Warner streams entire catalog of music for free on imeem
Warner Music Group is offering its entire music and video catalog for free streaming on imeem, a Web site focused on letting users share music playlists. — The music is currently live on the San Francisco startup's Web site, the company told VentureBeat Wednesday evening.
Context & Ripple Effects
In May 2007 Warner Music was in court against imeem, suing the playlist-sharing startup over copyright infringement of artists including Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day (Warner's copyright suit against imeem). Two months later the posture has flipped entirely: instead of demanding takedowns, Warner has put its entire music and video catalog live on the site for free streaming.
The reversal matters because it tests whether labels can convert adversarial relationships with user-generated music services into licensed, revenue-bearing ones — with imeem's playlist-sharing format as the first proving ground.
First-order effects
- imeem goes from litigation target to licensed distributor overnight, gaining legal access to one of the four major catalogs and removing the copyright overhang that threatened the service.
- Warner trades enforcement costs for a new revenue channel, betting that free streaming wrapped around advertising can monetize plays that were previously unlicensed.
Second-order effects
- The other major labels now face pressure to follow suit rather than sue, since a rival's catalog live on a popular sharing site raises the cost of staying on the sidelines.
- Playlist-sharing startups gain leverage in future negotiations: Warner's deal establishes that infringement suits can end in licensing terms, not just settlements or shutdowns.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the labels' default stance toward consumer web music services shifts from enforcement-first to license-first, with ad-supported streaming becoming a recognized distribution tier alongside downloads.
- Control of where listeners actually play music — the playlist and social layer rather than the file itself — becomes the bargaining chip that determines which startups survive label negotiations.
The trend: Major labels are pivoting from suing music-sharing startups to licensing them, converting unlicensed streaming into ad-supported inventory.