As a musician, one of the most impactful things you can do is add lyrics to your songs on streaming platforms like Spotify.
Not only does this help listeners understand and connect with your music on a deeper level, but it also enhances the overall listening experience.
In this blog post, we'll delve into the benefits of adding lyrics to your music on Spotify and also provide a step-by-step guide on how to do it. Let's get into it.
Table of Contents:
Why To Add Lyrics to Your Music on Spotify
Here are 5 reasons you should add lyrics on Spotify (and other streaming platforms)
1. Enhance the listening experience
Adding song lyrics allows listeners to follow along and fully engage with your music. It's especially helpful for those who may not be able to make out all the lyrics just by listening.
2. Share the meaning behind your music
Lyrics are a powerful way to convey the emotions and themes behind your songs. By adding them to your tracks on Spotify, you're giving listeners the opportunity to understand your music on a deeper level.
3. Improve discoverability
When you add lyrics on Spotify, it makes it easier for the platform's algorithms to understand the content of your tracks. This can help improve the chances of your music being recommended to listeners who might be interested in your genre or style.
4. Make your music more interactive
Adding song lyrics instantly makes your music more interactive for listeners. For example, some streaming platforms allow listeners to view lyrics as the song is playing, and this real time lyrics feature can be a fun and engaging way to experience music.
5. Increase Shares
Another thing to consider when adding lyrics on Spotify is the potential for increased engagement with your audience. By adding lyrics to your tracks, you are providing a new avenue for your listeners to connect with your music.
For example, you may find that listeners are more likely to share your tracks on social media when they can see the lyrics alongside the music. For example, with the Instagram stories lyrics feature, a shared audio can also display the real-time synchronized lyrics while it plays. Pretty neat.
Note: To learn why shares help your music succeed in the spotify algorithm, click here.
How To Add Lyrics To Your Songs on Spotify
Granted, if you upload music to major streaming providers with a music distributor like DistroKid, you can manually add and sync lyrics through your distributor.
However, the easiest universal way to add Spotify lyrics is to use Musixmatch.
This free service allows you to quickly and easily add lyrics to your tracks on Spotify, as well as other platforms like Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Google Play Music.
Step-by-Step Tutorial: Using Musixmatch to add song lyrics
Here is the seven-step tutorial of how to get lyrics on Spotify with Musixmatch.
1. Sign up for a musixmatch account.
You can do this by visiting their website and clicking on the "Sign Up" button. From there, you'll be prompted to enter your email address and create a password.
2. Verify your account.
After signing up, you'll receive an email with a verification link. Click on this link to verify your account and complete the sign-up process.
3. Connect your musixmatch account to Spotify.
To do this, log into your musixmatch account and click on the "Connect" button in the top right corner. From there, you'll be prompted to log in to your Spotify account.
4. Search for your songs.
Once you've connected your musixmatch account to Spotify, you can search for your songs by typing the song title and artist name into the search bar.
5. Add the lyrics.
When you find the correct song, click on the "Edit" button next to the lyrics. This will open a text box where you can add or edit the lyrics for your song.
6. Save your changes.
Once you've finished editing the lyrics, click the "Save" button to update the lyrics on your song. The music lyric catalog on musixmatch has now been updated.
7. Check for accuracy.
Of course, it's important to double-check that the lyrics you've added are accurate and complete. You can do this by playing the song and following along to make sure the Spotify lyrics match up.
Bonus Tip: Add Context with Genius
Having lyrics accessible to a music catalog platform like Spotify is great, however, you can always go a step further with Genius. If you create an account, you are able to create your own Genius lyrics page for your song.
Then, you can input additional information and insight in reference to your lyrics.
In Conclusion
Adding lyrics to your music on Spotify can greatly enhance the listening experience for your fans and improve the discoverability of your tracks.
Regardless of whether you choose to use your digital distributors, or a third-party service like musixmatch to handle lyric delivery to streaming services, timed lyrics are valuable when attempting to turn listeners into fans.
For more tips & tricks for artists check out one of our three suggested blogs below.
And create an account to stay up-to-date with future articles!
'Til next time!
Frequently Asked Questions
Before we part ways, let's touch base on a few questions you may have.
How do you view the lyrics of a song on Spotify?
To view the lyrics of a song on Spotify:
Open Spotify: Launch the Spotify app on your mobile device, tablet, or desktop.
Play a Song: Start playing a song that you want to see the lyrics for.
Access Lyrics:
Mobile/Tablet: Swipe up from the bottom of the screen while the song is playing. If lyrics are available, they will appear in a scrolling format.
Desktop: Click on the microphone icon in the "Now Playing" bar at the bottom of the screen. If lyrics are available, they will be displayed.
More information on Spotify lyrics can be viewed above in our article.
How do you add lyrics to local files on Spotify?
Spotify does not currently support adding lyrics directly to local files within its app. If you import Spotify songs, there will be no lyrics feature for that track.
However, you can use third-party software or applications to embed lyrics into the metadata of your local music files before importing them to Spotify.
Although it is far more complicated, programs like Mp3tag or MusicBrainz Picard allow you to edit the metadata of your music files, including adding lyrics. You can download Spotify songs or music on other platforms like YouTube to do this.
Once you've added the lyrics to your local files, you can then import these files into Spotify as local files.
How do you sync local files on Spotify?
To play local files on Spotify:
Enable Local Files:
Open the Spotify app on your desktop.
Go to "Settings" by clicking on your profile picture in the top-right corner and selecting "Settings."
Scroll down to the "Local Files" section and toggle on "Show Local Files."
Add sources by clicking "Add a Source" and selecting the folders where your local files are stored.
Create a Playlist:
Create a new Spotify playlist and add the local files you want to sync to this playlist.
Sync to Mobile:
Open the Spotify app on your mobile device.
Ensure both your desktop and mobile device are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Find the playlist containing your local files on your mobile device.
Download the playlist by toggling the "Download" switch. This will sync the local files to your mobile device, making them available for offline listening.
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