Music streaming service YouTube Music appears to have a new trick to nudge free users toward a YouTube Premium subscription. Android Authority reports that the music service now locks song lyrics behind a paywall.
Free users report on Reddit that they can now see only a limited number of lyrics. To view more, they’re prompted to upgrade to a Premium subscription.
This isn’t the first time a music streaming platform has tried this approach. Spotify, YouTube Music’s rival, tried something like this last year but quickly backed off after users (rightfully!) complained.
The people of Reddit are pretty annoyed too, saying they use lyrics for karaoke, sing-alongs, or just learning new songs. They feel the change is a frustrating way to monetize features that were previously free.
YouTube Music has over 125 million users, and this little lyrics paywall might push some folks to go Premium. But it could also anger folks who just want to see the words without feeling forced to cough up the cash. Whether other services like Apple Music or Amazon Music follows suit, or if enough people complain to make YouTube back off, only time will tell.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication M3 and was translated and localized from Swedish.
