How to Add Lyrics to Spotify

You add lyrics to Spotify through Musixmatch, not inside Spotify. Musixmatch supplies Spotify's licensed synced lyrics. Create a free Musixmatch Pro account, verify your artist profile with your Spotify artist URL, then add and time each line. Changes take a few days to reach Spotify. Listeners cannot add lyrics at all.

That is the short version. Below are the four steps in order, the formatting rules Musixmatch asks for, the separate route used in Japan, and what to do if you are a listener staring at a song with no words. Everything here follows Spotify's own Managing your lyrics on Spotify page. One thing worth knowing up front: even once your lyrics are live on Spotify, they still will not appear on a CarPlay screen. That gap has its own fix, covered at the end.

Step 1: Create a free Musixmatch Pro account

Spotify states it plainly on its artist help page: Musixmatch provides the licensed and synced lyrics you see in the app. So the work happens there.

Head to Musixmatch Pro and pick a plan. You do not need a paid one. Spotify's guidance is that the free tier is all you need to add, edit and sync lyrics. The free plan sits below the paid options on the page, which is why people miss it.

Then create the account and fill in your details. Use an email tied to your artist name, label or management company. Spotify says this speeds up verification.

Step 2: Verify your artist profile

From the Musixmatch Pro homepage, open Roster and select Add artist. You add your Spotify artist URL there and complete the required fields.

Musixmatch reviews the submission by hand. Spotify's page says you should get an email within a few business days. Nothing else moves until that comes back, so start here rather than writing out your lyrics first.

Step 3: Add or edit the lyrics

Link your Spotify account once you are verified. If you have Spotify Premium, Musixmatch pairs your catalogue automatically.

Open Roster, then pick a song from the To Do or Music tab and select Lyrics. Type or paste the words, then hit Send to publish.

Missing a song? Go to Music, then Add missing release, and add it by hand. Spotify notes it can take up to 48 hours to appear.

A few formatting rules matter here, because they are what Musixmatch asks for:

• Transcribe the song in full, including repeated words, lines and whole sections.
• Do not use multipliers such as "x2" to stand in for a repeat.
• Only transcribe the sung audio. Nothing else belongs in the field.
• Label sections with tags like #VERSE and #CHORUS.
• Write the lyrics in their native script.

Step 4: Sync the lyrics line by line

Plain lyrics sit still. Synced lyrics scroll in time with the track, which is what listeners actually see in the app. Syncing is a separate pass.

Go back to Roster, choose the song from To Do or Music, and select Sync. Musixmatch shows the lyrics line by line. Listen to the song, adjust the timestamp of each line accordingly, then hit Send.

Two rules from Spotify's guidance make the result cleaner. Time each line to the moment its first word is sung. And if the song has several voices, follow the main vocal.

Expect a wait after you send. Spotify says changes may take a few days to show up, for both the lyrics and the timings.

If you are a listener, you cannot add lyrics

Spotify answers this directly on the same page. Listeners cannot add lyrics. There is no submission form, no request button, no crowd-sourced edit.

What you can do is check whether the song simply has not been covered yet. Spotify adds new lyrics every day, and says they may not be available on all songs and devices. Availability also shifts between markets, because it depends on agreements with rights holders. A track that is blank today may fill in later.

If the words are missing across your whole library rather than one song, the cause is usually elsewhere. Our guide on how to see lyrics on Spotify walks through where to tap on a phone and where to click on desktop and the web player.

Adding lyrics in Japan

Japan runs on a different provider. Spotify's page states that lyrics for listeners in Japan are handled by PetitLyrics. To add or change them, sign up at petitlyrics.com instead of Musixmatch.

Your lyrics still will not show in the car

This part catches artists out. You do the Musixmatch work, the words go live, you check on your phone, then you plug into your car and the dashboard shows only the track title, the artist and the artwork.

That is not a fault in your submission. Spotify's CarPlay interface has no lyrics view at all, and its own in-the-car help page never mentions lyrics.

iOS can carry the words to that screen, just not through Spotify. Live Activities, the system behind Lock Screen and Dynamic Island updates, lets another app push the current line to the car display while Spotify keeps playing. That is what Lyricast does. Listed on the App Store as Dynamic Lyrics: Car Widget, it reads whatever is playing from Spotify or Apple Music and shows the matching line, in time, on the CarPlay screen. It is free to install with in-app purchases, and needs iOS 17 or later.

For the full walkthrough, see how to get lyrics on CarPlay. The mechanism itself is explained in CarPlay Live Activities lyrics, and best CarPlay lyrics apps compares the options, Musixmatch included.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can listeners add lyrics to Spotify?

No. Spotify's artist help page says listeners cannot add lyrics, only view them. Adding, editing and syncing are limited to artists verified on Musixmatch.

Do you have to pay Musixmatch to add lyrics to Spotify?

No. Spotify says the free Musixmatch Pro tier is all you need to add, edit and sync lyrics. The free plan is listed below the paid options, so look further down the page.

How long do new lyrics take to appear on Spotify?

Spotify says changes may take a few days to reflect. Verification of your artist profile is separate and takes a few business days. A manually added release can take up to 48 hours to show in Musixmatch.

Why are my synced lyrics out of time?

Each line should be timed to the moment its first word is sung. If a line is marked early or late, reopen the song under Sync in Musixmatch, adjust that timestamp and send it again.

Can I add lyrics to Spotify in Japan?

Not through Musixmatch. Spotify says lyrics for listeners in Japan are handled by PetitLyrics, so you sign up at petitlyrics.com to add or change them there.