third party such as Amazon or iTunes is unknown. [full story]

December 10 - 9:20am EST   Social network imeem on Monday revealed that it has struck a deal with Universal Music Group that will see the music label's catalog reach the site. The agreement will let users stream both songs and music videos from imeem's pages for free by running ads alongside the content while also permitting users to upload tracks of their own. This marks the availability of all four major labels on the site and promises that users can join a social network based around music while knowing that the majority of content is legal. The solution ensures that artists are "fairly compensated" by tracking the number of plays, according to Universal chief Doug Morris. [full story]