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YouTube premium is popular but the platform is now limiting the access of the free users, making them pay for its service.
YouTube Music users are being forced to pay for some of the basic features
YouTube seems to be copying one of its rivals and not in a positive way. The platform is looking to force more people to start paying for its services and for that it is happy to put a limit on the number of songs they can listen to with access to their lyrics.
Multiple users have shared their concern about this change and it seems we could see it officially roll out for all the free users in the next few weeks and months. Many on social media have talked about seeing the message pop-up after their free limit is over.
YouTube Music Freebies Over: What Now?
The pop-up message on YouTube Music says users only have a limited number of view lyrics options available and to access more they need to sign up for the YouTube Music premium version. Reading lyrics of a song is not very popular among users, but putting a limit on seeing them feels unwanted, especially when Spotify did the same and faced heavy backlash, eventually forced to roll it back.
People are surely wondering where do apps like YouTube and Spotify go from here, especially with their full intent to get the business growing, even if it comes at the expense of many people switching to other platforms. YouTube has a much bigger user base in markets like India, where people continue to use free versions even if they are dished out ads.
There is a lot of chatter around users considering going offline for music and companies like these need to be mindful of how the trends can change if the users decide to define their preferences that work against the whole model.
YouTube continues to widen its reach and using AI it wants more people to watch diverse content without having the language limitations.
The auto-dubbing option is being made available for billions of YouTube users who can now access content in over 27 languages and restricted to videos that are available in their original dialect. The feature has been around for a while but YouTube has limited its reach with select content getting the support. Now it will work for all videos and for everyone.
Delhi, India, India
February 10, 2026, 10:41 IST
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