how do you add music to an instagram post

With the Instagram music sticker, you can add music and lyrics to your Instagram Stories — creating a fun soundtrack for your community.

However, the Instagram Stories music sticker has proved to be quite elusive — with many users having a limited music library or no access at all.

In this blog post, we're sharing how to add music in your Instagram Stories, and why some accounts don't have access:

How to Add Music in Instagram Stories

Ready to add a soundtrack to your Instagram Stories? Follow the steps below and you'll be posting stories with your favorite beat in no time.

First, download the latest version of the Instagram app on iOS or Android. Next, open the Instagram Stories camera and take or upload a photo or video.

Once that's done, tap the stickers button at the top of the screen and choose the music sticker.

This will open the Instagram music library where you'll find thousands of songs to choose from.

You can scroll through a "For You" tab of suggested songs, browse by categories, or search for a specific song.

Instagram's music library is filled with popular songs and artists like Beyoncé, Guns N' Roses, and Ariana Grande — all thanks to Facebook's partnership with record labels.

NOTE: If you have a business account, you may only have a limited selection of music due to Instagram's licensing agreements.

When you're happy with your song choice, you can fast-forward and rewind through the track to choose the exact part that fits your story.

You can also choose how long you want the music clip to play for (the maximum is 15 seconds).

If lyrics are available for the song you select, they should pop up on your screen.

You can then choose different fonts and designs for them, and edit which part of the song you want to play.

When someone watches your story, they can tap the lyrics to learn more about the artist or listen to the song.

Finally, you can customize what the sticker looks by tapping it before publishing:

Now you're ready to post to Instagram Stories. As usual, you can add GIFs, polls, or even hashtags.

Then tap the "Your Story" button at the bottom of your screen, and you're all set.

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Why Can't I Add Music to My Instagram Stories?

When the music sticker was first introduced, it was only available in "select countries", including Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Sweden, the UK, and the US.

The feature has since been rolled out even further, with Canada being added to the list in 2020.

If you're not in one of the countries with access to the music sticker, unfortunately, there's not much you can do other than sit tight right now.

If you live in a country where the feature is available but doesn't appear to be working as you'd expect, it may be due to one of these reasons:

You need to update your app. Instagram frequently rolls out new updates, so you may be simply using an older version!
You're using a business account. Due to licensing restrictions, business accounts may have a selection of royalty-free songs instead of more popular options. You could switch to an Instagram creator profile instead.
You're sharing a branded content ad. Instagram's rules state that branded content ads should avoid GIFs, emojis, music, and more than one sticker.

It's unknown when other countries will have access to the music sticker, and if Instagram's licensing restrictions will change for business accounts, but we'll keep you updated.

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