Last week on 9 July, TechCrunch awarded the hottest start-ups in Europe. Spotify, a UK Stockholm-based music startup that lets users listen and share their favorite music, not only won the award for the Best Web Application or Service, but also the awards for the Best Startup Founders and the Best New Startup Summer 2008 to 2009.

According to Spotify’s website, their service is a new way to enjoy music. There are no restrictions in terms of what you can listen to or when. And because to them music is inherently social, Spotify allows you to share songs and playlists with friends, and even work together on collaborative playlists. The service is free on an ad-supported basis. Instead, users can sign up for a ad-free premium account for €9.90 per month. Premium users are also given a higher bit rate of 320kbps, exclusive access to pre-releases, concert ticket lotteries, ability to use premium anywhere in the world.

Update 21 July 2008: Spotify strikes deal with IODA, adds 2 million more tracks (TechCrunch)