What’s the difference between 16:9 and 9:16?

16:9 is the wide video of your whole song, made for YouTube, and 9:16 is the tall clip from your song, made for Shorts, Reels and TikTok.

How to switch the preview between shapes

1. Go to the Style step.
2. Find the shape switch:
   • On a computer: in the bar along the bottom, under See it as, press 16:9 YouTube or 9:16 Shorts.
   • On a tablet or phone: under Format, tap 16:9 YouTube or 9:16 Shorts.
3. The preview changes shape. On a computer it carries on from the same moment in your song. On a tablet or phone it goes back to the start of your clip.

With a mouse, the buttons explain themselves: 'Wide, for YouTube' and 'Tall, for Shorts, Reels and TikTok'. On a computer, press F to switch.

What each shape gives you

	16:9	9:16
Shape	Wide	Tall
Made for	YouTube	Shorts, Reels and TikTok
Length	The whole song	Your clip only, 5 to 60 seconds
Size	HD 1920×1080 or 4K 3840×2160	1080×1920
How you get it	Full video: £4.99$5.99€5.99CA$8.99A$8.99 in HD or £6.99$7.99€7.99CA$11.99A$11.99 in 4K, with one 9:16 clip included free	Free with the full video, or Just the clip for £1.49$1.79€1.79CA$2.69A$2.69 (your first clip is free)

With a mouse, the desktop switch says 'You get both shapes'. That means one 16:9 video of the whole song plus one 9:16 clip, when you buy the full video.

Good to know

• Every choice applies to both shapes. Your style, font, colours, size and other options carry across. You don't need to set them twice.
• Each style lays out each shape itself. A style isn't just cropped: it rearranges the words for a tall screen and keeps them clear of the apps' buttons. See Will TikTok, Reels or Shorts buttons cover my lyrics?
• The 9:16 download is your clip only. Choose which part of the song it covers on the timeline. See How do I choose which part of my song becomes the clip?
• 'Whole song' in 9:16 is a preview only. You can watch the whole song in the tall shape, but there's no full-length 9:16 download. The 9:16 file is always your clip.
• The included clip is 1080×1920, even when your full video is 4K.
• Started with 'Just clips for socials'? The preview opens in 9:16, and you can switch to 16:9 at any time. See Should I pick ‘A lyric video’ or ‘Just clips for socials’?
• A few options only affect one shape. For example, Texts' Phones (16:9) row only changes the wide video.
• The switch has two names. It's See it as on a computer and Format on a tablet or phone. They do the same thing.

If something goes wrong

• You want the whole song in 9:16. That isn't available yet. The 9:16 download covers up to 60 seconds. For more of your song on socials, buy another clip from a different part. See Can I get more than one clip from a song?
• The words look different in each shape. That's expected. Each style lays out 16:9 and 9:16 separately so both read well.

Hidden extras

• On a computer, F switches shape anywhere in the studio, even in Present mode.
• On a wide computer screen in 9:16, the song timeline stands upright beside the preview, so the tall picture stays as big as it can.