Guest column: Music Ally publishes guest columns which voice the opinions of notable authors that advance specific perspectives on important issues. These are chosen at the Editorial team’s discretion and are not paid-for. You can explore the guest column archive here.
This is a guest column from Rio Caraeff, Musixmatch’s co-president and chief business officer – and who previously held key roles at Vevo and UMG, amongst others. It builds on a recent Music Ally Connect panel that he took part in with John Oberbeck and Maegan Cottone, and argues that while lyrics have become a major driver of discovery, engagement and fan participation, they are still treated as a secondary asset.
Global music revenues are expected to double to $200 billion by 2035. That is an extraordinary expansion story. But if we are serious about unlocking that growth, we need to confront a structural blind spot at the heart of our ecosystem.
Today, lyrics account for roughly 1% of how songwriters and music publishers make income.
Let that sink in.
The words that define songs, shape identity, drive fandom and anchor publishing rights generate a fraction of the industry’s value. If we genuinely believe music can become a $200 billion industry – then we need to explain why the very foundation of songs remains so economically marginal.
Because without lyrics, there is no song. And without songs, there is no scalable music business.
Lyrics are what I often call the “atomic kernel of truth.” They are where emotion becomes language, where sound becomes narrative, and where fans attach meaning to music.
In a digital world defined by screens, captions and constant sharing, lyrics are increasingly how audiences engage with songs. They are quoted, posted, dissected and debated. They are how fans step into an artist’s universe.
If lyrics are central to how fans connect, why do they represent just 1% of income?
The superfan economy runs on meaning
The industry talks constantly about superfans because they represent the clearest path to incremental growth. Goldman Sachs estimates that superfans could generate an additional $6.6 billion annually by 2035, while Luminate estimates that superfans spend 80% more on music each month than the average U.S. music listener.
That upside does not come from passive streaming volume alone; it comes from emotional depth.
Lyrics are one of the most powerful drivers of that depth. They allow fans to interpret meaning, articulate emotion and signal belonging within a community. In a streaming and social-first environment – from TikTok to Instagram to YouTube – lyrics often travel further than the audio itself. They are quoted, shared and debated in ways that extend a song’s cultural lifespan.
If lyrics are central to how fans connect, why do they represent just 1% of income?
At Musixmatch, we see this consistently across millions of tracks: when fans engage with lyrics, they listen longer, return more often and share more widely. Words don’t just deepen connection – they increase lifetime value.
If superfans are the most valuable segment of the audience, then lyrics are one of the most reliable pathways to creating them.
Streaming delivered scale. Lyrics can deliver depth.
Streaming has been extraordinarily successful at delivering access and scale. What it has not fully captured is the deeper layer of value embedded in songs.
Beyond fan engagement, lyrics also strengthen the underlying economics of streaming.
They improve discoverability because listeners often remember words before titles. They extend engagement by encouraging users to follow along. They support cross-border growth through translation and create a surface area that turns listeners into highly engaged visual users.
Yet lyric data has not always been treated with the same rigor as audio metadata. Lyrics are music publishing. They are authored works. As music moves across short-form video, gaming platforms and AI-platforms, track-level metadata alone is not sufficient for accurate matching and rights management.
Lyric-level intelligence strengthens attribution, reduces ambiguity, and supports clearer reporting and payment. When lyric data is verified, connected to ownership information, and is pristinely managed in an unbroken supply chain, it reinforces the rights infrastructure that underpins streaming’s long-term sustainability.
In an era of infinite supply, attention is scarce. The songs that endure are those that resonate across generations – and resonance is built on words.
If lyrics remain at 1% of income of music publishing income, we are not simply undervaluing writers. We are overlooking one of the most powerful levers for sustainable growth.
It is time to treat lyrics and their underlying administration not just as a feature of streaming, but as foundational infrastructure for the future of music.
