Spotify too popular for Oxford University
Spotify is already immensely popular in the European countries it’s available in, none more so than the U.K., where it has been available for over a year. Unfortunately, the free, advertising-backed, totally legal service is proving too popular for some, with the venerable Oxford University having banned its use by students.
Spotify is, in case you haven’t heard of it by now, a P2P-based music streaming service that has a huge library of content available for all users to listen to. However, the sheer popularity of the service is reportedly causing a headache for Oxford University, which, according to Cherwell, has recently added it to its list of banned sites.
A spokesman for the university explained the reason for the ban, telling The Telegraph:
The university provides free Internet access for students because it’s an educational resource. If they want to use it recreationally as well that’s no problem unless it uses so much bandwidth that it slows the network down. I’m sure the students would like it if they could have Spotify back but they are getting a free service so they must accept some restrictions.
I can certainly understand where the Oxford University Computing Services (OCUS) is coming from. However, banning Spotify seems a little harsh, and is likely to force students to use less legal means of obtaining music to listen to while they study. A definite own goal, in my view.
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