Bloom.fm, a UK-based streaming music service, is claiming Apple has banned it from advertising through iAd advertising platform because the company is a competing service to iTunes Radio. Apple’s advertising platform recently started selling ads for Apple’s free, ad-supported iTunes Radio service, but the Bloom.fm had been spending £2,000/month on iAds placed as banner ads in apps. The company had some words about being banned from Apple’s advertising platform on its Twitter account and also provided a statement to TheRegister and others:
Apple’s new iTunes Radio streaming service is free to users but relies on audio and display advertisements that it sells through the iAd platform for users that don’t pay for the $25 a year iTunes Match service. Apple recently rolled out the service to Australia after launching first in the US, and the company previously announced the service will launch in “more than 100 countries.”
Apple wrote to Bloom today and claimed it was a direct competitor to iRadio, which is surprising because this Apple-operated service does not yet exist in the UK…John Clark, Bloom’s spokesman, told us the small company was surprised to have found itself in Apple’s crosshairs.
“We’re a small company from west London made up of just 27 people. It’s amusing and flattering to have been noticed by a monstrous company like Apple. They told us we are a competitive service to iTunes radio, despite the fact we are UK-only and iRadio has not launched here.”
Earlier this week reports claimed that Apple was considering a “dramatic overhaul” for iTunes and new on-demand streaming options due to lack of traction with iTunes Radio.
[tweet https://twitter.com/bloomfm/status/453860886391050240]
