Spotify reaches 70 million subscribers

(Reuters) - Music streaming service Spotify, which filed confidentially with U.S. regulators for an initial public offering on Wednesday, has 70 million subscribers, it said in a tweet on Thursday.

Spotify, valued at as much as $19 billion last year, is targeting a direct listing in the first half of 2018. (bit.ly/2Ar9PwY)

Spotify is the biggest global music streaming company and counts Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc as its main rivals.

Apple in September told Billboard magazine it has 30 million subscribers to Apple music.