YouTube Music has begun limiting access to song lyrics for free users, allowing only five views before requiring a premium subscription. The change, which has been in testing for months, shows partial lyrics after the limit and prompts users to upgrade. Google describes it as an ongoing experiment affecting a small percentage of users.
YouTube Music, Google's streaming service, is implementing restrictions on lyrics viewing for non-premium users. According to user reports and coverage from tech outlets, free users can access full lyrics for up to five songs. After reaching this limit, the app displays a warning: “You have [x] views remaining. Unlock lyrics with Premium.” Subsequently, only the first few lines of lyrics are visible, with the rest blurred out.
The feature, introduced in 2020 as freely available, entered testing phases as early as September of the previous year. A 9to5Google report highlighted an increase in user complaints, indicating a wider rollout. However, Google has not officially announced the change and maintains that it remains an experiment. In a statement to Ars Technica, a company spokesperson said: “We are running an experiment with a small percentage of ad-supported users that may impact their ability to access the lyrics feature repeatedly. We often run experiments on YouTube Music to better inform our decisions around feature improvements. The majority of our global users will not see any changes to the lyrics feature.” The number of free views may vary in the test.
Premium subscriptions, priced at $10.99 to $11 per month in the US, offer ad-free listening, offline downloads, and full lyrics access, along with other perks like higher-quality streams. This move mirrors actions by competitors: Spotify briefly restricted lyrics for free users in 2024 but reversed due to backlash, while Apple Music limits time-synced lyrics to subscribers. Speculation points to costs from third-party providers like Musixmatch as a driver. Questions remain about reset periods for the lyric limit and full rollout timelines, with no immediate changes observed in some tests as of early February 2026.
