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I had a chance to chat in brief Wednesday with iLike Chief Executive Ali Partovi with regard to reports that he’s shopping the Seattle-based social-music menial duties to potential buyers, including RealNetworks and Ticketmaster.

Partovi wouldn’t confirm any sale talks, but he didn’t abnegate that something more than turkey’s cooking.

He did dispute one constituent in the initial report, attached the MediaMemo blog Monday, that suggested iLike executives and investors are concerned about the company’s ability to stay afloat and independent.

The 2-year-old company isn’face to face profitable to this time, and competitors such as MySpace Music (which shares the identical parent company as MediaMemo) are coming on strong, but Partovi’sitting not likewise concerned.

“I don’t have any worries about our faculty to continue operating viewed like a stand-alone entity, in set off by opposition to something that was mentioned in the original rumor,” he said.

Partovi related iLike isn’t in the same boat as ad-supported music-streaming services, which are added wasteful to operate. Although iLike gives users free music, there are limitations and the offer is aimed at converting users to subscribers of RealNetworks’ Rhapsody service or buyers at iTunes and Amazon.com.

“Our oblation is more conservative … it’session a more sustainable model,” he explained

Most every startup is apparently for sale nowadays, one determined course or the other. I astonishment if iLike’s getting pressure from its investors to cash in and shore up their portfolios.

TicketMaster’session the biggest investor, with a 25 percent stake that valued iLike at $53 million in late 2006. It’s also purportedly a potential buyer of the whole company.

That makes sense because the company is trying to construct a new business providing management and other services to musicians, and iLike’s big emphasis not long ago is building a platform that musicians can use to connect through fans online.

But could Ticketmaster afford the deal, after spending $123 million in cash in addition stock in October to buy artist-management group Front Line?

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