Not too long ago, being on the free plan of most apps was a fairly manageable experience. You had to deal with ads, sure, and maybe a few limitations here and there. But the core features were usually intact.
You could still use the product in a meaningful way. Lately, though, that balance has been shifting, especially when it comes to Google. This company is now offering significantly less for its free, ad-supported packages.
Emmanuel Umahi
That shift is becoming more obvious with YouTube Music, where Google has started restricting access to song lyrics for users on the free tier. According to multiple claims from users on Reddit and Android-focused publications, YouTube Music now allows free users to view lyrics for only five songs. After that, the app shows just the first few lines of a track’s lyrics, while the rest appear blurred out, alongside a prompt telling users to “Unlock lyrics with Premium.”
One user of Reddit said, “I always preferred to use YouTube Music over Spotify, but now I am thinking of switching. I heard they were testing this feature to get ‘more people to buy premium.’ Honestly, I don't post much, but this got me a lil worked up.”
This change isn’t coming completely out of nowhere. Google has reportedly been testing this limitation with a small group of users for several months. What’s different now is scale. The number of people encountering the restriction appears to be growing, suggesting that Google is beginning a wider rollout across regions and platforms. Still, it’s worth noting that YouTube hasn’t officially announced the change, and some free users say they can still access full lyrics without any limits, for now.
The feature that launched in 2020 as a free, built-in part of YouTube Music is slowly becoming a paid perk. Lyrics might seem minor compared to features like offline downloads or background playback, but they’re one of those features people rely on daily, whether it’s to sing along, learn new songs, or just understand what an artist is actually saying.
The move also puts YouTube Music in an awkward spot next to its biggest rival. Spotify, which has about 713 million monthly active users worldwide, still offers lyrics to free users. In fact, Spotify previously experimented with limiting lyrics but eventually backed off after user backlash.
While there isn't public data on people who use YouTube Music's ad-supported plan, making its free tier less appealing could be a risky play.
For now, YouTube Music users are left with no official announcement, no clear timeline, and no guarantee that things won’t get stricter over time.
