Imeem is a service that will allow you to stream music on demand. (Screenshot by HowStuffWorks.com)

There’s been a lot of business talk going on this past week. HP acquired 3Com. Intel paid a massive settlement to AMD. Google bought VoIP company Gizmo5. And it’s apparently not over. MySpace is in the process of acquiring Imeem. Peter Kafka at AllThingsD wrote that he’s confirmed the story, which was originally reported by Michael Arrington at TechCrunch.

Imeem, for the uninitiated, is unlike Internet radio services, because not only can you upload and share music, but you can also listen to specific songs in the site’s database on demand. You can also save specific playlists if you prefer. I’ve got an Imeem account, and I like it and Grooveshark (a similar service) a lot.

Though MySpace also acquired another music site, iLike, not too long ago, MySpace’s motives in picking up Imeem may not have as much to do with the site in its current incarnation as it is about the people behind the site. Both Kafka and Arrington said the team and intellectual property — including Snocap, a company Imeem acquired in 2008. Snocap, a wholesale music retailer, had technology that enabled Imeem to see just how many times a particular song was played, according to Arrington. This helps Imeem pay the music labels their due.

That’s important, because as Kafka points out in his article, Imeem is just one of many streaming services that has had problems with music licensing fees. Perhaps the combined service will be able to continue offering free streaming, at least for a little while longer.

For more on some related topics, take a look at these articles:

How Streaming Video and Audio Work
How Internet Radio Works
How MySpace Works