Unchained Guides: How to Get Your Music Lyrics to Spotify, Genius, and Musixmatch
How to Get Your Music Lyrics on Spotify
Spotify displays real-time lyrics across most of its markets, and getting yours in front of listeners takes less than an hour once you're set up. This guide covers everything artists and labels need to do it.
Spotify Lyrics: The Basics
The lyrics feature displays the words of a track within the Spotify app as the song plays. In supported markets, lyrics sync line by line with the music. Listeners don't need to leave the app or search elsewhere.
Spotify's lyrics are powered by Musixmatch, its official lyrics partner. If your lyrics aren't in Musixmatch, they won't appear on Spotify.
Why It's Worth Doing
Lyrics increase the time listeners spend with a track. Fans who can follow along are more likely to save a song, return to it, and share it. Synced lyrics also appear when listeners share your tracks to Instagram Stories, extending your reach without any extra promotion effort.
Lyrics also make your music more accessible to non-native speakers and listeners who are hard of hearing, both of which expand your potential audience.
Step 1: Get Your Music on Spotify
Your music needs to be live on Spotify before lyrics can be attached to it. Unchained Music gets your tracks to Spotify and all major streaming platforms with no fees and no royalty cuts. Other options are covered in our guide to free music distribution services. Check our plans page if you haven't distributed yet.
Once your release is live, give it a few days before moving to the next step.
Step 2: Set Up a Musixmatch Pro Account
Musixmatch is where your lyrics are submitted, synced, and sent to Spotify. The free tier covers everything you need.
- Go to Musixmatch Pro and choose a plan. The free tier sits below the paid options on the pricing page.
- Create your account. Use an email address connected to your artist project, label, or management company. Musixmatch cross-references this during verification, which speeds up the approval process.
- From your Musixmatch Pro homepage, go to Roster and select Add Artist.
- Paste your Spotify artist URL and fill in the required fields about your role (artist, manager, or label representative).
- Musixmatch reviews your submission and emails you within a few business days.
If you have a Spotify for Artists account, linking it to Musixmatch automatically pairs your Spotify catalog with your Musixmatch dashboard.
Step 3: Add Your Lyrics
Once verified:
- From your Musixmatch Pro homepage, select Roster.
- Pick a song from your To Do or Music tabs and select Lyrics. If you can't find your song, go to Music > Add Missing Release and add it manually. It can take up to 48 hours to appear after that.
- Add your lyrics in full. Include all repeated lines and sections. Don't use shorthand like "x2."
- Hit Send to publish.
Lyrics typically appear on Spotify within a few days of submission.
Step 4: Sync Your Lyrics
Why sync matters
Synced lyrics are the real-time, line-by-line display that follows the music as it plays. This is the format that shows up on Instagram Stories shares and drives the most engagement.
How to sync
- From your Musixmatch Pro homepage, select Roster.
- Pick a song and select Sync.
- Musixmatch breaks your lyrics out line by line. Listen to the track and adjust the timestamp of each line to match when the first word is sung.
- Hit Send to publish the sync.
If you've connected your Spotify for Artists account, Musixmatch fetches your audio files automatically. Otherwise, upload them manually via the Audio tab.
Synced lyrics aren't available in every country, but submitting them through Musixmatch ensures they're ready for all markets that support the feature.
Step 5: Submit Through Unchained Music
If you distribute through Unchained Music, you can also submit your lyrics through Unchained's dedicated lyrics submission form. This is available to artists and labels on all plans (Grow, Pro, and Partner) at no extra cost. The form is separate from the in-app dashboard. Look for it in Unchained's support resources or contact the team directly for the link.
A Note on Genius
Genius is worth maintaining as a presence for your music. Fans and artists can annotate lyrics there, adding context and background that builds a deeper connection with listeners. If you want to set that up, start by adding your songs to Genius, then get verified, and finally link your Spotify for Artists acount to Genius.
Genius no longer powers lyrics on Spotify. Spotify retired the "Behind the Lyrics" feature and now runs lyrics exclusively through Musixmatch. Uploading to Genius will not get your lyrics onto Spotify, so keep the two platforms separate in your workflow.
FAQs
Will my lyrics appear on other platforms too?
Yes. Musixmatch distributes lyrics across multiple streaming platforms, so submitting there gives your lyrics coverage beyond Spotify.
How long does it take for lyrics to appear on Spotify?
After submitting through Musixmatch, allow a few days. Synced lyrics can take slightly longer.
Does it cost anything?
No. The free Musixmatch Pro tier covers everything needed to add, edit, and sync lyrics on Spotify.
Do I need a Spotify Premium account?
No, but linking one lets Musixmatch pull your Spotify catalog automatically, which saves time across multiple releases.
How do I get my music onto Spotify?
You need a distribution service. Unchained Music distributes to Spotify and all major platforms with no fees and no royalty cuts. View our plans to get started.
For more on building your Spotify presence, see how to add a Canvas to your Spotify releases. [LINK: https://artists.spotify.com/en/help/article/adding-a-canvas — anchor text "add a Canvas to your Spotify releases"].