YouTube Music is changing how lyrics are displayed. After listening to a song a few times, you’ll need to subscribe to a paid plan to continue seeing the lyrics.
There are many ways to stream music these days. While Spotify is the most popular choice for many people due to its large library and easy-to-use app, Apple Music, TIDAL, and YouTube Music all have loyal listeners as well.
Recently, both Spotify and YouTube Music have faced criticism because AI-created songs are appearing more often in playlists and recommendations.
YouTube Music has received criticism for putting song lyrics behind a paywall, meaning users now need a subscription to see them.
YouTube Music hides lyrics behind paywall
Good news for YouTube Music users: you can now scroll through lyrics while listening to the first five songs you play.
After a certain point, the lyrics become difficult to see unless you subscribe to YouTube Music Premium, which costs $10.99 per month.
According to 9to5google, YouTube Music recently started limiting lyric views for free users. Starting in early February, everyone now sees a pop-up counting down their five free lyric views, after a limited test period.
Hi YouTube Music team,
I was sad to see that lyrics are now only available for Premium subscribers. Access to lyrics was a big reason I enjoyed using your app, and I hope you’ll consider making them available to all users again.
— DEADLINE 🍀 (@j_nnie16) February 6, 2026
One user expressed disappointment on X, saying they enjoyed the app primarily for its lyrics and hoped the feature would be made available to free accounts again.
Many people dislike the practice of putting previously free content behind a paywall. They see it as an unfair and artificial tactic to make paid products seem more valuable, and some simply attribute it to greed.
Many users said they didn’t rely on the lyrics feature and wouldn’t be affected by its removal, but understood why others would be disappointed. One user pointed out that lyrics weren’t even available for many songs.
It’s unclear whether YouTube will bring back the feature, or if people who enjoy watching music videos will have to keep paying for lyrics to appear on screen.
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2026-02-10 16:49