YouTube Music begins placing lyrics behind a subscription barrier

Free YouTube Music users are currently experiencing restrictions on accessing lyrics, according to numerous sources. Google commenced testing lyrics as a feature exclusive to Premium subscribers in September, but it seems to be expanding to a broader audience. It appears that users with free accounts will be restricted to viewing lyrics for up to five songs monthly, though we have contacted Google for verification.

Once that cap is hit, users will only see the initial few lines. The remainder will be obscured, and they will receive a prompt to “Unlock lyrics with Premium.” A banner notifying users of their limited lyric views pops up prominently when the tab is accessed, complete with a countdown.