Spotify releases lyrics feature for both free and paid users worldwide

Spotify is now bringing its real-time lyrics function to the rest of the world, after only offering it in a few countries previously.

Musixmatch, which claims to have lyrics for “over 8 million” songs, provides the lyrics directly. It will be available on almost any platform where Spotify has a presence. iOS, Android, desktop computers, game consoles, and smart TVs are all included. Both free and paid listeners can use the feature.

You may sing along with the lyrics, and there’s also a social component that allows you to share lyrics on social media. The feature will be available across the “majority” of Spotify’s music catalogue, according to the company.

According to Spotify’s guidelines, here’s how you get the lyrics (and share them):

On the Spotify app for mobile

• On a song, tap the “Now Playing View.”
• Swipe up from the bottom of the screen while listening.
• You’ll be able to see track lyrics scroll in real time while the song plays!
• To share, press the “Share” button at the bottom of the lyrics screen, then choose which lyrics you’d like to share — and where you’d like to share them — via third-party platforms.

Spotify’s desktop application

• While a music is playing, click the microphone icon from the “Now Playing” bar.
• Voila! While the song is playing, you’ll see track lyrics scroll in real time.

On the SpotifyTV application

• Open a song’s “Now Playing View.”
• If you wish to enable Lyrics, go to the right corner and select the “lyrics button.”
• Once enabled, the lyrics will appear in the “Now Playing” View.

Spotify’s relationship with lyrics is tangled. It used to work with Musixmatch to display song lyrics until the two parted ways in 2016. Thanks to a partnership with Genius, it now has a “Behind the Lyrics” feature. It’s a cool function that gives you background information about songs, but it’s not very useful for karaoke. Although it offers lyrics in some regions, such as Japan, the function has yet to be widely adopted in western markets such as the United States.

Spotify’s “Behind the Lyrics” feature is being phased out in favour of the new lyrics feature, according to TechCrunch.