Rocketboom creator Andrew Baron is distancing himself from Microsoft and a Zune cross-promotion, despite the potential for massively increased traffic.

According to Baron, the promotion came with restrictions that were causing him to lose sleep.

“Just by having the Zune logo on our page would mean we would not be able to make disparaging comments about Microsoft,” notes Baron, “and that’s just not a reasonable restriction for Rocketboom.”

The move is being viewed by some as an example of how not to handle a disagreement with a client, while others are praising Baron for sticking to his principals.

Here’s the text of Baron’s open letter to Microsoft:

Sunday November 11, 2006

Hey Paul, we are going to back out of the Zune.net promo that is supposed to launch [deleted date].

I have been losing sleep over it and decided this is just not going to be right for Rocketboom. While I expect this will be a big traffic loss for us, at heart, I really love Apple and will stick by them in this competition. I also remembered from last year that Microsoft was the first company to really make me feel as though I was being taken advantage of personally.

We are not in this to side with a player. In fact, I hope that people who do enjoy the Zune will enjoy watching Rocketboom on their Zune players. This can happen however without the need to cross promote each other.

Also, with regards to the logo agreement, just by having the Zune logo on our page would mean we would not be able to make disparaging comments about Microsoft and that’s just not a reasonable restriction for Rocketboom.

Best of luck,
Drew

Baron was concerned over a clause that he felt would place restrictions on Rocketboom’s coverage:

“You may not display the Logo(s) on any site that disparages Microsoft or its products or services, infringes any Microsoft intellectual property or other rights, or violates any state, federal or international law.”