As the market leader of a boom that has grown 40% worldwide, Spotify is at the top of the streaming services heap, which collectively have been projected to generate approximately $AU 1 billion for the global music industry this year.

With a library that boasts over 17 million tracks with a user-base of about 10 million worldwide, the Swedish streaming company has well and truly established itself as the dominant digital music streaming service.

But according to reports from UK’s The Telegraph, Spotify is about to undergo a redesign that will launch a new browser-based version of the service.

Currently, one of Spotify’s distinguishing features from other streaming services is its downloadable application, but a new redesign of the service is said to include a new version that will integrate with internet browsers – similar those used by Deezer and Mog.

It’s unclear whether the re-design will use the browser-based version to replace the desktop application or as an additional option for users, but it does demonstrate that Spotify has no intent on resting on the laurels of its four million paying customers; a figure that’s doubled since September last year.

The new browser-based Spotify would allow for more accessibility across multiple platforms, making user playlists and features available across multiple computers through a log in process, rather than having to re-download the desktop app again.

It’s the first big announcement from the Swedish-based juggernaut since May, when Spotify launched an Apple-based version of its paid subscription to allow iPad users to access its 17-million strong catalogue.

Interestingly, the news of a re-design comes just as Apple announced plans to move into the digital music streaming market, beginning development on a digital radio model similar to Spotify alternatives like Pandora, with early negotiations from the iTunes makers starting with the record labels.

Getting the blessing of label giants like Sony, Universal and Warners is the first step to building a streaming library, which has ensured Spotify’s early dominance in the streaming service boom.

Spotify reports that it paid $US 180m in royalties to labels and their rosters in 2011, and is on track to deliver $US 360m this year with its consistent growth.

The question remains however, is how much of that enormous revenue is actually going to the artists who are having their music featured on such services.

Some have complained that they’re not seeing the streaming service boom reflected in their paycheques, considering that every time a song is streamed on Spotify the artist receives (roughly) an average royalty of 0.29 of a cent.

Forthcoming Harvest Festival darlings and staunch indie act Grizzly Bear, for one, have argued that’s not necessarily the case (for them), highlighting some of the negative issues affecting artists in the growth of Spotify in a spate of recent tweets:

before adding “…split 5 ways.”

If $10 is all a band of Grizzly Bear’s status are pocketing, we can only shudder to imagine what smaller scale acts are receiving royalties-wise. The Brooklyn act went on to add:

The jury – it would seem – remains out on this issue. In related news, Grizzly Bear are set to release their highly-anticipated fourth studio album, Shields this October.

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