Radio programming consultant Mark Ramsey says the dustup about whether Apple is “banning” single-station radio apps from its online store appears to be a non-starter.
Ramsey quotes an app developer who blogged about the issue on Yourtechlife.com, disputing the account. The developer wrote that, rather than an outright ban, “app developers submitting identical apps with just a logo/stream change under their own developer accounts are not looked well upon.”
If so, Ramsey states on his blog, “good on them for ‘encouraging’ the development of rich apps with a user experience that is more than ‘just a stream.’”
Rock programming consultant Fred Jacobs of Jacobs Media, head of app supplier JacApps, confirmed to Radio World that since Nov. 10, JacApps has had new single-station apps and updated apps approved by Apple, “including one yesterday for a Christian station in Chattanooga, J103.”
A perusal of free apps in the iTunes App Store turn up several recently-approved single-station radio apps, such as “La Campera on 1320 AM,” “LOBO 990” and “100.7fm the River.”
Jim Barcus, president of Digital Jukebox and DJBapps.com, sent a letter to radio trade publications saying that on Nov. 10, Apple had rejected several single-station radio apps submitted by his company because the tech developer does not believe such an app is an enriching end-user experience. Apple, according to Barcus, was banning all single-station apps.
