YouTube Music is getting live lyrics as part of a tweaked Casting UI that some users have already received.
As 9to5Google reports, when Casting YouTube Music from an Android phone to a Chromecast Ultra, instead of album artwork, song name, and artist being centered on the screen, they’re now off to the right with left-aligned text. This makes way for live lyrics that scroll with the current verse highlighted in white. The background remains a blurred version of the artwork.
As the song ends, you get a “list of credited songwriters.” U/PmMeYourChromebook also notes how the old centered UI reappears when lyrics aren’t available. However, live lyrics when Casting YouTube Music are not widely rolled out just yet.
Back in October, YouTube Music told users to expect “even more Lyric features in the future” following a partnership with MusixMatch that increased coverage. Google said there was a “positive impact on lyrics consumption rates since launching.” And earlier this month, YouTube polled free users about what features they want and offered “improvements to lyrics” as a choice.
This would also be a nice feature on the Nest Hub and other Smart Displays, which is something that 9to5Google says Google Play Music offered in late 2018, and something Spotify picked up this year, which uses the same lyrics backend.
Compared to Spotify and Apple, the lyrics available in YouTube Music’s Now Playing screen are static and don’t get highlighted as a track plays. It will presumably also come to mobile, but it’s unclear whether Now Playing will get a redesign to more prominently emphasize lyrics, or if customers still have to open the middle tab first.
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