How to export Spotify lyrics to txt and lrc (2026)

Spotify's lyrics aren't a file you own — they're streamed in, supplied by Musixmatch, and only while Spotify decides to show them. When the sync drifts, the words are wrong, or a track simply loses its lyrics panel one day, there's nothing you can keep.

On r/spotify, this comes up constantly. On a 97-upvote thread titled "Why are Spotify lyrics always inaccurate?", the top comment is blunt: "they took way too long to add the lyrics feature and now that it's here it's terrible. I end up still having to go to the genius app to get proper lyrics." Another user puts it more sharply: "Never use Spotify's lyrics section, it's a fucking joke."

The core issue is that you don't control the lyrics. They live on Spotify's terms — and plenty of people want a copy that lives on theirs.

It's not just venting — users have concrete workflows that Spotify blocks. The pain shows up in three places:

Language learners get hit hardest. On a 61-upvote thread about poorly-synced lyrics, one listener explains the friction: "I'm trying to learn French by listening to French rap music. I can keep up with the rapper and read the lyrics, but I can't read ahead yet. So when the sync is off..." — the highlighted line has already moved on before they finish reading. Exporting the lyrics lets them read at their own pace.

Artists and contributors are stuck too. Musixmatch (Spotify's lyrics source) is a bottleneck. On a 133-upvote thread about contributing to Musixmatch, a contributor writes: "I've submitted missing lyrics, corrected incorrect lyrics, synced lyrics, yet it's been over a year and no one has approved my submissions." An artist adds: "I have found MusixMatch to be a terrible experience as an artist. The process of completely detailing every second of a song in order to sync is a major time waster."

Anyone who just wants the words — for a note, a message, a karaoke night, an offline player — has no built-in way to get them out. Spotify shows lyrics; it doesn't let you keep them.

SpotifyTranscript adds a one-click export to the Spotify web player. With the lyrics panel open, hit Export and choose your format:

It depends on what you're doing with the lyrics afterward:

.txt is for reading and sharing. If you want to paste a verse into a note, save lyrics for offline reference, or share them in a message, plain text is the simplest. No timestamps, no formatting — just the words.

.lrc is for synced playback. The .lrc format pairs each line with a timestamp, so a compatible music player (like many desktop players or media apps) can display the lyrics in time with the song. If you listen offline or want lyrics to follow the music in another app, .lrc is what you want.

Clipboard is for one-off use. Don't need a file? Just copy and paste — fastest path when you only want a single line or verse right now.

Build a personal lyrics book of songs you love — your copy, not a stream that can disappear. Paste a verse into a note or a message instead of screenshotting the player. Drop a .lrc into an offline music player so lyrics follow the song even without the Spotify tab open.

If the official panel ever goes missing for a track you care about — wrong, unsynced, or just gone — you've already got the words saved. That's the whole point: once you export, the lyrics are yours.

Want the full picture of what LyricSide can do alongside export? See the Free vs Pro breakdown or jump straight to the pricing page.

Spotify treats lyrics as something it shows you, not something you keep. If accuracy, language learning, or simply owning a copy matters to you, exporting is the only way to stop depending on a panel that can drift, go wrong, or vanish. One click, three formats, and the words are yours.