Spotify is upgrading its lyrics feature with offline access and more translations

Spotify on Wednesday announced changes to its built-in lyrics feature, which include making lyrics translation available globally, providing the ability to view lyrics offline, and moving the feature into the app.

The changes follow other tweaks the streamer has made to song lyrics over the years, hoping to leverage the feature as a tool to nudge free users into becoming subscribers. This began with Spotify trying to ban song lyrics in 2024, before loosening its grip later in the year after numerous complaints.

Now, the company is hoping that the new offline lyrics feature – which will only be offered to premium subscribers – can encourage users to upgrade.

In the new experience, song lyrics will also be moved so that they appear directly below the album artwork or a short, looping video that plays alongside the music. Spotify says it chose to move lyrics to this more prominent position after user tests indicated increased engagement with the feature. (The company noted that snippets of favorite song lyrics can still be shared on social media through the Now Playing view.)

The feature, which Spotify calls lyric Previews, will roll out globally to free and paid customers on its iOS and Android apps for smartphones and tablets.

Additionally, lyrics translations, first introduced in 2022, will now be available globally. This is an expansion from the 25 markets supported last year. When translations are available, you can tap the translation icon in the lyrics card to see the translation appear below the original lyrics. Spotify says the translation will default to whatever language your device is set to.

In past years, Spotify has been slow to roll out song lyrics via its app, largely due to licensing issues. After years of consumer demand for the feature, the company finally rolled out real-time lyrics to global users in 2021 after a smaller launch in a few dozen markets the year before, and testing that extended into 2019. Before that, Spotify partnered with Genius for its “Behind the Lyrics” feature, which combines partial lyrics with song trivia.