Selected Spotify users started noticing that their ‘in-app’ lyrics feature, which is normally available for all accounts was locked behind a paywall, asking them to sign up for a Spotify Premium account
Enjoy going through lyrics while listening to songs? Well, get ready to spare some cash since Spotify has started testing a lyrics paywall that is asking users to sign up for a premium account inorder to view song lyrics.
Users started noticing that lyrics which usually pop-up under the current songs are now locked behind a paywall, which when clicked opens a notification bubble that reads “Enjoy lyrics on Spotify Premium”, while also containing a premium sign-up link.
Non-premium users, which account for nearly 50% of Spotify’s population do not already have a lot of benefits therefore the lyrics paywall received quite an outburst with some users even going as far as deleting the application.
WHAT THE DUCK SPOTIFY!!
NO LYRICS
NO REPEAT MODE
NO CONTROL OVER WHERE TO PLAY THE SONG FROM !!
ABSOLUTE JUNK UPDATE IM UNINSTALLING GOODBYE @Spotify pic.twitter.com/JdVBAY928J— Prakriti Sharma (@prakritiaryaa) September 5, 2023
Spotify jumped in to clear the air and clarified that the lyrics paywall feature was part of a routine test, which was only conducted on a limited number of users.
“At Spotify, we routinely conduct a number of tests, some of those tests end up paving the way for our broader user experience and others serve only as an important learning,” said Spotify’s co-head of global communications ‘CJ Stanley’.
“In keeping with our standard practices, we’re currently testing this with a limited number of users in a pair of markets,” he added.
While statements from Stanley did clarify that the release was only a routine feature testing, it did not however deny Spotify’s plans on launching the lyrics paywall on a larger scale. Looking at the platform’s recent losses with podcasts and audiobooks, a larger release can be considered a possibility.
Will Spotify really add lyrics to premium? Reply with your thoughts in the comments below!
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