One Direction have reinforced their status as the world's biggest group by becoming the first boy band to notch up one billion plays on Spotify.

The fivesome have joined an exclusive club of 14 artists - which include fellow Brits Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Calvin Harris.

Eminem tops the list of most-popular artists on the site, with David Guetta, Rihanna, Coldplay and Avicii filling out the top five.

Kevin Brown, Spotify's head of label relations, said: "We congratulate 1D on joining the very select club of artists who are true streaming superstars."

The boy band are apparently on 20m playlists on the service and it is estimated that they have earned £3.8m to £5.3m from the plays.

The one billion club is made up of...

1. Eminem
2. David Guetta
3. Rihanna
4. Coldplay
5. Avicii
6. Calvin Harris
7. Katy Perry
8. Drake
9. Pitbull
10. Maroon 5
11. Ed Sheeran
12. Beyoncé
13. Imagine Dragons
14. One Direction