Several Spotify users started observing that the in-app lyrics, which usually appear beneath the currently playing song, suddenly became restricted behind a paywall. Instead, they encountered only a notification bubble that read, “Enjoy lyrics on Spotify Premium,” along with a link to subscribe.
Spotify informs The Verge that the feature is currently undergoing a testing phase. CJ Stanley, Spotify’s co-head of global communications, states, “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.”
He further added that they don’t have any further news to share at this time, but Stanley later clarified, “In keeping with our standard practices, we’re currently testing this with a limited number of users in a pair of markets,” without specifying the markets, the number of users involved, or the duration of the test.
It seems the company is looking for ways to encourage listeners to subscribe to the Premium plan. Recently, Spotify increased the price of Premium plans globally including Malaysia as well, and subscribers have to fork out up to RM1.70 more, depending on the plan they are subscribing to.
Whether Spotify will indeed make the lyrics feature exclusive to paying subscribers remains uncertain. However, it’s a possibility, especially given the company’s need to acquire more subscribers for continued growth.
