NEW YORK — By Amanda Hugginkiss, AI Bee Reel Staff

February 9, 2026

SAN BRUNO, CA — Kevin Miller, a local 16-year-old, was midway through a passionate shower rendition of his favorite power ballad when disaster struck. Just as he hit the high note, the music abruptly cut to a monotone robotic voice reading the terms of a high-interest credit card application. Miller stood frozen, shampoo dripping into his eyes, clutching a loofah like a microphone while the voice demanded his mother’s maiden name before unlocking the chorus.

“Words are a premium luxury feature,” said Chad Banning, VP of Audio Rationing. “Our data shows that free users can simply hum the melody. Knowing what the singer is actually saying is a privilege reserved for paying customers.” This move confirms recent reports that the platform now blocks lyrics for free users after five songs, blurring the text and demanding a subscription to see the rest of the alphabet.

“We call this ‘Mystery Mode’,” explained Linda Listen, Director of Silence. “It encourages creativity. Why sing the real words when you can make up your own for free?” She noted that most users have resorted to awkwardly mumbling “watermelon” during the bridge anyway. “If you really need to know if the lyric is ‘Starbucks lovers’ or ‘long list of ex-lovers,’ that knowledge costs $10.99 a month,” she added.

At press time, YouTube Music announced a new “Instrumental Tier” that removes the drums from every track until users upload a photo of their passport.

Inspired by the real story: YouTube Music is now hiding song lyrics from free users to push them toward premium subscriptions. Read the full story.