Spotify is rolling out a new feature that will bring real-time lyrics for millions of songs within the app. Lyrics will display… lyrics as they’re being sung, rapped, screamed, or monotonously spoken, with Spotify’s partnership with Musixmatch behind the new feature. The feature is being rolled out in Malaysia from today, while TechCrunch reports that 26 countries in total are receiving the update.
To use the new feature, open your Spotify app and play a track. If the song chosen is supported, you’ll be able to scroll down to the Lyrics card sitting right below the Now Playing section. It’s worth noting that only certain songs will support this feature, although it appears that most mainstream, popular tracks have in-app lyrics.
The feature has been something that users have been requesting for some time now, with Boon Ken Wong, Asia Team Lead, Editorial, Spotify explaining:
“Lyrics has been one of the most requested features by Spotify users and we’re excited to make song lyrics available to listeners in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia. Listeners can now get to know their favourite tracks—and the lyrics behind them—even better. It’s another way Spotify is connecting fans and artists through the music they love.”
This should come as a boost to Spotify in their on-going quest for music (and podcast) streaming domination, with Apple Music—their clearest rival for the crown—already offering something similar with Genius for some time now. In fact, Spotify has worked with Genius previously, with partial lyrics and information available under the Behind the Lyrics feature that was tested earlier.
Now, Spotify’s lyrics feature is more-or-less on par with Apple Music’s Genius music, and the feature is available to both free and premium accounts on the platform. While they’ve certainly taken their time to release the feature, this delay was reportedly due to licensing issues for songs.
If you’re keen to try it out, Spotify has also prepared a couple of Spotify playlists—including one for Karaoke nights. You’ve also got Sing Along, K-Pop, Girl Power Karaoke, and Karaoke Duets. For something more attuned to the local Malaysian scene, there’s Jom Karaoke!
