Apple Music to introduce lyric sharing feature

Apple Music is set to introduce a lyric sharing feature in the Australian autumn.

It’s currently on the new Beta version of iOS 14.5 released to testers, developers, and early users.

When available on wider release, subscribers will be able to choose to share it either through the Messages app or on Instagram through Stories.

They can either be to turn friends onto new music, or used as a birthday or anniversary dedication to someone.

Users view the lyrics on the Now Playing screen and press on the lyrics they want to share, prompting the sharing menu to appear.

For Instagram Stories, a link to the song opens in Apple Music when clicked. Sharing through Messages includes a snippet of the song playing the lyrics that were being shared.

Other additions in the Music app in iOS 14.5 include modal pop-over menus for each song, support for swipe gestures in albums and playlists, new emojis including heart on fire, mending heart, exhaling face, face with spiral eyes and face in clouds, and new shortcuts and podcasts.

In the meantime, Engadget reports Spotify is currently testing a Live Lyrics feature in the US, which Apple Music introduced into that market with iOS 13 for a majority of its songs. On-screen lyrics are among the most requested of its features, Spotify said.

A spokesperson said:“We can confirm we are currently testing our lyrics feature to a select number of users in the US. At Spotify, we routinely conduct a number of tests in an effort to improve our user experience.

“Some of those tests end up paving the way for our broader user experience and others serve only as an important learning. We do not have any further news to share at this time.”

Australia was not one of the 26 countries where Live Lyrics was launched in mid-2020, including Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bolivia, Thailand and India.