Naver Vibe Offers Korea's First Translated Lyrics Service

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Naver’s ‘Vibe’ announced on the 19th that it has introduced the first overseas song translated lyrics service among domestic music platforms.

Vibe’s translated lyrics service is characterized by the participation of translation experts who directly work on providing high-quality translated lyrics. The rhythm of the original lyrics is also reflected in the translation. Since the translated lyrics are supported in real-time according to the flow of the song, users can immediately check the original text and meaning within the Vibe app without using other platforms.

Naver explained that through expert translations, users can enjoy songs while understanding the message intended by the original artist, and also gain educational benefits.

To provide a legitimate service, Vibe signed a contract with an overseas lyrics agency earlier this year. By officially securing the rights to use and create derivative works of pop song lyrics for the first time among domestic music platforms, it is not only enhancing service usability but also actively protecting artists’ rights. In the second half of the year, the translated lyrics service will be reflected in integrated search, allowing original and translated lyrics to be displayed together when searching for songs.

In particular, for new overseas pop songs with high user demand, translated lyrics are provided within 1 to 2 weeks after release. Currently, about 20,000 songs have the translated lyrics service applied, and the service is being expanded by 2,000 songs every month. Next year, the plan is to further increase the scale and secure a high-quality translated lyrics database that domestic and overseas music platforms have not yet attempted.

For smoother service, Vibe has also strengthened technical cooperation with audio tech startup ‘Gaudio Lab’, which was invested in last year by Naver’s startup nurturing organization D2SF. By introducing Gaudio Lab’s AI lyrics sync automatic generation solution ‘GTS (Gaudio Text Sync)’, the time for lyrics synchronization has been shortened, and the accuracy of melody and lyrics sync has been increased to 99%.

Lee Jin-baek, leader in charge of music content planning at Vibe, said, “This service was planned reflecting users’ steady demand for pop song translated lyrics,” and added, “By continuously building a high-quality translated lyrics database, we will establish ourselves as the music platform with the largest lyrics data in Korea and provide users with a highly satisfying service.”