Adam Birney / Android Authority
Playing music with earbuds
TL;DR
- Hints in the YouTube Music app suggest that it might soon add a lyrics share feature.
- The feature could let users select lyrics and share them as images along with the song link.
- Spotify already offers a similar feature, making it easy for users to highlight and share their favorite song lines online.
YouTube Music has quietly built its reputation as a strong competitor to Spotify, and it could be gearing up to add another feature to improve the app’s music-sharing experience. We’ve uncovered some hints that suggest that YouTube Music might be adding a lyrics-sharing feature.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
While digging into the code of YouTube Music’s latest APK (version 7.33.51), we spotted clues that point to a possible lyrics-sharing feature. Specifically, there’s a reference to a file path labeled:
Code
<files-path name="lyrics_share_image.png" path="lyrics_share/" />Although the code does not explicitly describe how this feature might work, the breadcrumbs suggest it could function similarly to Spotify’s lyrics-sharing feature. On Spotify, users can select specific lines of lyrics, turn them into visually appealing images, and include a link to the song when sharing on social media.
If YouTube Music follows suit, it could offer music lovers a more creative way to share songs beyond basic links. It’s easy to see how this could double as a marketing tool for YouTube Music. Relatable lyric images are far more appealing than plain URLs or thumbnails, potentially encouraging others to check out songs on the platform and growing its user base.
Of course, there’s no official word yet on when — or even if — this feature will roll out to the public. Still, with the feature seemingly in the works, it’s worth keeping an eye on future updates to see when it might drop.
