Spotify taps Pusha T, Tinashe for Genius team-up

Those music fans wondering about the meaning of their favourite song now have the Behind the Lyrics playlists to provide the answer rather than having to google it.

Streaming service Spotify and crowd-sourced lyric website Genius have teamed up for the curated playlists. As the tracks plays, out come song facts provided by music fans and scholars, lyrical explanations and stories from the artists. Spotify has 70 million users.

The first playlist, out this week, covers hip hop, to be followed in a few weeks by one covering well known hits.

Beyond The Lyrics (Hip Hop) launched with input from Pusha T, Tinashe and Diplo.

“Every word that I write means something to me,” said Pusha T. “Together we’ve found a way to bring my fans a deeper listening experience and raise the bar for songwriters.” 

Diplo agreed that many fans are intrigued by song meanings and what was going through the writer’s mind. “Being a producer and writer, I really love to see how some songs resonate with fans from the feeling / meaning or just sound of the records. I have always been a person that dissects music and studies it. I was a sample spotter and I learned how to make music by listening to it.”

This is not Spotify’s first move into displaying song lyrics. A March 2015 partnership with Musixmatch allowed its users to look at lyrics to sing along with the track. But the Genius partnership will not affect that earlier deal.

Spotify emphasised, "Spotify’s partnership with Genius is complementary to Musixmatch. We have no plans to replace Musixmatch; we’re adding a new layer of context behind the lyrics to create a deeper connection between fans and their favorite artists."

The Behind the Lyrics playlists are available to all Spotify iPhone users but the iPhone 4 and 4/s. Desktop and web users have to go to Genius’ website to check it out, and must also install Spotify’s desktop app.