( CNN ) If you listen to rock or pop , you 've heard Desmond Child 's work . And if you were one of the 6.5 million people who listened to Bon Jovi 's `` Livin ' on a Prayer '' on Pandora during a three-month span in 2012 , you helped him , and his two co-writers , split a grand total of $ 110 . `` We could each buy a pizza , '' said Child , an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame who has worked with artists ranging from Aerosmith and Kiss to Ricky Martin and Cher . `` A large pizza . '' Music streaming apps and sites were supposed to make music cheap -- or free -- for consumers while assuring that the artists who created the songs would be fairly compensated . But musicians and songwriters say they 're barely seeing any money from streaming . `` It 's upside down , '' Child said . `` It needs to get back in balance . It 's just simply not fair . '' Last week , singer Taylor Swift pulled all of her music from Spotify , saying that the ability to stream her new album , `` 1989 , '' threatened to hurt sales . Spotify has roughly 50 million users , who either pay $ 9.99 a month for the service or listen to a free version with advertisements . `` I 'm glad the Taylor Swift thing has caused people to consider it more , because I do think it 's an imperfect business model , '' said Jason Isbell , the Americana Music Association 's 2014 Artist of the Year , whose albums are available on the streaming sites . The Taylor Swifts of the world can actually make out well on streaming sites -- Spotify said she had been on pace to make $ 6 million from the app this year . But Isbell said he earns so little in online streaming royalties that he barely pays attention to them . `` It does n't add to my income in any way that is n't negligible , '' he said . In a blog post Tuesday , Spotify CEO Daniel Ek responded to Swift 's decision and other artists ' complaints . `` We started Spotify because we love music and piracy was killing it , '' Ek wrote . `` So all the talk swirling around lately about how Spotify is making money on the backs of artists upsets me big time . '' Ek noted that Spotify has paid more than $ 2 billion to record labels , music publishers and groups that distribute royalties to songwriters and recording artists -- $ 1 billion of which came in the past year . But Child said that money gets divided up unfairly . Too little of it trickles down to the people who wrote and recorded the music , he said . Streaming sites treat each stream like a purchase , similar to downloading a song from iTunes . That kind of contract pays a bigger percentage to record labels than licensing agreements , which pay out at about 50-50 between artists and record companies . `` At some point , they sold the acts some idea like , 'We 're promoting your music so you can go out and tour and make money with merchandise and ticket sales and stuff , ' `` Child said . `` But a lot of those artists co-wrote with people like me . I do n't get a piece of the touring . I do n't get a piece of the merchandise . '' In his blog post , Ek said he 's open to exploring ways to compensate writers and performers more fairly . Earlier this year , Pandora came under fire for its payment model after singer Bette Midler had complained about it , saying she 'd gotten $ 114 for more than 4 million plays on the site . ( Pandora disputed that number . ) On Wednesday , Pandora compared its service not to record sales , but to a traditional radio station . `` As the highest paying form of radio , Pandora is proud to play the music of thousands of artists for our more than 75 million users , '' Dave Grimaldi , Pandora 's director of public affairs , said in an email . He noted that , as traditional revenue streams dry up , streaming sites like Pandora are growing . `` If half of radio listening shifts from terrestrial to Pandora and other internet radio platforms , it will mean billions in additional royalty dollars for performers and songwriters , '' Grimaldi said . Pandora 's published rate for at least one form of royalties is .0013 cents per stream , divided among a song 's various interest holders . Child said he 's working with other songwriters such as Eddie Schwartz -- who penned Pat Benatar 's `` Hit Me With Your Best Shot '' -- on a system they call `` fair trade music . '' It would establish guidelines for fair treatment of artists . Isbell said he believes that streaming sites should allow a set number of plays of any given song before the site asks users to purchase the music . `` It would be nice to have peace of mind and be able to know I 'll be able to make music for the rest of my life without having to cut anybody 's grass but my own , '' Isbell said . `` And I think that 's a worry for people who are at my level and the levels below me . ''
Songwriters and musicians say music streaming is n't paying the bills . Comment: Spotify and Pandora do n't `` add to my income in any way '' Spotify CEO says he 's open to looking for better ways to pay artists . Songwriters are working on what they call `` fair trade music '' plan .