Spotify rolls its real-time lyrics feature out globally

Best holiday playlists on Spotify
Best holiday playlists on Spotify (Image credit: Joseph Keller/iMore)

What you need to know

  • Music streamer Spotify is rolling its real-time lyrics feature out to more countries.
  • People can read lyrics as the song plays and follow long.

Music streaming service Spotify is expanding its real-time lyrics feature to more countries with both Free and Premium subscribers able to take it in.

The feature, which is powered by Musixmatch and mimics a similar offering from Apple Music, is expanding to all global users, the company announced.

Let's say it plain and simple: It's easier to jam out to your latest favorite song when you know the words. That's why, beginning today, Spotify is empowering millions of fans around the world to sing louder and more confidently than ever with the launch of Lyrics.

Spotify says that music fans will be able to read lyrics on iPhones and Android devices as well as desktop machines and game consoles. Those listening via smart TVs will even be able to enjoy live lyrics, too.

Those listening to Spotify on their iPhone can follow these steps to sing along.

  1. Tap on the "Now Playing View" on a song.
  2. While listening, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
  3. You'll see track lyrics that scroll in real time as the song is playing!
  4. 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.

While Apple Music is still the best iPhone option for anyone who also subscribes to other services — thanks to the power of Apple One — there is no denying that Spotify has a lot that people like. The addition of real-time lyrics is just another way the company is adding more value to its service.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.