LRC File Format

'LRC' is a computer file format that synchronizes song lyrics with an audio file, such as MP3, Vorbis or MIDI. When an audio file is played with certain music players on a computer or on modern digital audio players, the song lyrics are displayed. The lyrics file generally has the same name as the audio file. For example, song.mp3 and song.lrc. The file .lrc is simple, like text, but it is quite hard to make. This can be done well with several pieces of application software.

Simple LRC format was introduced by Kuo (Djohan) Shiang-shiang's Lyrics Displayer. It was one of the first computer programs, if not the first, that attempted to simulate Karaoke performance ¹⁾. It usually displays a whole line of lyrics, but it is possible to display a word at a time, such as one would see in modern Karaoke machines, by creating a time tag for each word rather than each line.

The Line Time Tags are in the format [mm:ss.xx] where mm is minutes, ss is seconds and xx is hundredths of a second.

• Normal example:

[mm:ss.xx] lyrics line 1 [mm:ss.xx] lyrics line 2 … [mm:ss.xx] last lyrics line

ID Tags may appear before the lyrics²⁾ , although some players may not recognize or simply ignore this.

[al:''Album where the song is from'']
[ar:''Lyrics artist'']
[by:''Creator of the LRC file'']
[offset:''+/- Overall timestamp adjustment in milliseconds, + shifts time up, - shifts down'']
[re:''The player or editor that creates LRC file'']
[ti:''Lyrics (song) title'']
[ve:''version of program'']

• Example with ID tags:

[ti:Let's Twist Again]
[ar:Chubby Checker oppure  Beatles, The]
[au:Written by Kal Mann / Dave Appell, 1961]
[al:Hits Of The 60's - Vol. 2 – Oldies]

[00:12.00]Lyrics beginning ...
[00:15.30]Some more lyrics ...
...

Enhanced LRC format is an extension of Simple LRC Format developed by the designer of A2 Media Player³⁾ . It adds an extra Word Time Tag in the format: <mm:ss.xx>.

Example of an Enhanced LRC file:

[mm:ss.xx] <mm:ss.xx> line 1 word 1 <mm:ss.xx> line 1 word 2 <mm:ss.xx> ... line 1 last word <mm:ss.xx>
[mm:ss.xx] <mm:ss.xx> line 2 word 1 <mm:ss.xx> line 2 word 2 <mm:ss.xx> ... line 2 last word <mm:ss.xx>
...
[mm:ss.xx] <mm:ss.xx> last line word 1 <mm:ss.xx> last line word 2 <mm:ss.xx> ...  last line last word <mm:ss.xx>

• Dvico TVIX Media Players - Plays lyric files on screen automatically when found.
• Trio MP3-DA-8033a - Includes a sample song with simple LRC lyrics.
• MP4 Watch - Includes sample songs with LRC lyrics.
• Acorp MP560AOF - Lyric synchronization (LRC V0.2 format).
• crintsoft.com - MiniLyrics synchronization and viewer.
• Meizu's M3 Music Card ( Meizu: M3 Music Card) and M6 Mini Player (Meizu: M6 Mini Player)
• Creative Labs' MuVo V100
• ONDA VX858 - Includes sample songs with LRC lyrics.
• Most S1MP3 Media Players - S1MP3 are the cheapest 'no-name' Chinese MP3 and 'MP4' players.
• Leadsinger II MVK2 - Leadsinger II MVK2 karaoke all in one microphone that plays mp3's mp4's and most video formats (xvid, divx, mpeg1, mpeg2, AVI, DAT) and plugs directly into your T.V.
• http://gp2x.co.uk/viewgp2x.html GP2X F200 - GP2X F200 also has this feature in the built-in music player. F100 (any MK below) does not.
• Mio Technology GPS (C520) - Plays lyric files along with music in its built-in music player.
• Squeezebox Controller - displays lyrics with optional, free applet, as do SqueezeBox 3 and Transporter
• Archos 5, when LRC file found with the same name as the song

• EMMS, The Emacs Multimedia System
• Foobar2000 - with foo_uie_lyrics component
• KaraFun
• KaraTunes
• KaraokeEditor
• kJams
• KMPlayer
• Kugou2008 - Chinese language, for PC and Symbian S60 3rd Edition
• iStar Karaoke
• Lyrik Project
• MiniLyrics
• nLyrics (for Mac)
• StepMania, Displayed while playing the corresponding song (the lyrics file must be in the same folder as the music file)
• TT Player
• Vivid Lyrics
• XBMC Media Center (for Linux, Mac, Windows, and the first-generation Xbox game-console)