YouTube Music Begins Charging for Song Lyrics on Free Accounts

YouTube Music has begun a global rollout of a new restriction that places song lyrics behind a paid subscription, ending years of unlimited access for non-paying users.

The music streaming service, owned by Google, now limits free-tier listeners to viewing lyrics for only five songs before the feature is disabled.

Once a user reaches the five-song limit, the "Lyrics" tab in the mobile application displays a notification bar stating, "Unlock lyrics with Premium."

For subsequent tracks, the interface only renders the first few lines of text while the remaining verses are blurred and unscrollable.

The Verge confirmed free accounts receive the "Unlock lyrics with Premium" prompt after the limit.

YouTube Music Lyrics Paywall. Credit: TheVerge

This change forces users to choose between a YouTube Music Premium or YouTube Premium subscription to regain full access to real-time synchronized lyrics.

The decision follows a period of localized A/B testing that began in late 2025.

This monetization strategy mirrors a similar attempt by Spotify earlier that year, although Spotify ultimately reversed its decision following significant user pushback.

YouTube Music currently relies on third-party aggregators such as MusixMatch and LyricFind to provide its database of lyrics, services that require licensing fees paid by Google.

"Google reported that it has over 325 million paid subscriptions across consumer services, with strong adoption for Google One and YouTube Premium," noted a report from 9to5Google, highlighting the platform's focus on subscription growth.

Industry data indicates that streaming platforms are increasingly shifting peripheral features to paid tiers as user growth in saturated markets slows.

YouTube Music Premium currently retails for $10.99 per month in the United States, while the broader YouTube Premium tier, which includes ad-free video playback, is priced at $13.99.

User reports on platforms such as Reddit indicate the rollout is appearing for accounts across various regions, though some users still retain access during the final phases of implementation.

The restriction applies to the Android and iOS versions of the app, as well as the web-based player.

Non-paying users who exceed their limit are directed to start a free trial or subscribe to continue using the lyrics pane.