YouTube Music Locks Lyrics Behind Premium Paywall
▼ Summary
– YouTube Music has widely rolled out a paywall, requiring a Premium subscription to view full song lyrics.
– Free users get only five lyric views before access is restricted to a few blurred, unscrollable lines.
– The change has been in testing for months and is now seeing a global, wide rollout.
– YouTube Music Premium costs $10.99 monthly, while YouTube Premium is $13.99 and extends benefits to the main app.
– Google recently reported over 325 million paid subscriptions, with YouTube generating over $60 billion in revenue.
YouTube Music has officially placed its lyrics feature behind a subscription paywall, requiring users to have either a YouTube Premium or Music Premium plan to access full song lyrics. This move concludes a testing period that spanned several months and is now seeing a global rollout. The change directly impacts the listening experience for non-subscribers, who will find their access to lyrics severely restricted after a minimal free trial.
When the update reaches an account, the middle tab on the Now Playing screen displays a new notification. It informs users they have a limited number of lyric views remaining before needing to subscribe. Specifically, users are granted only five free lyric views. Once this allowance is exhausted, the interface changes dramatically. Listeners will only see the song’s opening lines, with the remainder of the lyrics blurred and impossible to scroll through, effectively locking the content.
This strategic shift aligns with Google’s broader emphasis on growing its subscription services. The company recently announced it boasts over 325 million paid subscriptions across its various consumer platforms, highlighting strong growth for offerings like YouTube Premium and Google One. The financial significance is substantial, with YouTube’s combined revenue from advertising and subscriptions surpassing $60 billion in 2025.
For users in the United States, accessing these features requires a monthly fee. YouTube Music Premium is priced at $10.99 per month. This tier provides ad-free music streaming, the ability to listen with the screen off or other apps open, offline downloads, and access to experimental AI tools like ‘Ask Music.’ The more comprehensive YouTube Premium plan costs $13.99 monthly, extending all those music benefits to the main YouTube video platform for an ad-free viewing experience.
The decision to gatekeep lyrics represents a significant change for the service, turning what was once a standard feature into a premium perk. It underscores the platform’s ongoing efforts to convert its vast user base into paying subscribers, leveraging popular functionalities to drive revenue growth beyond advertising.
(Source: 9to5 Google)
