How to sync lyrics to a song

Lines and words are different jobs

Line timing says when a phrase begins. Word timing lets a video highlight or animate each word as it is sung. An LRC file usually holds line start times; an SRT file holds the beginning and end of caption cues. Neither is a promise of word-by-word timing.

Get the words ready

In lyrik, you can paste your lyrics or choose Auto-detect lyrics after selecting your track. Detection finds words in the vocal, then brings you to the same Sync screen. If you do not have a lyric sheet, read Make a lyric video without written lyrics.

If you paste, put each sung line on its own line. Use [Verse] and [Chorus] for sections, and parentheses for backing words. Write repeated words in full or use a repeat format the checker recognises. A missing line can make a correct-looking timestamp misleading.

Three ways to find the moment

You can place each line by ear, tap along while the track plays, or upload the song to the editor for automatic word timing. Tapping along gives you line timings; the editor’s sync check lets you listen and make corrections before styling.

Correct words as you listen

In Listen and fix, select a word to edit, delete or move it. These controls appear for the word you select. Undo restores a change, and edits save automatically. Open More tools to edit a whole line; changing its word count redistributes its timing, so listen again afterwards.

Timing confidence is not a spelling check. Check names and repeats even when a line looks correctly timed.

Listen at the transitions

Check the first line after a pause, the start of the chorus and a change of singer. Consonants, breath and backing vocals can make the start harder to judge. A small correction is easier to hear when you replay the lead-in rather than starting exactly on the word.

Choose the file for its destination

Use LRC where a player accepts timed lyric lines, and SRT or VTT where the destination accepts caption tracks. Sending lyrics to streaming services is a separate distribution workflow; uploading an LRC here does not publish lyrics to those services.

For that separate step, ask your distributor how they deliver lyrics to streaming services.