Zennstrom and Friis - who created and financed Kazaa, a peer-to-peer file-sharing service which gave the music industry a nasty shock in 2001 - are behind a start-up called Rdio that will sell monthly subscriptions to a catalogue of online music.
The move comes amid Spotify's plans to crack the US market and replicate the success it has enjoyed in just 12 months across the pond.
The Swedish music streaming brand is planning to launch before Christmas in the US market, though a date has not been officially confirmed and those plans may be put back until the new year.
Rdio has set up offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco, with financing from Zennstrom and Friis, reinventing a concept pioneered earlier this decade by Rhapsody.
Rdio is hoping to introduce a music subscription service by early next year that will offer music lovers seamless access to music from both PCs and mobile phones.
The big challenge will be to get licenses from the major music labels, something which Spotify is reportedly grappling with at the moment despite having deals in place with those same labels in Europe.
Drew Larner, Rdio's chief executive, said talks with music labels such as EMI are continuing.
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