Or could something even more sinister be going on…

Imeem users got an unpleasant surprise last week when they clicked on their favorite music site and found themselves redirected to MySpace. Seemingly overnight, the imeem API had been completely absorbed into MySpace Music. The social networking dinosaur bought the once-promising imeem platform for less than $1 million.

The Breaks

The first disappointment comes when you realize that MySpace has not transferred your imeem playlists over to their site. The redirect page contains a vague promise that they are “working to migrate your imeem playlist to MySpace Music. We’ll email you about that once we have more details.” Yeah. You do that, MySpace. You email me.

The next disappointment comes for developers working with the imeem API. Surprise! Your app has become obsolete without a word of warning from MySpace! Hope that wasn’t an important part of your ongoing business plan. Twt.fm developer Lee Martin had this to say about the move:

“It’s only fitting that the day after I speak on a panel regarding the creation & usage of APIs and their importance to music innovation, that MySpace shows up to pull one of the best API platforms out from developers’ feet without warning… This is an SOS from the Imeem developer community. We need a new streaming API partner or our services will die.”

No sooner had the acquisition occurred than listeners and music app developers were feeling the effects. And then, of course, nothing can happen involving MySpace and music without indie artists being the hardest hit of all.

Indies Lose Out on SNOCAP Revenue

As it turns out, MySpace only acquired some of imeem’s assets, and none of its obligations, which means that 110,000 indie artists who were selling their music using imeem’s digital rights management platform, SNOCAP, won’t be getting paid money owed to them for the sales of their music through imeem or any other SNOCAP storefront.

Champions of MySpace are quick to point out that this is hardly the buying website’s problem. In a corporate acquisition of this type, the purchasing company rarely takes on the struggling company’s debts, and imeem was struggling. As TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington points out, imeem was going down anyway. And criticism surrounding the purchase is “not exactly the warm hug MySpace probably thought they’d receive when they stepped in and saved as much of the Imeem service as they could.”

Fair enough points, from the same coolly calculating perspective that works to maintain the power of major labels. But let’s be serious. MySpace didn’t buy imeem out of some altruistic desire to save a great music service. They bought imeem to absorb site users into MySpace Music. Another one bites the dust.

MySpace to Support Indie Artists?

As we saw very recently, it’s been a long, hard fight to have indie labels and artists included in MySpace Music, a service that has thusfar been dominated by predictably mainstream offerings. The grudging inclusion of a portion of indie artists – all represented under umbrella agency Merlin – does little to overshadowed the fact that the service is owned and controlled in large part by major labels.

However, maybe I’m being too hard on my old buddy, Tom. Perhaps to soften the imeem blow, as of Thursday, MySpace will be allowing all artists, with or without labels, to add their mp3s to MySpace Music.

Indie musicians will be able to use the digital music distribution service Tunecore to release their songs on MySpace Music. Artists will be charged a flat fee to start, which will then give them access to ad revenue sharing as their music is streamed by listeners.

Or Is This Just Another Payout For Major Labels?

The pessimist in me can’t help but point out that, after having just been burned by SNOCAP, indies are now being asked to invest in another service that offers the same combination of increased access and limited protection that seems to be one of the biggest challenges facing digital music distribution platforms today. And who’s getting the double benefit of a huge new listening audience and an influx of investing indie artists? MySpace Music, of course.

It’s one thing for indie artists to release their songs for free online in order to build an audience and promote their music. It’s another thing altogether for big companies like MySpace Music, and its major labels, to benefit financially from streaming indie artists while offering those artists – who are, in large part, unprotected by labels or agencies – zero in return but the chance to contribute.

As much as I’d like to see MySpace’s invitation to indies as a good thing, I can’t help but mistrust the motives of a company who just bought all of imeem’s listeners while ignoring the responsibilities that come along with us. Is major label-influenced MySpace Music just creating a scenario where it builds revenue on the backs of artists who it doesn’t support? I want to hear what you think, Buzz readers!