How to Add Music to Your Instagram Story (The Easy Way)
You can easily create vertical videos for Instagram Stories for free in Animoto. Get started with one of our many templates or start from scratch. We also have a free iOS app for Instagram Story video creation, Animoto: Social Video Editor.
We’ve been diving into how to use the various features in Instagram Stories as part of an ongoing Instagram Story series. Any template or project in Animoto can be made into a vertical video that's optimized for viewing on Instagram Stories. Today we’re diving into how to add music to an Instagram Story.
60 percent of Instagram Stories are played with the sound on, according to Brandwatch, and music can be a fun way to surprise and delight sound-on viewers. There are a couple of ways you can add music to an Instagram Story. One is to use Instagram’s Music sticker and the other is to add music to your video before you upload it to your Story.
How to put music on an Instagram Story
In this article, we’ll answer a few questions related to how to put music on an Instagram Story:
- How to use the Instagram Story Music sticker
- How to add lyrics to your Instagram Story
- How to add music on an Instagram Story without the sticker
- Best practices for using sound in Instagram Stories
- How to play music on an Instagram Story you’re watching
We’ll start by diving into the two ways to include music in your Instagram Stories—the Music sticker and creating your own video with music to upload to your Story.
Then, we'll walk you through the ways to use Animoto to create Stories with music outside of the Instagram app.
How to use the Instagram Story Music sticker
The Instagram Story Music sticker was released in June 2018. It’s a fun way to add some audible flair to your Stories. We will also show you how to add music to an Instagram Story without the sticker in the next section, or you can find more information about finding upbeat commercial songs for your next advertising video on IG stories here.
We’ll dive into the instructions in more details below, but here’s a quick step by step to get you started:
- Create a new Instagram Story
- Tap the sticker icon at the top of the screen
- Tap to select the Music sticker icon
- Select a song
- Choose the portion of the song you want to play
- Tap “Done” to add the song to your story
And now, onto the more in-depth instructions! If you do have access to the Music sticker, it can be used on any type of Instagram Story. You’ll find it when you tap the sticker icon at the top of your screen (the little square with a smiley face) when you’re creating your Story. Tap on the Music sticker to get started.
Once you do, it’ll open up a new screen where you can search for music according to Popular, Moods, and Genres. Instagram offers a variety of popular music that’s licensed for use in your Instagram Stories. However, you can only use up to 15 seconds at a time (the length of a story) and the sticker will be displayed on your Story while the song plays, with the name of the song and the artist listed.
Scroll through and click the play button to preview songs, or search for something specific using the “Search music” field at the top of the screen.
To add a song to your story, simply click on it. This will open up a new screen where you can hold and drag the box in the middle of the song’s timeline to select the section of the song you’d like to play in your story.
For video posts, the song length will default to the length of your video clip. For static image posts, the length will default to 15 seconds, but you can tap the button that says “15 SECS” to shorten the clip.
When you’re finished, tap “Done.” This will add the sticker to your story! Hold and drag to reposition or resize, and tap for different display options, which you can see below. When you’re done, tap “Send To >” to share your Story!
Best practices:
- When selecting the section of the song you want in your Story, try starting at the beginning of the chorus. Instagram makes it easy, with a tick mark that indicates the beginning of the chorus on songs.
- Preview your story to see how it feels with the audio before you send it to your story. You can always make adjustments, including choosing a new song or deleting the Music sticker entirely if you decide it’s better without music. To delete, hold and drag the sticker. A trash icon will appear at the bottom of the screen.
How to add lyrics to your Instagram Story
You may have seen friends posting Instagram Stories with music and lyrics. The ability to add lyrics to your Instagram Stories is a more recent feature of the Instagram Story music sticker.
The next time you add a song with the Instagram Story music sticker, tap through the set of icons displayed. If lyrics are available for the song you've selected, you'll be able to turn them on here, or opt to show album art instead of lyrics.
How to add music on an Instagram Story without the sticker
You don't have to use the Instagram Music sticker. You can include music in an Instagram Story by simply sharing a video that already has music as a part of it. We're here with two ways to make that happen and a pro tip to ensure a smooth experience.
Option 1: Use Animoto online
It's easy and free to create vertical videos with Animoto. Keep scrolling to preview some popular vertical templates. However, keep in mind that you can start from scratch or use any template that you'd like - all Animoto projects can be made into a vertical video, which is optimized for Stories.
Learn more about the power of vertical video with our guide for creating vertical video in Animoto and our tips for shooting vertical videos. If you're in need of inspiration, look no further than our list of 7 quick and easy video ideas for Instagram Stories.
New Post Teaser Template Use this template to bring your audience back to your feed for the fresh content you've shared.
Album Preview Template Use this template to offer a sneak peek at new content or products while teasing a release date.
Collection Launch Template Use this template to share details about a new release with textured backgrounds and colorful text.
Vacation Recap Template Vacation, staycation, back-yard-bbq -- this template is a great way to share highlights of recent adventures.
Option 2: Use our iOS App
If you have an iPhone 6 or above, you can try our app, Animoto: Social Video Editor, designed for creating videos for Instagram Stories. It includes a library of over 700 commercially-licensed songs, handpicked by our team to stand out on IG Stories.
Pro Tip: If you’re creating a video to upload to Instagram, remember that Instagram Stories are limited to 15 seconds, so you’ll want to make sure your video is 15 seconds or less or, if it’s longer, that it’s cut into pieces of 15 seconds or less. Once your video is created, make sure it’s accessible from your device. Then, you can easily upload it to Instagram with the following steps:
- Log into Instagram
- Tap “Your Story” in the top left corner of your screen
- Create a “Normal” story and select the video from your Camera Roll
- Tap the “Send To >” button to add the video to your Story
Check out our guide to learn everything you need to know about Instagram video lengths.
BEST PRACTICES:
- When sharing your own video with music, it can be helpful to include a "Sound On" sticker so that viewers know there’s music in your Story. To add this, click the Sticker icon and search for "Sound On." The sticker will show up and you can tap it to add it to your story!
How to play music on an Instagram Story
Now that you're armed with instructions for adding music to an Instagram Story, we thought we'd share a quick how-to for listening to music or sound on an Instagram Story you're watching.
When you watch an Instagram Story, it will be muted by default. In order to listen with sound, you can do one of two things:
- Tap on the video while it's playing.
- Use the volume buttons on your phone. Once the sound is on, you can also use the volume buttons to adjust.
And there you have it! To learn more about Instagram Stories, check out a few of our other guides below. Happy Instagramming!