How to Add Music to Instagram Video

One of the easiest ways to liven up an Instagram Story or video post is to add some music to it. Not only can adding a music track bring a scene to life, but it can also help you connect with your Instagram followers by sharing with them what sort of tunes you like. While using music for Instagram videos and other posts used to be officially frowned upon, it's now heavily encouraged by users and developers. Here are the three best ways to add music to an Instagram post.

Add Music to Instagram Stories With Music Stickers

The easiest way to add music to your Instagram Story is to use the special Music sticker, which is available within the latest versions of the official Instagram app on iOS and Android devices.

Open the Instagram app and tap the camera icon in the top-left corner to create a new Story.
Tap the circle icon to take a photo or record a video as usual.
Tap the Stickers icon from the top menu. It’s the one that looks like s smiley face post-it note.
Tap Music.

Instagram Stories that use the Music sticker can’t be automatically shared to linked Facebook accounts due to copyright restrictions. You can upload your Instagram Story video as a Facebook Story, though, by saving it to your device after it’s live and uploading it to Facebook manually from the Facebook app.
Browse for the music track you want to use in your Instagram Story.

Instagram

You can tap on the circle play icons to preview songs before adding them.
When you’ve found the song you’re looking for, tap its album cover to add it to your Story.
Tap 15 secs and choose the length of the track for your Story.

Track length is limited due to copyright restrictions. Instagram Stories are typically less than 15 seconds anyway so this limitation shouldn’t be an issue for many.
Tap Done.
Drag the white bar to select the part of the song you want to use.

Instagram
Tap Done.
Tap the Music sticker to choose a different style.
Pinch the sticker with two fingers to resize it and move it.
Add other stickers, gifs, and text as usual.
Tap Your Story to publish your new Story to your Instagram account.

Instagram

Choose the Music Then Create Your Instagram Story

The second method for adding music to an Instagram Story also uses the Music sticker, but allows you to create your photo or video after the track has been chosen.

Open the Instagram app on your smart device and begin a new Instagram Story as usual.
From the bottom menu, tap Music.
Browse the music listings to find the track you want and tap its album cover to add it to your Story.

Instagram
Drag the white bar horizontally to choose the part of the track you want to use.
Tap the circle icon with the music notes in it to take a photo or perform a long press on it to record a video.

Because this method allows you to record your video with the music playing, it’s much easier for you to sync your content to match the music.
Tap the Music sticker to choose a different sticker style.
Use two fingers to resize the sticker and move it.
Add other content, such as text and gifs, as per usual.

Instagram

Swipe your finger inwards from the left side of the screen to add a filter to your photo or video.
Tap Your Story to publish your new Story to your Instagram account.

How to Add Music to an Instagram Post the 'Old Way'

This third method of adding music to Instagram Stories is how everyone used to add tunes to videos before the Music sticker feature launched. This can also be used when filming regular video posts as well.

Because this method adds music in an unofficial capacity, Instagram will automatically scan it for any copyright infringement. If detected, Instagram will simply remove all sound from the entire video. Your account won’t be closed and there are no legal consequences.

While it’s an old method, it’s still effective and can be used to incorporate music tracks that aren’t available officially within the Instagram app. This also removes the time limit for each song as well.

Open your preferred music app on your device and start playing a song. For this example, we’ll use Spotify.
Minimize the app with the song still playing in the background and open Instagram.
Tap your avatar or the small camera icon in the upper-left corner to begin a new Instagram Story.

Instagram, Spotify
Perform a long press on the record button to record a video. The song you’re playing, and all other audio, will be recorded along with the video.
Continue to edit your Story as you usually would, adding filters, text, and gifs.
When you’re ready, tap Your Stories to publish it.

How to Add Music for Instagram Videos

While Instagram allows you to crop a video and add filters to it during the upload process to your main Instagram feed, it doesn’t offer any way to add music to it. This means you’ll need to add music to your video using another app, save it, then upload this newly edited video to Instagram.

Fortunately, there are a large number of free video editing apps available for iOS, Android, and Windows that makes adding music to video clips very easy.

Where to Find Music for Instagram Videos

If you’re using the first two methods to add music to your Instagram Story with the Music sticker, you don’t need to worry about finding music since the sticker essentially provides you with Spotify’s entire library of songs.

If you’re using the third method, though, or want to add music to an Instagram video post, you'll need to find a track to use by yourself.

Technically, you can use any song from Spotify, iTunes, or any other music service, but your video may be flagged for copyright infringement. The safest option is to use royalty-free music from one of the many websites available online. They provide free and paid options for music usage and are typically open to anyone.

Another option is to compose your own music using a music creation or composer app.