Spotify expands lyrics access for free users

Back in May, Spotify quietly started putting lyrics behind a paywall, limiting free users to lyrics for three songs per month. The move was a bid to push more users to pay for the service.

After receiving numerous complaints, the company is now expanding the monthly limit. Starting today, Spotify is raising the limit on the number of lyrics free users can view. Users worldwide will begin seeing the change. 

A company spokesperson told TechCrunch, “At Spotify, we’re always testing and iterating. This means the availability of our features can vary across tiers and between markets and devices. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be expanding lyrics availability for Spotify Free users so more people can enjoy viewing more lyrics, globally.”

Spotify declined to disclose the exact number of lyrics per month for free users, but it will likely be significantly higher than the previous limit of three songs. Many users on X/Twitter are celebrating the change.

Spotify began testing a paywall for lyrics in September 2023. It’s uncertain whether the paywalling of lyrics contributed to an increase in paid subscribers. Since the company decided to remove the restriction, however, any impact was likely insignificant.

In the second quarter of 2024, the company reported having 626 million monthly active users, including 246 million premium subscribers.