How to put lyrics on a YouTube video
There are three ways to get the lyrics of a song onto a YouTube video: burn them into the picture, upload them as subtitles with timings, or upload the plain lyrics and let YouTube time them. Here is when to use each one, with the steps from YouTube's Help Center (checked 17 October 2026).
Which way to choose
| Way | Viewers see it | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Subtitles with timings (.srt, .lrc) | When they turn on CC | The official music video, several languages |
| Plain lyrics (.txt, without timing) | When they turn on CC | Quick lyrics when you have no timed file |
| In the picture | Always | Lyric videos, Shorts, clips for social media |
Subtitles live on YouTube, so you can fix a word or add a translation without uploading the video again. Lyrics in the picture travel with the file: they show wherever the video is posted.
Subtitles with timings (SRT or LRC)
YouTube accepts SubRip (.srt), SubViewer (.sbv) and LRC (.lrc) as basic subtitle files, in plain text without style markup (UTF-8 for .srt). An LRC file is the same kind of timed lyrics many players use, so if you already have one, you can upload it as is.
These are the steps in YouTube's Help Center (checked 17 October 2026), from YouTube Studio on a computer:
- Sign in to YouTube Studio.
- In the left menu, select Subtitles.
- Select the video.
- Click Add language and pick the language of the lyrics.
- Under Subtitles, click Add.
- Select Upload file, choose With timing and click Continue.
- Choose the file and click Save.
For a translation of the lyrics, repeat from step 4 with the other language and its file.
Plain lyrics: YouTube sets the timings
If you only have the lyrics as text, use the same steps but choose Without timing and upload a plain text file (.txt). YouTube's tips for transcripts:
- Save it as plain text, in UTF-8 if it is not in English.
- A blank line forces a new caption, so leave a blank line between lyric lines you want on screen separately.
- Write the lyrics in the language that is sung.
- It works best on videos under an hour with good sound and clear speech.
Singing over a full mix is not clear speech, so play the whole video back with CC on and move or fix the lines that drift.
Lyrics in the picture
For a lyric video, a visualizer with the words, or a Short, the lyrics go in the image. You can type them line by line in any editor (in CapCut, step by step), or let the karaoke and lyric video editor sync them: upload the video or paste its YouTube link, ask Milo for the lyrics, fix any word, and export 16:9 for the full video or 9:16 for Shorts. If you are choosing between a lyric video and a visualizer, see lyric video vs visualizer vs music video.
Check before you publish
| Check | Why |
|---|---|
| Every line against the official lyrics | Recognition and typing mistakes show in names, slang and ad-libs |
| Each line appears as it is sung | A late line reads as out of sync |
| The file opens as plain text | Style markup and other encodings are where uploads fail |
| Title says «Official Lyric Video» when the words are in the picture | People search for the song name plus «lyrics» |
Need the timed file? The subtitle generator transcribes the singing word by word, lets you correct it and downloads it as SRT, ready for step 6.