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Spotify lyrics returning to ad-supported free tier

Pictured: Alap Naik Desai
By Alap Naik Desai
July 31, 2024
Featured image for Spotify lyrics returning to ad-supported free tier

Spotify is returning lyrics to the free, ad-supported tier. All Spotify free accounts will have unrestricted access to lyrics, but they will follow ads.

Real-time lyrics returning to the free tier on Spotify

Spotify introduced real-time lyrics to all users back in 2020. The company abruptly pulled back access to the popular feature in May this year. Spotify limited free users to just three lyric lookups a month.

Access to lyrics demanded a monthly subscription to Spotify Premium. Spotify attempted to promote “Enjoy lyrics on Premium”, but seems to have reversed course within two months.

In a statement, Spotify attempted to justify returning lyrics to the free tier by saying, “At Spotify, we’re always testing and iterating. This means the availability of our features can vary across tiers and between markets and devices. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be expanding lyrics availability for Spotify Free users so more people can enjoy viewing more lyrics, globally.”

Moving forward, access to unlimited lyrics will remain a feature for the free users. However, users have to tolerate ads.

Spotify offers a preview of the lyrics, and users have to tap on the same to access the full version. Tapping on the preview displays a banner ad. Users can dismiss the ad to see the real-time lyrics scrolling as usual.

The multi-step process with ads will now apply to every lyric request from the Spotify app. However, Spotify appears to have removed the “three lyrics per month” restriction.

Will Spotify launch the Supremium plan?

Spotify CEO had recently hinted that a “Supremium” plan was nearly ready for deployment. Although there’s no confirmed launch date, Spotify Supremium would sit above the Spotify Premium tier.

Spotify Supremium has been part of the rumor mill for quite some time. It is supposed to unlock high-resolution audio content. It would cost about $5 more than the Spotify Premium subscription, which costs $11.99 per month.

By returning lyrics to the free, ad-supported tier, Spotify may have signaled it is delaying Supremium. Alternatively, the streaming platform may have realized that withholding the feature wasn’t compelling enough to push free users towards Spotify Premium.