How to Add Music to Your Instagram Posts (2024 Update)
Struggling to grab attention in your Instagram feed? Want to boost engagement and make your posts pop? Look no further than Instagram’s game-changing music feature for regular posts (photos and carousels)!
That’s right, you can now add music directly to your Instagram feed to set the mood, showcase your favorite tunes, or perfectly complement your content. This exciting update, launched in August 2023, gives creators and businesses a powerful new tool to supercharge their Instagram strategy.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down the simple steps for adding music to your Instagram posts. We’ll also share pro tips on choosing the perfect music and explore creative ideas to use this feature to its full potential. Get ready to transform your Instagram feed and leave your audience wanting more!
How to add music to your Instagram posts in 4 steps
Adding music to your feed posts only takes a few simple steps and is done during the normal post-creation process.
Step 1: Upload a photo
The first step is to create a feed post as usual. Select your photo, apply any desired edits, and then tap Next.
Step 2: On the caption screen, tap “Add music”
Once you’ve reached the caption screen, you can add music below the geotag. Tap Add music or one of the suggested tracks to get started.
Step 3: Choose a song
Now comes the fun part: choosing a track!
Instagram will show some suggested trending tracks under For You. If you have a specific artist or song in mind, you can search for it in the search bar at the top.
Or, if you’ve saved tracks from Reels or other Instagram posts, you can find them by tapping Saved.
If you tap Browse, you’ll see a list of moods, themes, and genres to inspire you. If you tap into one of these categories, you’ll see a list of tracks.
Interestingly, these subpages also show the number of Reels that have used each song, which can indicate if a song is popular or trending.
Step 4: Choose a section of the song
Since a photo doesn’t have a defined duration (like a video clip), it’s up to you to choose how long of a clip you want to add to your photo. You can choose between 5-90 seconds. Once the clip ends, the song loops.
After you select a specific track, you’ll see a screen with the song and a colored bar. First, tap the circle that says 30 to choose the clip duration.
Once you’ve selected the duration, tap Done, and you’ll return to the screen with the colored bar. On that screen, you can drag the bar to the part of the song you want to play. The pink dots on the grey timeline indicate parts of the song where new verses or strong beats start, so they’re good spots to position your bar.
Once you’re happy with the placement of the clip, tap Done. Then it’s ready to post!
Once your post is in the feed, your followers will see the music track’s name and artist below the geotag and a volume icon on the bottom right. Users can tap the volume to mute or unmute the music.
Can you Add Music to Your Instagram Post after Posting?
Let’s say you have already posted your photo and come to the conclusion that you want to add music to your post. The question is, can you add a song after posting without having to delete it and start all over?
Instagram does allow users to edit their photos after posting, but you are only able to edit aspects of the photo including location, caption, tags, and paid partnerships. Unfortunately, you do not have the option to add music in this editing feature.
There are a couple of options though if you want to add music to your post:
Option 1
You can screenshot the post so that you have the correct edit on your photo and crop the photo so that you can delete and repost the photo with music this time. It is important to note that you will lose your comments and likes on the photo since you will be deleting and starting fresh unless you copy your caption/hashtags so when you go to repost you can paste the caption
Option 2
A way you can add music without deleting your post as a whole is to choose to add music to your story instead of music. This is not posting, but it is a workaround to add music. To do this all you have to do is press the ‘triangle send icon’, click add to story, and click on the ‘Music Icon.’
How To Add Music to Instagram Posts with Multiple Photos
You can now add music to all your carousel posts or photo dumps. Yay! It is important to note though that this feature is not available on your computer, but we will walk you through how to do it on your iPhone, Android, and mobile browser:
Add Music to Instagram Posts with Multiple Photos on iOS
You will follow the same steps as you would if you are just posting one photo. All you would change is adding multiple photos instead of one.
- Open the Instagram app
- Tap the + and choose all the photos you want to post
- Go to the caption page
- Click add music
Add Music to Instagram Posts with Multiple Photos on Android
Luckily, these are the same steps as well.
- Open the Instagram app
- Tap the + and choose all the photos you want to post
- Go to the caption page
- Click add music
Add Music to Instagram Posts with Multiple Photos on Mobile Browser
This is also the same steps as you would on your iPhone and Android.
- Open the Instagram app
- Tap the + and choose all the photos you want to post
- Go to the caption page
- Click add music
How to Add Music to Instagram Reels
You can add music to all your Instagram Reels by selecting music from Instagram’s audio library. Business accounts will need to use songs approved for commercial use. Instagram will recommend songs suitable for commercial use. You can select the part of the song you want to include in the Reel.
How to Add Music to Instagram Stories
You can add music to your Instagram story by clicking on the ‘Music Sticker’ in the stickers collection on Stories. On the top of your screen you will see the music note icon, click on that, and choose music from your ‘For You‘ section, ‘Browse‘ section, or your ‘Saved Music.’
How to Add Music to Video Posts on Instagram
Aside from reels, Instagram used to allow regular video content to be uploaded. The question is can you add music to video content on Instagram? You now do not need to worry about this question because Instagram only allows video content to be posted as reels now which has always allowed and encouraged music.
Regular videos can be uploaded in a carousel post, but music will no longer be available if you are posting a mixture of both photos and videos.
Why Add Music to Your Instagram Posts?
There are many benefits to adding music to your Instagram posts. We are going to list a few key advantages to consider below.
Utilize Trending Audio
As we are aware, songs on social media become trending and can help your post gain more traction and increase your reach. This can help because your post has the opportunity to show up on the search page when people search for that sound or song you use.
More Entertaining
Adding music that plays while your audience is looking at your photo or photos makes for a more entertaining viewing experience!
No Cost
Adding music to your posts does not cost you a thing while being more entertaining and engaging. It may be a good tactic to try out before paying for hefty ads and boosts.
Yes, you can add music to carousels just like single photos. Follow the same steps above.
Unfortunately, you cannot add music to a post after it’s already been shared.
No, Instagram’s music library currently limits clips to 90 seconds.
Currently, you can only add music to Instagram posts through the mobile app.
If you can’t use Instagram’s music library, you can try creating a video with music using an editing app and then posting that video to Instagram. However, keep in mind that you might run into copyright issues depending on the music you use.
