Spotify’s New Strategy: Putting Lyrics Behind a Paywall
Pushing Free Users to Premium
In an apparent move to encourage free users to upgrade to a paid subscription, Spotify has begun restricting access to lyrics. Despite various user complaints on forums like Reddit, the company has not directly addressed the change. Instead, Spotify simply stated that its features may vary across time, markets, and devices, suggesting that the lyrics restriction could be more than just a test, although they are not yet ready to make an official announcement regarding the affected regions.
Previous Indications of the Change
Last autumn, there were signs that Spotify was considering this approach when some free users attempting to view lyrics were met with a message stating, “Enjoy lyrics on Spotify Premium.” At the time, a Spotify representative clarified that these changes were merely a test, limited to a small number of users in a couple of markets. Now, however, Spotify has stopped referring to the changes as a test, although it remains unclear why they have not documented lyrics access as a premium feature on their website, such as on the plan upgrade page or within their support documentation. This could be due to ongoing testing of the monthly limit on lyrics for free accounts, as some users have reported seeing messages indicating that each tap on “Show lyrics” counts towards this new limit.
Driving Subscription Growth
While Spotify did not provide further details on the decision to paywall lyrics, it is evident that this is an attempt to drive more users to their paid tier. In the most recent quarter, the company surpassed 600 million monthly active users, exceeding estimates, and paid subscribers increased to over 236 million, representing a 15% year-over-year growth. However, quarterly revenue fell short of analyst expectations, coming in at 3.67 billion euros ($3.94 billion) instead of the anticipated 3.72 billion euros.
Alternatives for Accessing Lyrics
It remains to be seen whether restricting lyrics access will effectively push more users to subscribe. Lyrics are readily available and free through various online sources and apps that integrate with Spotify, such as Genius, Apple’s Shazam, or Musixmatch.
how tf spotify gon put a monthly limit on lyrics and 1. they lyrics be wrong 2. they barely got lyrics on the songs and 3. i can go the the internet and find the lyrics for free 💀
— Mark (@marcobanzz) April 30, 2024
1 Comment
Guess we’re back to mishearing lyrics the old-fashioned way, huh?