Put your new song in an Instagram story and look at the music sticker. On a lot of Bhojpuri, Haryanvi and devotional releases it's just the song name and artist, no words. On bigger tracks the lyrics scroll across the screen in bold letters, and that's the version people actually share. "Bhai, ye lyrics kaise aate hain?" is a question artists ask us all the time.
The answer is one company most artists have never dealt with directly: Musixmatch. Lyrics on Spotify are licensed and synced by Musixmatch, and the same lyrics get sent on to Instagram, Apple Music and its other partners. Your distributor delivers the audio and the metadata. It doesn't put the words on screen. That part you, or your label, do yourself, and the basic version is free.
Here's how it works, step by step, and the small mistakes that keep lyrics from showing up.
Why bother
Synced lyrics are the line-by-line words that move with the song. On Instagram they turn a plain music sticker into something people actually want to post. On Spotify they keep a listener on your track a little longer, singing along instead of skipping.
For regional music this matters more than people think. A Haryanvi or Rajasthani song with a strong hook line gets shared because of that line. If the line isn't on screen, half the reason to share it is gone.
Before you start
You need three things in place:
1. The song must already be live. Musixmatch works with released tracks. Release first, then do lyrics. 2. Your Spotify artist profile link. Open your artist page on Spotify, tap the three dots, Share, Copy link. Keep it handy. 3. An email that looks like it belongs to you. Spotify and Musixmatch both suggest signing up with an email linked to the artist, label or management company, because it speeds up verification. A label email like [email protected] gets through faster than a random Gmail with numbers in it.
Step 1: Make a Musixmatch Pro account
Go to Musixmatch Pro and choose a plan. You'll see paid options first. Scroll down: there's a free plan below them, and according to Spotify's own help page, the free tier is all you need to add, edit and sync lyrics on Spotify.
Fill in your details. Use your artist name exactly the way it appears on Spotify. If you release as "Ramesh Yadav Official" on Spotify, don't sign up as "R. Yadav".
Step 2: Verify your artist profile
From the Musixmatch Pro homepage, open Roster, then Add artist. Search your name, or paste your Spotify artist URL, and fill in the required fields. Musixmatch's support article also asks for your Apple Music ID if you have one.
Verification takes a few working days. They may email you asking for more proof. Answer that email quickly; that's the step where most people go quiet and then wonder why nothing happened.
If you're a manager or with a label but don't have the label's email address, Musixmatch says to CC the label or the artist in your correspondence. They don't take false claims lightly. Their page warns that anyone found not to be the legal representative gets removed, and legal action is possible.
Already claimed by someone else? Musixmatch won't let a second person claim the same artist. Write to their support with proof. Don't make a duplicate profile.
Step 3: Add the lyrics
Once verified, go to Roster, pick the song from the To Do or Music tab, and select Lyrics.
Can't find the song? Use Music > Add missing release. Spotify's help page says it can take up to 48 hours to show up after that.
A tip that saves time: if you link a Spotify Premium account, Musixmatch pairs your Spotify catalogue with your Pro account automatically and fetches the audio for syncing.
Now type the lyrics. This is where Indian artists trip up most, so read these rules slowly:
- Write in the native script. Musixmatch's writing guidelines say original scripts should be used for all languages. A Hindi, Bhojpuri or Haryanvi song goes in Devanagari. A Punjabi song goes in Gurmukhi. Don't type "Tere naal nachna" in Roman letters. Musixmatch creates a romanised version on its own in the translation section, so Hinglish readers aren't left out.
- No "x2" or "x4". If the chorus repeats four times, type it four times. Multipliers aren't allowed.
- Only what is sung. No "(Verse - Singer name)", no "*dhol beat*", no credits inside the lyrics.
- Tag the sections. Use #VERSE and #CHORUS so the structure is clear.
- Include the small stuff in moderation. An "ae haaye" or a "hoye" that's part of the rhythm can go in. A full minute of "aa aa aa" doesn't need to.
- Mark long music breaks. If there's more than 15 seconds with no vocals, the guidelines ask for an #INSTRUMENTAL tag.
Hit Send. Spotify says it can take a few days for the change to show.
Step 4: Sync the lyrics
Plain lyrics are good. Synced lyrics are what people actually see moving on Instagram.
Back in Roster, pick the song and select Sync. Musixmatch shows the lyrics line by line. Play the song and set each line to start the moment the first word of that line is sung. If two singers are on the track, as in a lot of Bhojpuri duets, sync to the main vocal.
Check the whole song once more from start to finish before you send. A line that comes in half a second late looks sloppy in a story.
Step 5: Wait, and check Instagram properly
Musixmatch says it sends lyrics from verified artists to Instagram, Apple Music, Spotify and its other partners within one working day. What happens after that depends on each platform. Spotify usually takes a few days. Instagram can take up to a few weeks.
To test on Instagram, open Story, add the music sticker, search your song and see whether the lyrics option appears.
When the lyrics still don't show
Go through this list before you message anyone:
- Track length mismatch. Musixmatch specifically mentions this for Instagram. The duration of the track on Musixmatch should match the track on Instagram. If you uploaded a 3:42 file on Musixmatch but the released version is 3:45, fix it.
- You weren't logged in as the verified artist. Lyrics added from a regular account don't carry the same weight.
- Guidelines not followed. Roman script, "x2", or missing sections can delay or block distribution.
- You edited it again. Every new edit restarts the wait on the platforms. Make your changes in one go.
- Wrong song version. If you released a slowed or lofi version separately, it's a separate track with its own lyrics job.
What we do on the RMX side
At RMX Music, our job is getting the audio, artwork and metadata right across 95+ platforms, so that when you go to Musixmatch your song is there under the right artist name with the right duration. Messy metadata causes problems here too: if a singer's name is spelled two ways, or a featured artist is missing, the song can end up on the wrong profile, and then the lyrics go to the wrong place as well.
We've delivered 20,000+ tracks for 3,000+ artists and 2,200+ labels, and you keep 95% of your royalties. If you're planning your next release and want it set up cleanly from the start, you can create your RMX Music account here. The Label plan is ₹4,500 lifetime and the Agent account is ₹15,000 lifetime.
Then, the week your song goes live, spend twenty minutes on Musixmatch. It's free, and it's the difference between a sticker and a story people stop scrolling for.