Making Vertical 9:16 Lyric Videos for TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Reels

Published: 2026-10-03

Short vertical clips are now one of the main ways new songs are discovered. A lyric video in 9:16 lets people read along on their phone and makes the song easy to use in other creators' videos. Vertical video has its own rules, though — here is what to change compared with a regular 16:9 lyric video.

Pick the right 15–60 seconds

Short-form platforms reward clips that hook in the first second. Rather than exporting the whole song, choose the strongest section:

• The chorus is the obvious choice — it contains the title and the melody people will remember.
• A memorable one-liner from a verse can work even better if it is funny, relatable or quotable.
• Start right before the vocal. A long intro on a short clip loses viewers. Half a second of music before the first word is plenty.

Make a trimmed audio file of the section, then shift your SRT or load the full song and only keep the phrases in that range.

Respect the safe zones

On TikTok, Shorts and Reels, the bottom of the screen is covered by the caption, music label and account name, and the right side by the like, comment and share buttons. Keep lyrics in the middle of the frame:

• Avoid roughly the bottom 20% and the right 15% of the frame for important text.
• Place the main lane slightly above centre. Use the Screen Position setting in the Phrase Inspector.
• If you use two lanes, keep both within the central area rather than one at the very top and one at the very bottom.

Bigger text, fewer words

A vertical frame is narrow. A phrase that fits on one line in 16:9 may wrap into three lines in 9:16, which is hard to read at scrolling speed.

• Split phrases into shorter pieces — two to four words per screen is ideal.
• Increase font size, then use 📏 Apply Font Size to All to keep it consistent.
• For Japanese and Chinese lyrics, try vertical writing mode; it uses the tall frame naturally and looks distinctive.
• Choose high-contrast colours and add a glow so text stays readable over busy backgrounds and in bright daylight.

Motion that works on a phone

Small screens make subtle motion invisible and very fast motion hard to read. Strong, simple entries such as Impact Snap, Mega Zoom, Bounce Pop or Heavy Stamp Impact read well vertically. Hold each phrase on screen for at least about 0.8 seconds after it has fully appeared, so viewers can finish reading.

Recommended export settings

One project, three formats

In LyricsFlow MVMaker you don't need separate projects for each platform. Build the timeline once, switch the header to 9:16 and export, then switch to 16:9 for YouTube and 1:1 for an Instagram feed post. Save the timeline as JSON in between so you can come back to any version later.

Before you post

• Watch the clip on your phone, not only on your monitor.
• Make sure you have the rights to the music. Platforms detect copyrighted recordings automatically.
• Put the song title and artist in the caption so viewers can find the full track.