Fresh capital to help fund Spotify's US expansion

Sweden’s Spotify hopes to use a major new investment to help the company expand its online music service in the United States, according to new reports.

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Spotify, a relatively recent addition to the market for legal digital music services, is set to receive an injection of $50 million, the Financial Times reports.

According to the newspaper, a charitable foundation tied to Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka Shing as well as Wellington Partners, a UK-based venture capital firm, are close to sealing a deal would help bankroll Spotify’s entry into the US market.

The new investment would bring the total value of Spotify, which offers a service allowing users to listen to music online without downloading songs to their own computers, at $250 million.

The service, launched in the autumn of 2008, already has 4 million users across Europe.

By not having users save digital music tracks on their computers, Spotify’s streaming service avoids many of the thorny copyright issues associated with downloading digital music files.

Spotify is also in negotiations with other investors which analysts believe likely include a music industry player, according to the Financial Times.

The company’s plans to soon launch a version of the service for use on Apple’s iPhone also has investors hopeful regarding Spotify’s chances for increased profitability, as the new service would allow it to attract more paying users.