Deezer, the French music streaming service, has appointed a new boss as it prepares for a full-scale launch in the already crowded U.S. market.

Eight months after the departure of former leader Axel Dauchez, the company has named as chief executive Hans-Holger Albrecht, the head of one of Deezer's telecom partners, Millicom International Cellular.

Mr. Albrecht, who will start at Deezer in February, has served as CEO at Millicom and previously as CEO at Modern Times Group, a European media group operating in television, radio and new media, among other sectors. He declined to comment through a spokeswoman.

Didier Bench, chairman of Deezer's board of directors, said Mr. Albrecht was selected based on a number of criteria, including his international business experience, including overseeing subscription media services, both free and paid.

Deezer has 16 million users in 180 countries around the world, six million of whom pay $10-a-month subscriptions. But it has only been available in the U.S. since September, and only to users of high-fidelity sound systems made by Sonos Inc. and Bose Corp. The Anglo-Swedish streaming service Spotify AB, by comparison, counts 50 million global users, 12.5 million of whom are paying subscribers, and has been operating in the U.S. for several years.

Mr. Bench said Deezer will make a full U.S. debut in early 2015, making its service available to the general public. He added that the company has waited this long to do so because it wants to make the strongest possible start, using an array of strategic marketing and distribution partners.

It still may be tough going, though. After Beats Music made a splashy debut earlier this year with a Super Bowl commercial and partners including Target Corp. and AT&T Inc., the service only amassed a few hundred thousand subscribers in the first six months. Apple Inc. acquired Beats Music, along with its headphone-making counterpart Beats Electronics, in May.

Deezer doesn't see itself as going head-to-head with services like Spotify and Beats Music here, though, Mr. Bench said. It plans to make a bigger play, appealing not just to people who want to listen to unlimited music on-demand, but also to those who want a more passive, radio-like listening experience, such as Pandora Media Inc.'s nearly 80 million active monthly users, most of whom don't pay.

To that end, Deezer earlier this year introduced a feature called "Flow, " a single customized radio station for users based on what their listening habits and library collections. Flow doesn't require users to enter a mood, song, or genre to start the music, as do some of its competitors.

Still, Deezer is hardly the only streaming service to offer both types of listening experiences. Spotify offers a custom radio feature as well, and Apple is planning to relaunch Beats Music as part of iTunes next year. Apple's free iTunes Radio service already has tens of millions of users.

Write to Hannah Karp at hannah.karp@wsj.com

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