Geoff Barrow has accused streaming services of giving music away , saying his band Portishead were paid just £1,700 despite getting 34million plays . The founder of rock band Portishead has waded into the debate over music streaming , saying that he received just £1,700 in royalties despite his songs being played 34million times . In a series of tweets Geoff Barrow , Portishead 's founder and instrumentalist , attacked Spotify , YouTube , Apple and 'especially ' Universal Music for selling his music cheaply . He added that he has nothing against streaming , but wants musicians to be paid more , and says it is hurting young talent , stopping people from establishing themselves on the scene . Barrow , who also runs the Invada record label , told The Times : 'You used to write a piece of music and people paid you to listen to it . 'Yet for younger artists who just want to play rock and roll , by the time they get to a major label , all their rights will have been sold away . 'There will be not much meat left on the bone . You see these huge deals but will smaller bands be able to buy a Ford Galaxy to go on tour in if this is n't sorted out ? ' Artists have long railed against the low royalties paid from streaming companies , leading to Jay-Z launching his own Tidal service this month , promising bigger returns for musicians . Pop megastar Taylor Swift and Thom York , frontman of indie rockers Radiohead , have also pulled their music from services such as Spotify in protest . However , record companies have been quick to upload their music on to these platforms to prop up the collapse in CD sales after music moved online . Barrow , who heads up record label Invada as well as playing in Portishead ( pictured ) , said he was not opposed to streaming technology , but was concerned young artists were getting a poor deal . Streaming companies have also defended their practices , saying they offer artists a fair price in an age where music can be easily accessed for nothing . Rihanna , Madonna , Beyonce , Usher , Daft Punk , Arcade Fire , Jack White and Kanye West banded together to help launch Jay Z 's $ 20-a-month Tidal streaming service last month , which aims to offer artists a better deal . The membership-based service will operate in a similar format to Spotify , providing music and exclusive videos that users can stream on computers , tablets and smartphones or listen to offline . The ongoing row between artists , music labels and streaming companies lead to Jay Z launching his own service , Tidal , which aims to give musicians a better deal . Backed by a host of musicians such as Arcade Fire , Daft Punk , Madonna , and Alicia Keys , Jay Z plans to charge £20-per-month for the service , and will give the artists a bigger share . Unlike Spotify there is n't a free service and users will have to pay $ 9.95 for standard sound quality or $ 19.99 for 'lossless high fidelity sound quality . ' Tidal streams at 1,411 kilobytes per second - well above the 320 for premium subscribers of Spotify , which offers lower levels for free users . Speaking at the launch event , Alicia Keys said : 'Our mission goes beyond commerce , it goes beyond technology . Our intent is to preserve music 's importance in our lives . '
Taylor Swift said streaming services and record labels give music away . Added that young talents were being given a raw deal by companies . Artists have long complained of low royalties paid by likes of Spotify . Geoff Barrow recently pulled all of her music off of the site in protest .