NOTE: As of January 2025, we only offer the ability to provide lyrics to Apple, we are however working with our DSP partners for further integration in the future. Alternatively, you may want to use a third-party service (e.g. Musixmatch) to deliver your lyrics to multiple DSPs at once.
If your track includes lyrics, you can enhance the listener experience and make your track more engaging by adding a time-synced TTML (Timed Text Markup Language) file to it, allowing them to follow along with the words in perfect sync with the music. Once you've created your track, follow these steps:
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Create a TTML file: You'll first need to create your time-synced TTML file and ensure that the lyrics are accurate and are timed with the audio perfectly (each TTML file must be created specifically for the track you are adding lyrics to, as different versions of the same track may have different timing).
If you're unsure how to manually create a time-synced TTML file, you can use third-party tools, such as Lyric Assist or Lyric Potato, which can speed up and automate this process for you.
Lyrics must be transcribed in plain text (do not include emojis or any other information that is not a direct transcription of the lyrics heard in the track) and ensure that you follow traditional grammar rules, capitalising proper nouns and the first word of each line. Do not use end-line punctuation, except for exclamation points, question marks, or quotation marks where necessary (for more information on lyric style standards and formatting, please refer to Apple's Lyrics Guidelines).
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Lyrics Content: Once your TTML file is ready, go to the Track Details page of the corresponding track and scroll down to the Lyrics section to provide information on the file you are uploading.
In the Explicit Lyrics field, you should indicate whether these lyrics are Not Explicit, Explicit, or a Clean Version (if you select Clean Version, an Explicit version of the track must also exist). In the Language of Performance field, select the language that the lyrics in the track are performed in.
IMPORTANT: The language specified in the TTML file's xml:lang attribute must match the Language of Performance, a mismatch can cause delivery issues for your release.
- Upload the TTML file: Add your TTML file to the track by clicking the Choose File button (or by dragging it onto the button), then click the Save button in the icon menu to complete this process.