Ek, a Swedish programmer who had started and sold three internet companies, founded Spotify with Martin Lorentzon in 2006.

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Spotify was launched in Sweden in 2008 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, out of a desire to develop a better, more convenient and legal alternative to music piracy.

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Founded by Swedish entrepreneurs Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon in 2006, it has about 10 million users in Europe (most of whom use the free service), and till recently has struggled to break into the United States because of reluctance by labels.

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