In a move that is likely to spark debate, Spotify appears to be making song lyrics a premium feature. This move comes amid growing frustration among users who have encountered a paywall when trying to access lyrics in the app, voicing their complaints on various platforms, including Reddit and X. Although Spotify has not issued a direct statement regarding this change, the company has quietly implemented it.
Restricting access to lyrics for non-paying users underscores Spotify’s efforts to bolster its premium tier. This move arrives on the heels of Spotify’s recent financial performance, where it surpassed 600 million monthly active users, outstripping earlier projections. Notably, paid subscribers witnessed a notable uptick, reaching over 236 million, representing a 15% year-on-year growth. However, despite these gains, Spotify fell short of analyst forecasts with its quarterly revenue, which amounted to 3.67 billion euros, below the expected 3.72 billion euros.
The effectiveness of this strategy in driving more subscriptions remains uncertain. Despite Spotify’s attempt to monetize lyrics, users have access to free lyrics via various third-party platforms such as Genius, Apple’s Shazam, or Musixmatch, among others. This raises questions about whether users will see the value in paying for a feature that is readily available elsewhere at no charge.
Spotify is now adding monthly limit on lyrics for free accounts pic.twitter.com/mrVufudltK
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) May 1, 2024
Last autumn, Spotify began testing the locking of lyrics for non-paying users, displaying a message prompting them to subscribe to Spotify Premium to enjoy the feature. Initially, Spotify framed the change as a test in limited markets. However, the company has since refrained from labeling the change as experimental, suggesting a shift toward permanent implementation. The lack of transparency regarding this alteration, such as not explicitly stating the change on its website or help documentation, leaves users in the dark about the shift in policy.
There are also indications that Spotify may be testing monthly limits on lyrics for free accounts, with users reporting messages that indicate each access to lyrics counts toward a new limit. This incremental approach suggests that Spotify is refining its strategy and could potentially introduce additional measures to incentivize users to upgrade to paid subscriptions in the future.
This lack of transparency has left some users confused, as information about lyrics being a premium feature is absent from both the upgrade page and help documentation. Only time will tell if this strategy will succeed for Spotify, or if frustrated users will simply turn to alternatives for their lyric needs.
