Spotify Founder Daniel Ek Talks Russia, Apple and Beats in Q&A

Ek skirted a question about naming a company that he sees as direct competition, but was candid when pressed about Apple, which recently bought Beats Electronics and Beats Music for $3 billion and hired record label king Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre to steer the ship. Ek said he wasn't sure how serious Apple is about streaming music.

"Apple is becoming more of a lifestyle company," he said. "If you look at the executives they've hired, so many of them come out of fashion. I can't think of a consumer electronics company that's more associated with fashion than Beats."

The company isn't nearing an IPO, he said, but is aiming to collaborate more with record labels - majors and indies - in breaking and promoting new artists. The platform has become a major promotion tool in recent months, and Ek said Spotify's viral playlists can give emerging stars a major boost. He credited much of Lorde's U.S. rise to being included on Sean Parker's Hipster International playlist -- an interesting point, and a far reach.

Audience members questioned Ek about how users' behavioral patterns have shifted since the service was launched in Sweden in 2008. He pointed to vastly increased experimentation thanks to the site's base-fee model, as opposed to iTunes which requires users to pay by song. When users have already paid, he explained, the cost of experimentation is virtually free. But when users are forced to throw down cash for every single track, they tend to stick to safe bets and big brands.

"We've gone from an ownership model to an access model," he said, "which has profound shifts in the industry. It means people listen to more music than they've ever done before, and more artists than ever before."