When Apple brought iOS 13 into the world, it brought with it real-time lyrics support for Apple Music subscribers. This meant, on supported songs, users could have the lyrics presented to them with fluid animation, keeping up with the song in real time. It’s a handy feature, supported across different devices and Apple’s platforms. So of course Spotify needed to get in on the action, too.
In June of 2020, Spotify started rolling out support for real-time lyrics in its app in 26 countries. At the time, there wasn’t any word on when the feature would go live for all Spotify users across the globe. But, Spotify had plans to make that a reality at some point in the future. And that time is now.
Today, Spotify announced that it is rolling out real-time lyrics support globally. Spotify teamed up with a company called Musixmatch, which says that it offers lyrics to “over 8 million” songs. The music streaming service says that the real-time lyric support will be available on any platform/device that Spotify has an app.
iOS, Android, desktop, smart TVs, and video game consoles are all included in that support range.
Here are Spotify’s instructions to find lyrics:
On the Spotify mobile app
- Tap on the “Now Playing View” on a song.
- While listening, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
- You’ll see track lyrics that scroll in real time as the song is playing!
- To share, simply tap the “Share” button at the bottom of the lyrics screen and then select the lyrics you want to share—and where you want to share it—via third-party platforms.
On the Spotify desktop app
- From the “Now Playing” bar, click on the microphone icon while a song is playing.
- Voila! You’ll see track lyrics that scroll in real time while the song plays.
On the SpotifyTV app
- Open the “Now Playing View” on a song.
- Navigate to the right corner to the “lyrics button” and select if you want to enable Lyrics.
- Once enabled, you’ll see the lyrics in the “Now Playing” View.
There is some bad news, though, if you are a fan of Spotify’s “Behind the Lyrics” feature. This gave some context to some popular songs out there, thanks to a partnership between Spotify and Genius. However, with the launch of real-time lyrics support across the globe, Spotify tells TechCrunch that “Behind the Lyrics” has been nixed. So, a bit of a “good news, bad news” situation.
Still, good to see that Spotify users across the world now have support for real-time lyrics.