How To Add Music To An Instagram Story

Adding music to your Instagram content have a significant impact on its success and visibility. Here's how to add music to Instagram Stories and Reels.

By Amily Smith Last updated Mar 22, 2023

Instagram has evolved over the years into a platform where content creators may earn money, gain followers, and interact. It has become a platform where businesses compete for consumers’ attention by creating distinctive social media stories and reels, and one of the ways they do so is by including audio.

Instagram introduced the ability to share music on Instagram stories in 2018, allowing users to add their favorite songs to photos and videos. Instagram lets users import songs from other music streaming services like Spotify in addition to providing a sizable selection of songs from its own music library. This change gave Instagrammers access to thousands of songs and the ability to share their Stories in a new, musical way.

Instagram regularly adds new songs to its music library. You can learn everything you need to know about how to put music to an Instagram Story or post from this article. Additionally, you’ll see some frequently asked questions and misperceptions about Instagram music. Let’s get going.

How to Add Music to an Instagram Story on Android/iOS/iPhone

If Instagram is running the most recent version, it makes no difference if you have an iPhone or an Android device. Both platforms use the same method for adding music to Instagram.

Note: You must have album art or lyrics on your Story to use this method, but you can resize them as you see fit. Additionally, the Instagram library’s premium music clips are permissible to use (uses Facebook Sound Collection).

Here is how it’s done.

Open the “Instagram app,” then tap on “Your story” in the upper-left corner.
Proceed to add a Story. Hold down on the first image/video, then tap on each additional one you want to add/remove. Tap on “Next” when finished.
Choose the style for your Story, which includes “Layout” for a collage Story or “Separate” to make each image/video a new segment. Choosing “Separate” requires editing each segment.
Tap the “sticker icon” at the top of your screen.
Select the “Music sticker.” You can use the search bar at the top to go directly to the correct one.
Instagram displays recommended songs, as well as different categories you can choose. Tap on the adjacent “Play” icon to preview each track.
Tap on a song to add it to your post or Story.
Adjust the “slider bar” at the bottom to choose the song position. You’ll see the lyrics while you slide. You can also change the music and text color/appearance/style or use album art.
Tap “Done” when finished with your editing process.
Resize, rotate, or reposition the lyrics (or album art) on the screen by holding down on them and moving, sliding, or twisting them.
If you chose “Separate” for the layout in “Step 3” above, you need to edit each Story segment individually by tapping on it. Each one has music (if desired) when they autoplay.
Tap on “Next” when finished editing your Story.
Choose “Your Story” at the bottom to post it on your Instagram Story.

Every edited segment of the song you added plays automatically when your followers view your Instagram Story. They can tap on the song’s title under your name to open it in a new tab and see what song is currently playing.

How To Add Music to an Instagram Reel

In August 2020, Instagram debuted the “Reels” feature. Reels are one of the simplest ways to post content on Instagram, including music, given that they are such a new option. The steps listed below can be used to add music to a reel.

Tap the “+” sign in the top right of the Instagram home page.

Slide and highlight Reels at the bottom of the page.

Select the “Music” icon on the left.

Choose the “music track” you want to add to the Reel.

The “slider” at the bottom of the screen can be adjusted. Choose the song’s appropriate section for the Reel.

If you forget to add music before recording your Reel, don’t worry. Instagram allows you to add the music before or after recording the Reel.

How to Add Music to an Instagram Post Using Third-Party Apps

It’s crucial to be aware that you cannot directly embed music into Instagram posts. Only your Instagram Stories and Reels can have music added. A video you created on your Story will download without the song even if you add music to it.

You must edit your video in advance if you want to include a song with it and post it on Instagram. You can add music to your videos using a variety of free video editing apps and programs. You can post the finished product to your Instagram feed. InShot is one of the most functional and user-friendly free video editing programs. Additionally, you can use Spotify’s songs, playlists, and albums.

How to Add Audio/Music to Instagram Posts Using InShot

Open the “InShot app” and tap on the “Video button.”

Select the video you want to add sound to from the list.
Tap on the “MUSIC” button in the bottom left corner.
Tap on “Tracks” to open the music menu.
To add a featured track, select the “FEATURED” tab, then browse and choose from categories like “Vlog,” “Mood,” “Beats,” etc.
Select a song to preview. Then, tap on the “download icon” or “USE” to add it to your video.
Select the “My Music” tab in the navigational menu below the video to add your own music.
Browse and select any song to preview it, then tap on “USE” to add it to your video. Be cautious with copyright material.
To add sound effects, tap on the “EFFECTS” tab, then choose a category.
Select an effect track to preview it, then tap on “USE” to add it to your video. All sounds in the “EFFECTS” tab are free from copyright protection.
To edit the timing, fade, or other settings associated with the audio, tap the “track bar” for the correct audio title. Just tap it. You’ll see white markers appear on the ends.
Hold down the “white marker” at the start or end. Move or adjust the audio track’s start position so that it always begins at the beginning of the video. Also adjustable is the end position (always cuts out the remainder). Proceed to the following step for advanced editing. If not, proceed to “Step 16.”
While the audio track is still selected (shows white markers), tap on “EDIT.”
Slide the “purple dot markers” (left and right) to clip the audio as you see fit, such as cutting it to start at the 3.7-second mark rather than the beginning and ending the track at the 19.4-second mark. The preview continues to play as you edit.
Tap on the “checkmark” when finished with your cutting, volume level, and fading adjustments.
The app returns to the track’s audio editing screen. Tap on the “play” icon to preview your edits.
If needed, you can re-edit the track by tapping the “audio’s track bar” and selecting “EDIT.”
If you don’t need to re-edit the track, you can add more “TRACKS” or “EFFECTS,” or even “RECORD” your own sounds.
You can adjust the video’s master volume by tapping “VOLUME.”
Tap on the “checkmark” to save all changes.
When satisfied with the final edits, tap on “SAVE” in the upper-right corner.
Confirm your resolution, framerate, and size, then tap on “SAVE” once more.
Your audio/video file is now saved, represented by a green circled checkmark. You can (A) tap the checkmark icon to see the location details, (B) play the video from the thumbnail at the top, or (C) share the video to Instagram directly.

How to Add an Apple Music Song on Your Instagram Story

Do you enjoy rocking out to Apple Music? There is, however, a simple way to share the song you’re listening to with your followers via Instagram Stories.

Here’s how it’s done:

Launch Apple Music.
Go to the song you want to share and select it.
Select the three horizontal dots in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Choose Share.
Swipe through the apps until you find Instagram (if it isn’t visible, press More).
Allow Instagram to automatically open.
At the bottom-left of the screen, click the Your Story button.

It’s worth noting that the song will not play directly on your Stories, but if a user taps on it, it will take them to Apple Music, where they can listen to it.

How to Add Audio/Music to Instagram Posts Using Spotify

A song, an album, or an entire playlist from Spotify can also be added to Instagram posts. Again, this procedure is the same for Android and iPhone devices. How to do it is as follows:

Open your “Spotify” app.

Select the song, album, or playlist you want to add to Instagram.

Tap the “three dots” on the right side of the song title.

Scroll down and tap “Share.”

Tap “Instagram Stories.”

The song will be preloaded when Your Story opens, and you can make any additional changes. Post the finished video to your Story once you’ve finished editing it. They can listen to the song on Spotify if they have a Spotify account.

Notably, a recent update fixed a problem with adding Spotify songs to Instagram. Make sure the Instagram app is up to date.

How to Play SoundCloud Music in Your IG Story

The steps for sharing SoundCloud songs on your Stories are similar to those for Apple Music and Spotify. Songs from SoundCloud, like music shared on those platforms, will not play on your Stories. Followers who tap on the Story will instead be directed to the song on SoundCloud.

Here’s how to use SoundCloud to share a song on your Stories:

Launch the SoundCloud application.
Go to the song you want to share and select it.
At the bottom-right corner of the screen, press the three horizontal dots.
Select Instagram Stories to share.
At the bottom-left of the screen, click the Your Story button.

How to Add Music to an Instagram Post the “Old Way?”

Including music in an Instagram Story Before Instagram added the music feature, people used to add songs the “old way.” How to do it is as follows:

Start playing the song you want to post. It can be any song in your phone’s library or a music streaming app.

Go to Instagram and open your Story while the song is still playing in the background.

Start filming your Story by pressing the record button.

Make any necessary adjustments to the Story. Post it by tapping “Your Story” in the bottom left corner.

You’ll be able to hear the song in the background as you play your Story. The benefit of this approach is that there is no 15-second time restriction. You are free to record as many tales as you like.

Additional FAQs

Why you should include music in your Instagram Stories and Reels?

Incorporating music into your posts does more than just make them more engaging; it also significantly increases their online visibility.

According to LaterBlog, one of the best strategies to increase the number of visitors who view your content is to use music from Instagram’s library or to create original audio for your posts. There are numerous ways to increase the visibility of your material, but integrating music is helpful since Instagram’s algorithm emphasises content that includes more than just static photographs, such as Reels and Stories with audio, and displays it to a broader audience of users.

How Do you Open Spotify Songs from Stories?

You can access a Spotify song from Instagram after you’ve shared it. Your followers, who might be interested in the song you just posted, have access to this option as well.

To open Spotify from Instagram, you need to:

Open your Story.

Tap on the “Play on Spotify” option below your name.

Tap “Open Spotify.”

The song will open right away on your Spotify account. Remember that in order for this to function, you must be logged into your account.

Notably, this won’t work for Instagram users without a Spotify account.

What Kind of Music Is There to Choose From?

There are millions of songs to choose from in the Instagram music library. When you tap on the Music sticker, you can search for a particular song or find one in the “For You” section. You can also go to the “Browse” section, where you have different categories:

• Genres – Rap, Hip Hop, R&B and Soul, Pop, Latin, etc.

Moods – Bright, Dreamy, Groovy, Peaceful, etc.

Themes – Arabic party, Love, Family, Movie soundtracks, Morning, etc.

Troubleshooting

Some users sometimes encounter issues with Instagram music. For instance, certain songs might be unavailable, or your music feature might not work. Here are some factors you need to keep in mind:

• Do you have the newest version of Instagram? Make sure to update Instagram if you haven’t.

• Do you have a Business account? Instagram restricts some songs for Business accounts. If that’s the case, you can switch to a regular account.

• You might reside in a nation where Instagram music isn’t yet accessible. You unfortunately have no control over it. However, there’s a chance that Instagram music will eventually be accessible in your area.

Conclusion

Including music in an Instagram Story is a fantastic way to take your material to the next level and give it a one-of-a-kind feel. We hope that by following this tutorial, you will be able to take your Stories to the next level, whether you are simply posting a link to the song that is currently your favourite or you are adding some music as background to a video. Check out the music video editors that can assist you in creating a video story using your favourite song if you are interested in doing so.