After months of testing YouTube is officially putting key feature behind a paywall
People are reacting to the news that YouTube is putting a key feature of its platform behind a paywall.
This comes after months of testing for the social media giant before making the switch up official.
Music fans might not be best pleased to hear that Youtube is putting lyrics behind a paywall within YouTube Music.
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This means that if you want to access lyrics, then you’ll need to pay for either YouTube Premium or YouTube Music Premium.
Many people have taken to the internet to share their own thoughts on the social media app making lyrics a premium feature, with one user writing on Reddit: “Oh no don’t make me read them off a different webpage while the song is playing like we used to oh no.”
Another said: “Not like they used to just print the lyrics on the physical media for no up charge.”
A third person commented: “You have to pray that no one figures out how to charge people for the air they breathe. These f***ing corporations are so greedy that they will without a doubt charge people for the amount of [oxygen] they inhale if they ever do.”
And a fourth added: “Websites dedicated to music lyrics for free is as old as the internet... They're not reinventing the wheel or anything here.”
Although one user did offer a possible explanation, writing: “If you know a little bit about digital rights, you'll know that lyrics are a different licence (you might need something like lyricfind for the licensing. And it cost a certain amount per view (if I remember correctly). Another licence(s) if you want to do karaoke style display.
“If they don't want to get sued, they probably have to pay a lot for that feature and report the use to the right organisations. That's probably why they want to paywall it since they want to increase the revenue.”
With the new paywall restriction on lyrics, the feature will be offered to free users for a limited number of plays before pointing them towards an option to pay for a subscription for unlimited use.
To purchase a subscription, YouTube Premium costs $13.99 a month while YouTube Music Premium is set at $10.99 a month, where users can listen to music ‘ad-free, offline, and with your screen off.”
Spotify has previously tested similar plans by locking lyrics behind a paywall but has since offered free users expanded access.