Imeem Moves To Deadpool – Loses Battle For Music Rights

How can I possibly say this?  I mean, they’re still operating fine right?  And there’s been no news of trouble, in fact they’re still getting funding right?

Well, to me, they are dead.

When a new revolutionary music service comes along, I know that it’s always a matter of time before the customer experience is ruined so bad that the company cannot sustain.  Imeem has reached that point today and I can say that their time is very limited.

Why Imeem Is On A Path To Failure

First interface change

With free music services, the initial innovation by the creators is typically magical.  They create a service and interface that is proven to be well liked in testing and then they get investment money to continue.  Typically, the labels let them launch as is, but, then the company realizes that the pressure is on to make money because the labels get paid from the play of free music.  The labels are cool with it, as long as the website pays the music licensing fees.  Therefore, if your company is successful, you amass a shit ton of fees in licensing.  Most of the time, rapid growth for a company is equal to success.  In streaming music, rapid growth usually means rapid bills to pay.  When the website realizes that they’re going to get squeezed on margins, they resort to their original plan of promotional package sales and PPC or CPM.  Typically, music advertising pays little for publishers because there is so much ad inventory available from places like lyrics websites.  Therefore, you must optimize your ad inventory to be more valueable through targeted advertising.

Welcome the Advertising Engine

When Imeem made their first interface change, many customers greatly disliked it.  The new player was heavily complained about and the prescence of more advertising was brutal.  I remember multiple times going to the Lil Wayne page and seeing a ghastly advertisement from the non-profit company for fixing facial disfigurement.  Now, I don’t know about Imeem’s team here (most likely they are small since the budget is tight), BUT HOW IN THE HELL DO YOU SELL ADS when your hottest artist has a photo of facial disfigurement on it.  Now I’m all for non-profts filling the ad space when you can’t sell the inventory, but an ad like this on Lil Wayne’s page is extremely damaging to the artist.  It’s almost like having a McDonalds website featuring the juicy Big Mac next to a pile of dogshit!   But I digress…

The advertising had to be more heavily implemented with the second interface so that Imeem could have a chance.  Eventually, Imeem found a decent balance with their interface and their advertising.

I strongly dislike it when I’m listening to music and then an audio ad plays…but you know what I’m okay with it as long as your service is great.

Imeem emerges victorious from the ad interface changes!  Is the ad system good enough to optimize and make money?  I don’t know.

Enter the Greedy Labels

So after that interface change, I’m thinking…wow they still have a chance.  But today, I realized that they are heading striaight for the deadpool.

About six months ago, I made a couple playlists.  In one, I recreated the Pretty In Pink movie soundtrack.  I didn’t have all the songs, but 90% of them.  That’s very impressive to find that much 80’s music.  Good job Imeem (although you had it because users uploaded it – didn’t you see the other companies already fail for having users upload music?).  I also made a playlist called Chill Beats.  I make one of these playlists on every new music website to try it out.  On it, there were 22 songs spanning from the 80’s through current.

Now that I have returned, only six songs remain on the Pretty In Pink playlist.  And on the Chill Beats playlist, many songs remain, but they are only 30 second samples.

Now, I don’t know about other music fans, but I do know that you can’t be competitve if you change their experience.  As a fan, the biggest features are finding and playing music and of course creating a custom playlist for yourself.  If you create a playlist and then the playlist just disappears, then basically all the time you invested in that service is lost.

I cannot invest my time in a music service that steals away my time due to music licensing issues that they have not figured out.

My experience says that Imeem is doing everything in their power to stay alive, but the labels again view it as a temporary promotational platform with no longevity and no real interest in its success.

I could be wrong so prove it

F the labels

Song Swapper Defense Attorney a Joke

Okay, these music lawsuits have to stop, but seriously this is your defense?

Worst Defense Ever

Let’s analyze the “nooks and crooks” like we always do.  Why would an attorney use this defense when the defendant is a 25 year old graduate student.  How can you say he’s doing what kids do?

If you guys want the lawsuits to stop, you can’t use this defense.  Amazing – clearly this attorney’s only motivation was PR with this little spin.  My first thought was that he didn’t understand digital conepts, but clearly I was wrong because he nailed the opportunity.  Everybody wants to exploit everybody.  Sweet.

Deezer New Interface – Had A Chance At Success

Okay, I’ve been watching Deezer since the beginning.  The french version of a last.fm for those who don’t know.  Because they’ve been in France, the labels were not able to remove the music from their free streaming catalog for American listeners very quickly.  Basically, as an American I could finally listen to the music I wanted to online in a very nice efficient online model.  The best part was that they gave you the features you wanted period.

After I was hooked, the music was taken down (obviously because Deezer has not secured the licensing arrangement for American IP addresses to play back the music).  So once again, as a music listener, I found a model that I liked and became extremely loyal too (just like Imeem and Last.fm before they were ruined).

Yesterday, I was excited again.

Deezer Relaunched With a New Interface!

For a whopping one day, I had all the music that I wanted again in an amazing interface.  Music heaven really and I am willing to pay for it too!  I let me friends know that Deezer was back and better than ever (and free).  By the time they got to the site, the major label music was taken down again.

Will Deezer make it?  Surely not.

Labels Will Not Sign Deals Where the Service Provider Can Profit

Therefore, the deals never get done.  So we can honestly say that Deezer probably has zero chance for sustainable success or profitibility.  If you can’t get the music, you can’t offer any service.  Without service, no advertising.  Without advertising, no money for licensing.  Once again the labels will do a deal with them that they can’t sustain and they will take it so that they at least have a tiny chance to make it.

Lame.

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