YouTube puts lyrics behind a paywall

YouTube Music is rolling out new community-focused features aimed at superfans and expanding its use of paywalls, including a requirement that users subscribe to Premium to view full song lyrics. The service has begun enforcing a lyrics paywall globally after months of testing.

Free users can view lyrics only a handful of times—five free lyric views—before being prompted to subscribe to YouTube Premium or YouTube Music Premium. Once that limit is reached, lyrics are partially blurred and cannot be scrolled unless the user upgrades. YouTube Music is also positioning itself as a more social, fandom-driven platform, adding features such as comments on albums and playlists, shared "taste-matching" playlists that update daily, and artist-focused tools like milestone badges and live event notifications through a partnership with Bandsintown.

YouTube Music Premium costs $10.99 per month in the U.S., while YouTube Premium runs $13.99 and includes ad-free viewing, background playback, offline downloads, and access to experimental AI features.

United States

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