What are synced lyrics, and how do you make them?

Line timing and word timing

The simplest synced lyrics give every line a start time. A player shows the whole line when that time arrives. Word timing goes further and gives every word its own start, and in the better formats its own end, so the highlight can move through the line as it is sung.

Line timing is enough for a scrolling lyric display or a simple subtitle. Karaoke, kinetic typography and most lyric videos need word timing. The word level vs line level guide covers the choice.

The file formats

• LRC: a timestamp in square brackets before each line. Enhanced LRC adds a timestamp before each word. Used by music players and karaoke apps.
• TTML: XML, with a timed paragraph per line and a timed span per word. Common in streaming and word-synced lyric displays.
• SRT and WebVTT: subtitle formats with a start and end time per cue. What video editors and YouTube import.
• ASS: a subtitle format with karaoke tags that fill each word over its own duration.

Enhanced LRC, one line:

[00:12.40]<00:12.40>The <00:12.78>lights <00:13.36>come <00:13.84>on<00:15.18>

Three ways to make them

Tap along by hand. LRC editors and lyric platforms let you play the song and tap a key as each line or word starts. It is free and fine for a single track with line timing. Word timing by hand is slow, because every word is a tap and every mistake is a retake.

Transcribe and time. Speech recognition tools listen to the song and write out what they hear, with timings. That works when you have no lyric sheet, but sung words are hard to transcribe, so you end up correcting the text as well as the timing.

Sync lyrics you already have. If you have the approved lyrics, a lyric sync tool can match those exact words to the vocal instead of guessing them. This is what LyriSync does: upload the finished song, paste the lyrics, check every word against the waveform, then export the format you need. No acapella is needed.

Getting synced lyrics onto streaming services

Spotify, Apple Music and most other services do not take a lyric file from you directly. Their lyrics come from providers, most often Musixmatch, usually through your distributor or a verified artist account. Each provider has its own submission and syncing process, so check theirs before you prepare anything.

Timed files you make yourself are for everywhere else: lyric videos, karaoke, captions, your own player, live visuals and social clips.

Which file to ask for

• A lyric video in After Effects: the After Effects export, so the words arrive as editable text layers.
• A video in Premiere Pro, Resolve or on YouTube: SRT.
• A music player or karaoke app: LRC, enhanced if it supports word highlights.
• Word-synced XML for a platform or your own app: TTML.
• Karaoke subtitles with a fill: ASS.

Make one with the LRC generator, TTML lyrics generator or SRT lyrics generator. For video editors, see adding timed lyrics in Premiere Pro, Resolve and YouTube.