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Warner Music has $15M investment in Imeem

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imeem.jpgStreaming music site operator Imeem Inc. consistently declines to disclose its outside investors, but a 10Q form filed by Warner Music Group Corp. [WMG] this week confirms that the record label invested $15 million in the startup. The filing discusses investments made during the nine-month period that ended June 30, 2008, and also confirms the label's rumored $20 million investment in Lala.com Inc.

Warner originally filed a lawsuit against Imeem, then settled. Their strategic partnership was revealed more than a year ago, while Warner's investment in Imeem came to light later. An Imeem spokesman assured me a few months ago that Warner was not given equity in exchange for a license as part of the settlement, but rather invested cash.

Sequoia Capital and Morgenthaler Ventures are also known to have stakes in Imeem. The startup has made a pair of acquisitions this year, including Snocap Inc. for a reported $5 million in April and Anywhere.fm Inc. for an undisclosed amount in January.

Warner pulled its songs from rival on-demand streaming service Last.fm Ltd. in June and was said to be seeking to renegotiate their licensing agreement. Warner was the first major label to strike a deal with Last.fm, but now figures to be seeking cash rather than equity, since Last.fm was bought by CBS Inc. for $280 million last year. -- Paul Bonanos

See April 15 post on Imeem's funding from Tech Confidential

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