Spotify Expands Lyrics Access to Free Tier

Listeners who use Spotify’s free tier have access to more song lyrics as of Tuesday (July 30), TechCrunch reports.

Spotify gave all users the ability to view real-time song lyrics in the fall of 2021. (It started testing the feature in 2019.) More recently, the platform started capping the number of song lyrics non-paying users could view at three per month. Listeners who exceeded the limit encountered a message encouraging them to subscribe to the platform: “To get full access to lyrics, switch to Spotify premium.”

In a statement, a Spotify spokesperson reiterated one of the platform’s favorite themes: “We’re always testing and iterating.”

“This means availability of our features can vary across tiers and between markets and devices,” the spokesperson added. “Over the coming weeks, we’ll be expanding lyrics availability for Spotify Free users so more people can enjoy viewing more lyrics, globally.”

Spotify recently announced that it added 7 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2024 — exceeding its own forecast by around 1 million. 246 million people now pay for Spotify, and it has 626 million monthly active users overall. 

The company also noted that it was profitable for the third straight quarter. “While many believe that Spotify has a great product, we needed to prove that we could also be a great business,” CEO Daniel Ek told financial analysts. “I think we’re really starting to show this now.”

In addition, Ek discusssed Spotify’s plans to roll out a “a much better version” of the platform for a significantly higher price. “Think something like $5 above the current premium tier, so probably around $17-$18 price point, but sort of a deluxe version of Spotify that has all the benefits that the normal Spotify version has plus more control and quality across the board,” he said.