Spotify has raised $526 million in a fundraising round that values it at $8.53 billion, according to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, including operator TeliaSonera’s investment of $115 million for a 1.4 per cent stake in the music streaming service.

The news comes hot on the heels of Apple’s announcement that it is launching a rival music app which will cost $10 a month and includes a streaming music service with curated playlists, a radio station and a social service enabling artists and users to connect directly.

Spotify has also announced that it now has over 20 million subscribers and more than 75 million active users.

TeliaSonera said the two companies are committing resources, staff and other assets to “ignite the joint innovation agenda” within areas such as media distribution, customer insights, data analytics and advertising.

The operator says it has had five years of “successful partnership” with Spotify, which includes TeliaSonera offering Spotify Premium as part of its subscription bundles in the Nordic and Baltic countries.

According to TeliaSonera president and CEO Johan Dennelind, the company wants to “create a new generation telco where innovation is key to our success” and the investment is part of this strategy.

Martin Lorentzon, Spotify co-founder and chairman, has been a member of TeliaSonera’s board of directors since 2013 but was not part of the discussions or decision regarding the partnership, the company clarified.

According to the WSJ report, other investors include British asset managers, Canadian hedge funds, US investors and Goldman Sachs, hired by Spotify to raise the funding, via its Global Private Opportunity Partners fund.

The report said the funds could be used to help Spotify’s push into new forms of media. Last month, it said it wanted to add videos and podcasts from partners like Comedy Central and ESPN.

Spotify, which reportedly delayed an IPO for its fundraising, has now raised a total of over $1 billion since it launched nine years ago.