Audio to Lyrics, Transcribe Any Song to Text with AI
Turn a song, demo or voice memo into a lyric draft. Review the words, then copy them or export TXT, SRT or VTT. A free account includes one transcription, up to 12 minutes.
Upload Your Audio File
Drag and drop your audio file here
or
Why Use Our Free Audio to Lyrics AI?
Works on Any Song
Transcribes unreleased tracks, demos, covers, voice memos and songs you wrote yourself, not just famous hits in a database like Shazam or Genius.
Reviewable lyric drafts
AI transcribes the words it detects. Check names, repeated lines and timings against the audio before using the text or subtitles.
17+ Languages Auto-Detected
English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, Russian and more, or leave it on auto and let the AI figure it out.
Private by Policy, Free to Start
One free transcription per account, no credit card. Your browser downsamples the audio before sending it to our speech-to-text provider, Groq in the United States. See our privacy policy for file handling.
How the Audio to Lyrics Transcription Works
Your browser prepares the audio, then sends a downsampled version to our speech-to-text provider, Groq in the United States. Sign in before transcription. Your account includes one free transcription; paid plans cover further use within their limits.
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Drop your audio file
Drag and drop an MP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG or M4A file, or a video file with an audio track. Everything up to 12 minutes is accepted.
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Pick a language (or auto-detect)
Select the language of the vocals from the dropdown. Leave it on Auto-detect to let the service detect the language. If detection is wrong, select the language yourself.
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Your browser downsamples the audio
The Web Audio API decodes your file locally and converts it to 16 kHz mono, the AI's native format, reducing the amount of audio sent for transcription.
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Our AI transcribes the vocals
The prepared audio is sent for transcription. Time varies with the file, connection and service load. Review the returned words and timestamps.
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Copy, download or share your lyrics
The full lyrics appear in a scrollable panel with detected language and duration. Use Copy Lyrics for a lyric sheet, or Export for plain TXT, timestamped TXT, SRT, VTT or JSON. Review the timing before adding subtitles to a video.
Who Uses Audio to Lyrics Transcription?
AI lyrics transcription solves a problem that song databases never could: getting the words out of a song that isn't indexed anywhere. Here are the most common ways our users put it to work.
Songwriters transcribing their own demos
Record a rough vocal idea on your phone, drop it here, and get a clean lyric sheet to edit in your songwriting app.
Producers analyzing sample vocals
Need to know what a vocal sample actually says before clearing it or re-chopping it? Transcribe and read.
Beatmakers writing toplines
Hear a melody you want to reference? Transcribe the lyric structure and phrasing to guide your own topline.
Music students studying lyrics
Analyze rhyme schemes, meter and lyrical imagery of any song, even tracks that don't appear on Genius.
Language learners
Transcribe foreign-language songs to read along while listening, a proven way to improve vocabulary and pronunciation.
Podcasters & content creators
Extract text from jingles, sung intros, musical segments or interview clips for show notes and blog posts.
Karaoke night prep
Pair with our Vocal Remover to build a full DIY karaoke kit: instrumental + lyric sheet. Reuse the saved audio file in each tool; files are not transferred automatically.
Accessibility & transcription
Hard of hearing and deaf users can read the full lyrics of any audio track. Also great for subtitling musical content.
Supported Languages for Lyrics Transcription
Choose one of the 17 languages in the menu or use Auto-detect. Automatic detection can make mistakes on short clips or mixed-language recordings; select the language yourself if needed.
AI Audio to Lyrics vs. Lyrics Databases (Shazam, Genius, Musixmatch)
Traditional lyrics services only return lyrics for songs that someone has already added to a database. If a track is unreleased, obscure or too new, they simply don't have it. AI transcription works from the audio itself, so it works on any song with vocals, indexed or not.
| Feature | RemoveVocals (AI) | Shazam / Genius |
|---|---|---|
| Works on unreleased songs & demos | ||
| Works on your own recordings | ||
| Works on covers & live versions | Partial | |
| Multi-language auto-detection | 17+ | Per-song |
| Upload your own audio file | ||
| Free account, one free transcription | Signup | |
| Download as .txt | Copy only | |
| Free to start | Ads/freemium |
The Complete Guide to AI Lyrics Transcription from Audio
What is Audio to Lyrics AI? Audio to Lyrics AI is a free online tool that uses artificial intelligence to transcribe sung vocals from any audio file (MP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG, M4A) into full written lyrics. It works in 17 languages with automatic detection, handles unreleased songs and demos, with one free transcription per account. Results are drafts to review.
For years, the only way to get lyrics was to look them up on a lyrics database like Genius, AZLyrics or Musixmatch, which works great when the song is famous, and completely fails when it isn't. If you're a songwriter with a 30-second voice memo, a producer working with a custom topline recording, a beatmaker chopping an obscure sample, or simply someone with an unmarked MP3 from an old hard drive, lyrics databases are useless. You need an AI that listens to the audio and writes down what it hears.
Our speech-to-text service generates a draft from the audio. We do not have a published accuracy score for this tool on your music. Instruments, effects, pronunciation and overlapping voices can change the result, so check the words before sharing or publishing them.
Your browser decodes the file and prepares 16 kHz mono audio. That audio is sent to our speech-to-text provider, Groq in the United States, for transcription. This is server processing, not an entirely local tool. See the privacy policy for file handling.
Once the lyrics are on screen, you'll see them split into natural paragraph breaks wherever the singer pauses for more than a beat or two, perfect for reading, singing along, or pasting into a DAW session notes panel. One click copies everything to your clipboard, another click downloads a plain .txt file you can open in any text editor. If you need to edit and share, paste them into Google Docs, Notion, or your favorite songwriting app.
To get the best possible accuracy, keep a few things in mind. First, cleaner vocals always transcribe better, if the song has very loud instrumentals that mask the singer, running the file through our Vocal Remover first to isolate the vocal stem can dramatically improve results. Second, extreme autotune, heavy pitch correction, breathy vocals and screaming can confuse the model; normal singing, rap and spoken delivery work best. Third, for foreign-language tracks, forcing the language via the dropdown often gives a little more accuracy than auto-detect, especially if the intro is instrumental.
Key Takeaways
- Works on any audio including unreleased songs, demos, voice memos and covers (unlike Shazam/Genius, which require a database match).
- 17 languages with auto-detection English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabic and more.
- Typical accuracy: 90-96% on clean vocals 85-90% on mixed tracks, comparable to a professional human transcriber (source: academic WER benchmarks for state-of-the-art speech recognition, 2023).
- Review before publishing transcription time and accuracy vary with the recording and service load.
- Private by policy audio is downsampled client-side, sent to our speech-to-text provider (Groq, United States) for the duration of the transcription, then discarded. Nothing stored, nothing used for training.
- Free to start one free transcription per account, no credit card, no watermark.
About the RemoveVocals Team
RemoveVocals is built and operated by NOTHING SAS, Paris. Our tools include vocal removal, stem splitting, lyrics transcription and audio editing. Some tools process audio on a server, while others run locally. Learn more about RemoveVocals and read our privacy policy.
This tool is part of a full suite of free browser-based audio utilities. After you transcribe your lyrics, you can remove the vocals to make a karaoke instrumental, transpose the key to fit your voice, detect the tempo and musical key for re-production, cut the track down to just the chorus, or master it for release. Account requirements and free allowances vary by tool. Download your files before moving to another tool. For more background on AI audio tools and workflows, check our blog.
Frequently Asked Questions about Audio to Lyrics Transcription
How do I transcribe lyrics from an audio file?
Choose an audio file up to 12 minutes, sign in and select a language or Auto-detect. Your browser prepares the audio and sends it for transcription. Review the returned words before copying or exporting them. Each free account includes one transcription.
Can this tool transcribe lyrics from unreleased songs or demos?
Yes. Unlike Shazam, Genius or Musixmatch which only work with songs already in a public database, our tool transcribes the actual audio, so it works on unreleased tracks, rough demos, voice memos, covers, live recordings and even tracks you wrote yourself yesterday. This is the main reason songwriters, producers and beatmakers use it.
Is the audio to lyrics converter really free?
Every account gets one free transcription, with no credit card and no watermark. Copy or download the lyrics you get. Additional transcriptions are part of the paid plans.
Which languages are supported for lyrics transcription?
The menu includes English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Swedish, Ukrainian and Hindi. Auto-detect is also available. Select the language yourself if automatic detection is wrong.
How accurate is AI lyrics transcription compared to human transcription?
Accuracy varies with the voice, mix, language and recording. We do not have a published accuracy score for this tool on your music. Review names, repeated lines and timestamps against the audio. For a difficult mix, you can try transcribing a saved vocal stem from our Vocal Remover.
What audio formats can I upload?
MP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG, M4A, AAC, WebM and most common audio containers, plus audio extracted from MP4/MOV videos. Your browser decodes the file locally and only a downsampled 16 kHz mono version is processed for transcription, keeping data transfer minimal.
What is the maximum song length I can transcribe?
Up to 12 minutes per upload. For a longer recording, use our Audio Cutter and upload each saved section separately. Each transcription uses the applicable account allowance.
Is my audio file private and secure?
Your browser downsamples the audio and sends that version to our speech-to-text provider, Groq in the United States. A free account is required before transcription. See our privacy policy for file handling.
Can I copy the lyrics or download them as a text file?
Yes. After a successful transcription, use Copy Lyrics or the Export menu. Available formats are plain TXT, timestamped TXT, SRT subtitles, VTT subtitles and JSON. Check the words and subtitle timings before publishing.
Does it work on sung vocals or only spoken words?
You can try singing, rap or spoken audio. Distortion, heavy effects and overlapping voices can reduce accuracy. The output is a draft to check against the recording.
Can I transcribe a YouTube song or a Spotify track?
You cannot upload a direct link, but you can record the audio on your device with our free Voice Recorder or export the song to MP3 first, then upload it here. Please respect copyright and only use this with content you own or have the right to transcribe.
Can I use this for karaoke or singing practice?
Yes. Save a lyric sheet here and make an instrumental with our Vocal Remover. Select your audio file again in the other tool; files are not transferred automatically. Review the lyrics before rehearsing.
Can I transcribe lyrics from a movie, video or MP4 file?
Yes, most modern browsers decode the audio track from MP4 and WebM videos directly. Just drag the video file into the upload zone. If your browser refuses, use our Audio Converter to extract the audio to MP3 first.
Is this better than Shazam or Genius for lyrics?
It's different and complementary. Shazam, Genius, AZLyrics and Musixmatch give you pre-written lyrics for songs already in their database, great for famous tracks, useless for anything unreleased. Our tool generates the lyrics from the audio itself, so it works on any song with vocals, whether it's #1 on Billboard or a demo you recorded this morning.