Nick Mason has branded Spotify ''pathetic'' for artists.

The Pink Floyd rocker is concerned about the rise in popularity of the streaming service because musicians receive such little revenue from the airplay they receive and thinks it is particularly worrying for unknown artists.

He said: ''iTunes is already beginning to look rather passé, and instead it's Spotify that looks like the future. What we need is another two or three billion people using it, then it would make more sense for musicians. At the moment, the pay-out, particularly for unknowns and only slightly-knowns is... pathetic.''

While the 70-year-old drummer insists he is happy for Pink Floyd to stream their music online, he wants to offer something more to their fans.

In an interview with GQ, he added: ''Pink Floyd is certainly not saying, 'We won't do it like that'. We'll stream, but we'll stream with higher quality audio, and with a lot more video, or other graphic interfaces that will make it part of a fuller entertainment experience.''

Nick believes U2's decision to give their latest album, 'Songs of Innocence', free to iTunes users has ''backfired'' but has made people think more about how they want to access music.

He said: ''It's been interesting seeing how badly that went down. Let me be completely clear about my position: if Apple had come to me and said, 'Nick, we want to release your album in exchange for £50m', I couldn't have thought of a better idea...

''This has backfired. It's made everyone think again about how they want their music delivered, given or sold.

''Look, U2 are a great band, and Bono's an extraordinary individual, so this isn't an anti-U2 tirade. But it highlights a vital aspect to the whole idea of music in the 21st century.''