Spotify Founder Daniel Ek Is Totally OK With Being No. 3 In Music Streaming

Spotify founder Daniel Ek is not worried about the company losing its No. 1 spot in the music streaming business, claiming that the industry is big enough to support multiple big players.

Speaking to Swedish magazine Dagens Industri, and translated by Reuters, Ek said: “To me, it is enough to be among the top three.”

The interview is his first since Apple announced its Apple Music service on Monday, a direct competitor to Spotify that offers Siri voice search integration and a new 24-hour global radio station.

“But right now we have an advantage of being the number one in music,” said Ek. A new round of funding reported yesterday values Spotify at more than double the market cap of competitor Pandora Music. TeliaSonera AB, purchasing a 1.4 percent stake, valued Spotify at $8.2 billion.

The company yesterday posted a blog entry announcing a successful 12 months in which Spotify’s paid subscriber base doubled. Spotify now has 20 million subscribers.

While Apple Music has yet to launch, the company will have a built-in advantage due to iOS integration and a higher percentage of users on the latest software than Android. Apple Music will come baked into iOS 8.4, due for release June 30, and users upgrading will be invited to start a three-month free trial in the music app.