diff --git a/beetsplug/lyrics.py b/beetsplug/lyrics.py
index 8d7132524..528d391ea 100644
--- a/beetsplug/lyrics.py
+++ b/beetsplug/lyrics.py
@@ -537,7 +537,7 @@ class Google(Backend):
 
 
 class LyricsPlugin(plugins.BeetsPlugin):
-    SOURCES = ['google', 'lyricwiki', 'lyrics.com', 'musixmatch', 'genius']
+    SOURCES = ['google', 'lyricwiki', 'lyrics.com', 'musixmatch']
     SOURCE_BACKENDS = {
         'google': Google,
         'lyricwiki': LyricsWiki,
diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst
index 1eb760615..3120d19c8 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/changelog.rst
@@ -95,7 +95,8 @@ Fixes:
 * Possibly allow flexible attributes to be used with the ``%aunique`` template
   function. :bug:`1775`
 * :doc:`/plugins/lyrics`: The Genius backend is now more robust to
-  communication errors. :bug:`1770`
+  communication errors. The backend has also been disabled by default, since
+  the API it depends on is currently down. :bug:`1770`
 
 .. _Emby Server: http://emby.media
 
diff --git a/docs/plugins/lyrics.rst b/docs/plugins/lyrics.rst
index 1b3ca0c2f..0d504733f 100644
--- a/docs/plugins/lyrics.rst
+++ b/docs/plugins/lyrics.rst
@@ -52,9 +52,9 @@ configuration file. The available options are:
   sources known to be scrapeable.
 - **sources**: List of sources to search for lyrics. An asterisk ``*`` expands
   to all available sources.
-  Default: ``google lyricwiki lyrics.com musixmatch genius``, i.e., all
-  sources. The *google* source will be automatically deactivated if no
-  ``google_API_key`` is setup.
+  Default: ``google lyricwiki lyrics.com musixmatch``, i.e., all the
+  sources except for `genius`. The `google` source will be automatically
+  deactivated if no ``google_API_key`` is setup.
 
 Here's an example of ``config.yaml``::