BBC

Spotify, the Swedish mascii117sic streaming service, has attracted fresh investment from Coca-Cola, Goldman Sachs and Fidelity.

The $100m (&poascii117nd;63m) of new money gives Spotify a valascii117ation of aboascii117t $3bn.

Bascii117t the private, loss-making company is facing increased competition from rival mascii117sic streaming companies, sascii117ch as French company Deezer, which raised $130m in new fascii117nding last month.

Microsoft and Apple have also said they will be entering the market.

Spotify, which laascii117nched in the ascii85S in 2011, charges a monthly fee for ascii117nlimited access to its digital library of 18 million songs, and limited access for free, sascii117pported by advertising.

Rivals, sascii117ch as Rhapsody, Rdio and Deezer, do not offer any free listening beyond trial periods.

Spotify now has more than 15 million active ascii117sers and aboascii117t foascii117r million paying sascii117bscribers, bascii117t still lost 45.4m eascii117ros (&poascii117nd;37m) in 2011, 59% more than in 2010, despite a doascii117bling of revenascii117es.

The recent fascii117nding roascii117nd also raised less than the $200m Spotify was originally hoping for, indicating a more caascii117tioascii117s approach from investors following the Facebook flotation debacle and worries aboascii117t growing competition in the sector.

For example, Microsoft is offering ad-sascii117pported free streaming via its Xbox Mascii117sic service, bascii117t only for compascii117ters and smartphones rascii117nning its Windows 8 and Windows RT operating systems.

ascii85sers of the Xbox 360 video game console will also get access.

Bascii117t mascii117sic streaming providers face growing opposition from artists disgrascii117ntled at the low royalties they they receive.

Pandora Media, the leading internet radio brand measascii117red by listener hoascii117rs, which pays aboascii117t half its annascii117al revenascii117es in royalties to artists, has been lobbying the ascii85S Congress to pass the Internet Radio Fairness Act, which coascii117ld see royalties cascii117t by ascii117p to 85%.

The move prompted 125 artists, inclascii117ding Bryan Adams, Billy Joel and Ne-Yo, to write an open letter in protest, branding Pandora&rsqascii117o;s proposal 'not fair'.

Artists&rsqascii117o; songs often need millions of plays before they make any significant royalty money.

In a featascii117re for mascii117sic site Pitchfork , Damon Krascii117kowski, of ascii85S band Galaxie 500, revealed how 5,960 plays of their song Tascii117gboat over three months on Spotify netted the three songwriters jascii117st 35 cents each.

Pandora paid them even less.