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'Monstrous' Apple kicked us off iAd, claimed we are its RIVAL – Brit music upstart
Streaming firm can no longer advertise with Apple
Apple has been accused of hobbling an up-and-coming British firm by booting it off the iAd advertising platform.
Bloom FM, a Spotify-style music streaming service, claimed Apple issued the iAd ban because it now regards the London-based company as a rival.
The Register understands that 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."
Bloom spent just under £2,000 a month on promoting itself on the iAd network, which posts banner ads within apps.
It is just 14 months old yet already boasts a one-million-strong subscriber base in the UK. The Chiswick-based company allows users to pay £1, £5 or £10 to download and store songs on their smartphones.
Bloom also took to Twitter to tell the world about its squabble with Apple:
Apple just banned our ads because we're "a competitive service to iTunes Radio and it is against Apple policy" We must be big time now ;)
— Bloom.fm (@bloomfm) April 9, 2014
@JamesTypes nope - we're not allowed on their iAd banner platform anymore.
— Bloom.fm (@bloomfm) April 9, 2014
Apple first banned competing firms from iAd in 2010. However, this ban specifically stopped firms from gathering statistical information.
We contacted Apple for comment, but have not received an answer. Having contacted the Competition and Markets Authority, The Register understands that no action will be taken until Bloom makes a complaint, which it has not done to date. ®