Bloom.fm
{{EngvarB|date=January 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Bloom.fm
| title =
| logo = File:Bloomlogo.png
| logo caption =
| logo_size = 250px
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| author =
| developer = Digital Distribution Networks Ltd.
| released =
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| discontinued =
| latest release version =
{{plainlist|
- 1.2.3130 (iOS){{cite web | url=https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/bloom.fm/id547099465?mt=8 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509234832/https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/bloom.fm/id547099465?mt=8 | url-status=dead | archive-date=9 May 2013 | title=Bloom.fm | publisher=Apple Store | accessdate=16 September 2013}}
- 1.0.1640 (Android){{cite web | url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fm.bloom.android | title=Bloom.fm | publisher=Google Play | accessdate=16 September 2013}}
}}
| latest release date =
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| programming language =
| operating system = iOS 4.3 or later; Android 2.3 or later
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| size = 1.6 to 4.5 MB
| language = English
| genre = Music online service
| license = Freemium
| website = {{URL|www.bloom.fm}}
| standard =
| AsOf = 16 September 2013
}}
Bloom.fm was a London-based mobile-focused music service which combined free streaming genre and artist based radios, music discovery tools, a local library player and a catalogue of over 22 million tracks.{{cite web | url=http://musically.com/2013/01/16/interview-bloom-fm-talks-mobile-first-personal-radio/ | title=Interview: Bloom.fm talks mobile-first personal radio | publisher=Music Ally | date=16 January 2013 | accessdate=16 September 2013 | author=Stuart Dredge}}{{cite magazine | url=http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/bloom-fm-brokers-merlin-deal-and-reaches-250k-registered-user-milestone/055633 | title=Bloom.fm strikes Merlin deal and reaches 250k registered user milestone | magazine=Music Week | date=6 August 2013 | accessdate=16 September 2013 | author=Tina Hart}} The service allowed users to 'borrow' songs, making them available for offline playback. The maximum number of stored tracks was determined by the subscription level.{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-app-reviews/9854077/Bloom.fm-app-review.html | title=Bloom.fm app review | newspaper=The Daily Telegraph | date=7 February 2013 | accessdate=16 September 2013 | author=Shane Richmond}}
Bloom was only available in the United Kingdom on iOS and Android. A Web version was supposedly in development and originally set for release at some point in 2013,{{cite web | url=http://www.emubands.com/blog/store-update-bloom-fm/ | title=New Contract - Bloom.fm | publisher=EmuBands | date=7 December 2012 | accessdate=16 September 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413130600/http://www.emubands.com/blog/store-update-bloom-fm/ | archive-date=13 April 2014 | url-status=dead }} but it was never made available to the general public. On 30 April 2014, the owners of Bloom.fm, Digital Distribution Networks, announced that they were to shut down, due to lack of funding.{{cite web | url=http://bloomfm.tumblr.com/post/84335326983/well-keep-this-short-because-were-pretty | title=-We'll keep this short because we're pretty... | publisher=Bloom.fm | date=30 April 2014 | accessdate=30 April 2014 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503051331/http://bloomfm.tumblr.com/post/84335326983/well-keep-this-short-because-were-pretty | archivedate=3 May 2014 }}
History
After the closure of mflow in 2012, the company rebranded and pivoted towards mobile and on-demand streaming. According to Bloom.fm co-founder and CTO/CPO, Thong Nguyen, the rebrand reflected a clean fresh start for the company and its new focus on mobile.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
Bloom.fm was officially launched in January 2013 on iOS, previously being available to several thousand beta testers.{{cite magazine | url=http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/1-per-month-streaming-service-bloom-fm-launches/053123 | title=£1 per month streaming service Bloom.fm launches | magazine=Music Week | date=10 January 2013 | accessdate=16 September 2013 | author=Tim Ingham}}
The iOS App was followed by an Android version in September 2013.{{cite web | url=https://thenextweb.com/apps/2013/09/03/bloom-fm-brings-its-stunning-on-demand-music-streaming-app-to-android-in-the-uk/ | title=Bloom.fm brings its stunning on-demand music streaming app to Android in the UK | publisher=The Next Web | date=3 September 2013 | accessdate=16 September 2013 | author=Nick Summers}}
The service reached 250,000 registered users in August 2013, growing to 1 million users by March 2014.{{cite web | url=https://thenextweb.com/news/music-streaming-app-bloom-fm-hits-1m-registered-users-uk-will-launch-web-player-next-month | title=Bloom.fm Hits 1 Million Users in the UK, Unveils Web Player in Beta | publisher=The Next Web | date=27 March 2014 | accessdate=27 March 2014 | author=Nick Summers}}
Features
=Catalogue=
As of September 2013, approximately 22 million tracks were available on the service, including content from EMI, Sony, Universal, and Merlin (representing over 120,000 independent labels) and various independent labels through aggregators such as TuneCore, IODA, The Orchard, PIAS, AWAL, Ditto, and CD Baby.{{cite magazine | url=http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/bloom-fm-agrees-deal-with-tunecore/054748 | title=Bloom.fm agrees deal with TuneCore | magazine=Music Week | date=17 May 2013 | accessdate=16 September 2013 | author=Thomas Rowbottom}}
Warner Music was the only major label not to have licensed its content to the service.
=Radio=
The free tier of the service offered over 150 genre-based radios. Additionally, users were able to start a new radio based on most artists on the service.{{cite web | url=https://thenextweb.com/apps/2013/01/18/bloom-fm-app-review/ | title=Bloom.fm combines Internet radio, streaming and a local music player into one stunning iPhone app | publisher=The Next Web | date=18 January 2013 | accessdate=16 September 2013 | author=Nick Summers}}
=Borrowing=
=Discovery=
The artist discovery interface allowed the user to recursively explore related artists by tapping the icon in the bottom left of the player.
=Playlists=
Playlists of two types were available to all paying consumers. Normal playlists were created by manually adding borrowed tracks to them and smart playlists were created automatically by borrowing tracks from the predefined radio channels.{{cite web | url=http://www.stuff.tv/bloomfm/review | title=Bloom.fm review | date=21 January 2013 | publisher=Stuff | accessdate=16 September 2013}}
=Local content=
The application supported integration and playback of local music libraries. This feature was available for free on all tiers. The company expressed a desire for the app to become the default music player for all users.{{cite magazine | url=http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/bloom-fm-app-launches-on-android/055937 | title=Bloom.fm app launches on Android | magazine=Music Week | date=4 September 2013 | accessdate=16 September 2013 | author=Tina Hart}}
=Pricing=
The service offered a free tier (Bloom Zero) that gave the user access to streaming genre radio channels as well as artist-based radios.
The service was noted for a low entry price point with tiers determining the number of tracks a user could store on their devices or play on demand.
The entry-level £1 tier (Bloom 20) allowed the user to borrow and store 20 tracks, the £5 tier (Bloom 200) had an allowance of 200 tracks and the £10 tier (Full Bloom) allowed unlimited streaming and borrowing.
On the entry level tiers only tracks that were borrowed could be played offline or on-demand but users were permitted to swap borrowed tracks as often as they liked. The company hoped these pricing tiers would convert customers who were previously unwilling to pay for music.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
Notably, the subscription prices were different on the website of the service and Apple's iOS App Store. The company explained the higher prices in the App Store by stating that Apple took a 30% cut of in-app purchases.
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; line-height:16px; width:100%;" |
| style="width:09%;" |
! style="width:13%;" | Radio ! style="width:13%;" | Discovery ! style="width:13%;" | Free of ads ! style="width:13%;" | Playlist ! style="width:13%;" | Streaming ! style="width:13%;" | Borrowing ! style="width:13%;" | Monthly cost |
|---|
| Bloom Zero
| style="background:#90EE90;" | Yes | style="background:#90EE90;" | Yes | style="background:#F88379;" | No | style="background:#F88379;" | No | style="background:#F88379;" | No | style="background:#F88379;" | No | Free |
| Bloom 20
| style="background:#90EE90;" | Yes | style="background:#90EE90;" | Yes | style="background:#90EE90;" | Yes | style="background:#90EE90;" | Yes | style="background:#F88379;" | No | 20 tracks | £1/£1.49 |
| Bloom 200
| style="background:#90EE90;" | Yes | style="background:#90EE90;" | Yes | style="background:#90EE90;" | Yes | style="background:#90EE90;" | Yes | style="background:#F88379;" | No | 200 tracks | £5/£6.99 |
| Full Bloom
| style="background:#90EE90;" | Yes | style="background:#90EE90;" | Yes | style="background:#90EE90;" | Yes | style="background:#90EE90;" | Yes | style="background:#90EE90;" | Yes | Unlimited tracks | £10/£13.99 |
=Other versions and platforms=
According to CEO Oleg Fomenko, several other versions were in active development, including dedicated iPad and web apps.
=Third-party service integration and sharing=
Bloom.fm allowed the user to use their Facebook account to log into the app. Tracks could be shared to Twitter and Facebook with an option to share via email. Directly sharing from device to device was also possible using the phone camera and on-screen QR code.
The service also supported scrobbling to Last.fm on the iPhone app.
Partnerships
The company partnered with music events in the UK, including The Liverpool Sound City, Tramlines Festival, and Toddla T Sound.{{cite web | url=http://www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk/9/section.aspx/8/liverpool_sound_city_teams_up_with_bloomfm | title=Liverpool Sound City teams up with Bloom.fm | publisher=Liverpool Sound City | date=4 April 2013 | accessdate=16 September 2013}}{{cite web | url=http://www.ihouseu.org.uk/festival/tramlines-bloomfm-join-forces.html | title=Tramlines + Bloom.fm Join Forces | publisher=iHouse Limited | date=17 July 2013 | accessdate=16 September 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055951/http://www.ihouseu.org.uk/festival/tramlines-bloomfm-join-forces.html | archive-date=21 September 2013 | url-status=dead }}{{cite web | url=http://www.rootstocktrading.co.uk/marketing/connecting-people-2/ | title=Connecting people | publisher=Rootstock Trading | date=15 August 2013 | accessdate=16 September 2013 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055751/http://www.rootstocktrading.co.uk/marketing/connecting-people-2/ | archivedate=21 September 2013 }}
Administration
On 30 April 2014, Bloom.fm announced on their blog that their main investor, TNT Media Investments, had pulled out.{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/01/bloom-fm-streaming-music-shuts-down | title=Streaming music startup Bloom.fm shuts down after investor pulls out | newspaper=The Guardian | date=1 May 2014 | accessdate=1 May 2014}} On 2 May, administrators Moorfields Corporate Recovery published a Press Release urging for the sale of Bloom.fm {{cite web | url=http://www.moorfieldscr.com/news/buyers-sought-music-streaming-app-over-million-users/ | title=Buyers sought for music streaming app with over a million users | publisher=Moorfields CR | date=2 May 2014 | accessdate=2 May 2014}}{{cite web | url=http://bloomfm.tumblr.com/post/84920744228/press-release-bloom-fm-is-up-for-sale | title=Press release: Bloom.fm is up for sale | publisher=Bloom.fm | date=6 May 2014 | accessdate=6 May 2014 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522222347/http://bloomfm.tumblr.com/post/84920744228/press-release-bloom-fm-is-up-for-sale | archivedate=22 May 2014 }} by 9 May, however no sale was finalised. Operations were ceased in the following days, which were managed by Moorfields. After the administration, Bloom.fm offered users access to Tesco's Blinkbox.{{cite web | url=http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=9786ccc0f20aed3685d85c6bf&id=67413f461d | title=Bloom closes down - Blinkbox takes over! | publisher=Bloom.fm | date=22 May 2014 | accessdate=22 May 2014}} Bloom.fm co-founder and CEO, Oleg Fomenko, went on to co-found health & fitness startup Sweatcoin{{Cite news|title = New Apple app launches in Britain that pays people to get fit | date=6 May 2016 |url =https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-currency-fitness/new-apple-app-launches-in-britain-that-pays-people-to-get-fit-idUKKCN0XX0MJ?edition-redirect=uk
|work = Reuters}}
References
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External links
- {{official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20130207023315/http://www.bloom.fm:80/?}}