Credit: Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google seems to be quietly moving lyrics behind a paywall for more users, turning a basic app feature into a Premium-only perk.
- Free users now get just five lyric views before the rest are blurred behind a subscription prompt.
- You can still see the opening lines, but full lyrics now require YouTube Music Premium or YouTube Premium.
If you fire up YouTube Music today and wonder why the lyrics you used to scroll through on the train are suddenly limited, you’re not imagining things. After months of poking and prodding with limited tests, Google is pulling the plug on free lyrics for more users, turning one of the app’s most basic features into a Premium-exclusive perk.
Once a staple freebie everyone took for granted, full lyrics are now gated behind a YouTube Premium or YouTube Music Premium subscription, according to several user posts on Reddit. Free users can still see the Lyrics tab while playing a song, but you only get five free lyric views. After that, the rest are blurred, and a message encourages you to “Unlock lyrics with Premium.”