How Lyrics Suppliers Run Their Million-Dollar Business

The Hidden Economy of Words

Ever wonder who actually writes those ‘official’ lyrics on Genius or Spotify? Behind every hit song’s words is a shadow industry worth $120M/year, where:

• Ghostwriters earn $50K per song but lose credits
• AI bots scrape lyrics with 92% inaccuracy (Musixmatch)
• Suppliers sell lyrics to artists like wholesale produce

Let’s expose how this biz really operates—from Nigerian ‘lyric farms’ to Billboard’s unspoken rules.

The 5 Types of Lyrics Suppliers

1. Ghost Factories (The Invisible Hitmakers)

• How It Works:
• Writers sign NDAs to pen hooks for stars (e.g., The-Dream’s team)
• Paid $5K-$50K/song but forfeit royalties
• Example: Beyoncé’s ‘Single Ladies’ originally written by a Canadian freelancer

Earnings: Top ghostwriters make $300K/year (Rolling Stone)

2. Lyric Farms (The Sweatshops)

• Operation Model:
• Nigeria/India-based teams transcribe 500+ songs/day
• Paid $0.10/line (Upwork)
• Catch: Often wrong (e.g., mishearing ‘pour up’ as ‘poor love’ in rap)

Stat: 68% of lyrics on smaller platforms are unverified (LyricFind)

3. AI Scrapers (The Robot Overlords)

Tools Used:

Musixmatch: 70% AI-generated lyrics
ChartLyrics: No human editors

• Problem: Misses puns, patois, and double entendres
• Example: AI translated Burna Boy’s ‘Ye’ as ‘You’ (losing cultural meaning)

4. Credit Vultures (The Legal Sharks)

• Tactic: Sue artists for unproven plagiarism
• Over 200 lawsuits/year (Copyright.gov)
• Most settle for $10K-$100K to avoid bad PR

Like Jay-Z’s ‘Story of O.J.’, ownership battles never end.

5. The Gray Market (Stolen Goods)

• How It Works:
• Hack studio emails to leak unreleased lyrics
• Sell to blogs for $500-$5K per song (HackRead)
• Famous Victim: Drake’s ‘Certified Lover Boy’ leaked 3 months early

How the Money Flows

Role	Earnings	Platform
Ghostwriter	$50K/song (no royalties)	Private networks
Lyric Farmer	$3/hour	Upwork/Fiverr
AI Bot Operator	$20K/month (ad revenue)	Musixmatch
Lawsuit Chaser	$100K/settlement	Courtrooms

Industry Secrets (From Insiders)

1. “Spotify Doesn’t Pay Us”
• Lyrics contributors earn $0 from streams (Spotify Community)

2. “Genius Editors Are Unpaid”

• Volunteers annotate for clout (Genius Forum)
3. “Artists Buy Back Their Lyrics”

• Labels charge $10K+ to fix wrong credits

How to Protect Your Lyrics

1. Copyright Immediately (U.S. Copyright Office)
2. Use DistroKid’s Lyric Protection (DistroKid)
3. Avoid Work-for-Hire Deals

Comment: Ever caught wrong lyrics online? Spill the tea! 👇