Oxford University Bans Spotify, Apparently Prefers Students To Get Music Secretly, Rather Than Legally

from the that-doesn't-seem-helpful dept

For years, the recording industry has pushed universities to block file sharing apps and promote legal alternatives. In the US, the industry even pushed legislation that would require universities to support legal music services. Apparently, the folks over in Oxford are going in the other direction. IT folks at the prestigious university have banned Spotify, one of the most well-known legal music services out there, claiming that any P2P technology is not allowed, and then also claiming that it's a bandwidth hog. Finally, when confronted about it, the University noted that the service "cannot be justified as educational." There are lots of things online that cannot necessarily be justified as educational, but are totally allowed.

Given the multiple explanations, you get the feeling this may have been an overreaction on the part of the University by someone unfamiliar with Spotify. I would doubt that the application is really that much of a bandwidth hog -- and even if it is, you would think that there are better ways to deal with it than an outright ban. Either way, it's not like it will actually stop students from using it or some other means of accessing music they want to hear -- it's just that they'll do so in more secretive ways.

Still, a bigger question is why such an esteemed university seems to think that all P2P applications are somehow bad. You would think that an educational institution would recognize that P2P is just a way of using the internet -- often in a more efficient manner -- and it's been used in all sorts of beneficial and educational settings for years.

Filed Under: bandwidth, oxford university, p2p
Companies: oxford university, spotify