How to Add Music to an Instagram Story: Featuring Stickers and Apps

The question of how to add music to an Instagram story has never been easier to answer. Currently, in 2023, the app has a built-in tool, but also, several streaming services have integrations.

In this guide, everything about this process will be explained. It doesn’t matter if the song comes from the Instagram option or Spotify. Now it’s time to make videos more engaging and fun.

Add Music to an Instagram Story With the Stickers

The music stickers are a great built-in tool to get music within IG story. Before following the steps below, make sure to pick the right song for the video’s mood. The purpose is to create the perfect content.

Prepare the Story

First, open up the Instagram app and go to the “Your Story” section, this is represented by the camera icon on the top left of the screen. Once there, record the video or simply take the photo. Make sure to know the vibe of the video, as this will affect what song will fit it best.

Select the Music Sticker

Next up, after recording any videos or taking the picture, the editing section will pop up. Here, select the Sticker icon, which is represented by a smiley face post-it. One of the options displayed is music, and this is the famous “Music Sticker.”

Edit Sound and Visuals

After picking the sticker, several different things can be modified. Focus on the fragment of the song and how it will be displayed. The maximum length is 15 seconds because of copyright.

Customize the Story

Now, choose how to display the sticker: with lyrics or with the artist’s album cover. Also, some extra things can be added, like stickers or filters. Play the song with the video to make sure it’s good to go.

Choosing the Music First: Find the Vibe Before Recording the Video

Another method of adding music to an IG story is to choose the music first, which allows the user to set up the vibe first and the video later.

This makes it easier to match both video and music.

Here are the instructions:

1. Open the Instagram App on your device and start a new story.
2. From the menu found at the bottom, there’s an option “Music,” tap it now.
3. Find the song and simply tap on the cover to add it to the story.
4. Choose the part of the track that will be heard. This is done by dragging the white bar from one side to the other.
5. Now it’s time to prepare the media. Tap the circle icon with the notes to take a picture, or simply keep it pressed to start recording a video. The best part is that the user can hear the music as he or she records, so matching the audio and video is easier.
6. Now tap the famous Music Sticker to change how the song will be displayed, with lyrics or with an image of the album.
7. Resize the sticker and move it to make sure that it doesn’t block anything important during the video.
8. Prepare any other details, like filters or text. Just the usual business when preparing to publish any story.
9. Watch everything to double-check everything is as perfect as it can be and tap Your story to publish it.

This method makes synchronizing music and video much easier, but it also depends on the user to really act according to the song. Remember that matching moods is key.

How to Add Music to an IG Story With External Integrations

Several streaming services, Spotify amongst them, are now compatible to work with Instagram stories. This means that a song can be directly shared from the external app, taking the user straight into the “Your Story” section.

These are ways of adding music to an IG story via various streaming services:

Adding Music With Spotify

Spotify is one of the best ways to create an Instagram music story.

This is easy to use and very intuitive:

1. First, choose the song and play it.
2. Tap the ellipses icon (…), which will open more options.
3. Tap share.
4. Pick Instagram Story.
5. This opens up Instagram and starts a story with the song selected.
6. Now simply make the changes required to the duration, add whatever media you want, and publish it.

Using Shazam for Instagram Music

Shazam is another method to get Instagram music. It has an IG integration, which means that a song can be recognized by the app to be then shared in a story.

1. Use Shazam to recognize a song.
2. Now, tap the three dots for sharing options.
3. Pick Instagram. This will open Instagram and start a new story with the song.
4. Customize whatever needs changing and publish the story with the Shazam song.

Add a Song With Soundcloud

One more streaming service is SoundCloud. It’s an app that offers songs from both new and known artists. The best part is that now it provides a method of adding music on IG Story.

1. Open up SoundCloud and play the song that will be used on Instagram as music for the story.
2. Tap the three dots and select the “Share in Instagram stories” option.
3. Now, Instagram will open up and display the chosen song in SoundCloud. Edit everything required and publish the story.

Using TikTok for Instagram Stories

TikTok is now extremely popular, and it can be used for uploading music to videos. However, this may also be helpful when making Instagram stories.

Now there’s a built-in option inside the app to add Instagram, this is how to do it:

1. Go to TikTok, on the profile setting select “Add Instagram”
2. Login into Instagram to activate the integration
3. Authorize TikTok on Instagram

Lomotif: A Community’s Favorite

While Lomotif works as a fully-featured video editor. It’s a great method for adding music to IG. This app features millions of songs to pick from and a very versatile yet simple interface. The advantage of Lomotif is that the user can use it not to upload music only, but also a lot of different things to edit the video.

Here is how to use it:

1. Download Lomotif, available in both Apple Store and Play Store.
2. Tap the “+” button, which allows the user to import all the media required for the video. It also allows importing directly from Facebook and Instagram.
3. Now start adding everything and editing whatever needs editing.
4. After preparing the finished product, simply go and publish it on Your Story.

How to Add Lyrics to Instagram Stories

Adding lyrics to your Instagram story has never been easier. The new music sticker is the way to go for this, and it’s fused into the app.

1. Open up Instagram and choose the camera icon to start a story.
2. Record a video (or take a picture) and head to the sticker menu, represented by the smiley face post-it icon.
3. Pick the Music sticker. Play a song, and if lyrics are available for it, they will pop up.
4. Select whatever font goes best with the vibe of the story.

Upload Music to an Instagram Without the “Music Sticker”

While the music sticker is an excellent tool, some people may prefer to use other tunes or royalty-free songs for their stories. Another issue is that this function is not available in all countries and can be incompatible with some devices.

Doing this is also easy, although it involves a little bit of extra work. Here is how to add a song to an Instagram story without the sticker.

1. Record the video or take the picture that will be the main media file for the story.
2. Pick the song that will be playing in the background.
3. Open any video editor and import the media. There are plenty to use for free on both iOS or Android.
4. Synchronize the video and audio in the video editor, export it and upload the file as the new Instagram story.

This is how to add music to an Instagram video, which also works with stories.

How to Listen to the Music Inside Instagram Stories

When a story starts playing on any phone, there will be no sound because it’s muted by default. This is so because people don’t have to listen to music they are not fond of or maybe if it’s late at night, to avoid noise. Here’s a small tip that some new Instagram users can find quite useful. The workaround is quite simple.

This is how to listen to music on an IG story.

1. Tap the video player on the screen, which will unmute the story.
2. Use the volume buttons to normalize audio (this can also be used to unmute it). Remember that stories can be loud sometimes.

Tips to Be More Engaging With the Music Sticker

Adding music to an IG story is the perfect method to engage with followers. And at the same time, it brings more creative content and fills it with a different vibe. Using the sticker will allow any influencer to express what kind of music they prefer. Here are some tips on how to use it better:

Familiarize With the Interface

Getting to know every aspect of the sticker will enable creativity and engagement. Get to know all the display settings and functions, while also mixing up what kind of content is being uploaded with the proper songs.

Content for the Followers

Knowing the viewers is important when creating content. Try to keep a vibe that most people will like to keep them happy while maintaining the story’s vibe. If the content is personal, think about followers that will be watching it.

Get Creative

Don’t just stick with something basic that everyone does. The trick of adding music to an IG story is to be different. See what people prefer and try to head in that direction. The only way to know what the follower base will enjoy more is to try various things out.

Maintain a Theme

Experimenting is great, but it can go too far. Make sure to keep a certain vibe and don’t deviate too far away from it. Posting a sad video with happy music doesn’t make sense, and followers will surely dislike something of that kind.

Keep the Viewers Informed

Telling anyone watching the story that there is music or sound is important since they are all muted by default. The Instagram community uses the “Sound on” sticker to do this. It’s a way of telling people that they should turn the volume up to experience the content.

Use the Audio to Tell the Story

Play a sound or song to help the story develop. This is another element that should be exploited and will allow the creator to bring another level into the content, adding an atmosphere that will complement the video. Soundtracks are essential for today’s video content.

FAQ

Where is the Music Sticker on Instagram?

The Instagram music sticker can be found inside the corresponding section, once the story has been recorded. It is available as a smiley face post-it. Just tap the “Music” button once inside this menu.

Why Can I Not Add Music on My Instagram Story?

Some people have reported issues when trying to create an Instagram music story.

If the sticker doesn’t appear on the screen or is not available, try the following:

1. Log out and back in
2. Close the app
3. Reinstall it
4. Update the device

Also, make sure that the device is compatible with this function. Older devices are not able to download the newer versions of Instagram. Another fix is to update the operative system. It doesn’t matter if it’s iOS or Android.

Take into account that the music sticker is not available worldwide due to legal limitations, but Instagram is working to add this feature in more countries.

Did Instagram Get Rid of Music in 2023?

No, the Music Sticker is still working as intended. However, some issues have been reported. If it’s not available, try logging back in, closing the app, reinstalling it, or restarting the device. Before any of this, check if the latest version of Instagram is installed and the device is compatible with it.

How to Get Around Copyrighted Music on Instagram?

With an Insta story, copyright is not such a big deal, since the app itself has the requirements built-in. The Music sticker forces the user to give the artist credit by adding the album cover, song name, and composer. It also keeps the maximum song duration to 15 seconds, which is another method to avoid copyright issues.

The best way to avoid copyright issues with Instagram is to adhere to the guidelines, and the Music Sticker in Your Story is perfect for this.

What Happens if Copyrighted Music is Used?

While the Music Sticker keeps users safe from copyright issues. Uploading content that violates these laws can be bad for the user. The best outcome is probably that the post gets banned, which will just delete it from the platform. However, if the user keeps ignoring these kinds of warnings, Instagram may actually ban the account completely.

The End of the Article, the Start of Your Story

Now that everyone knows ways of adding music to IG, any influencer can become more engaging. A great movie requires a perfect soundtrack to build atmosphere and transfer feelings. Instagram stories are similar. Songs make an amazing addition to the platform engagement.

What songs are the best fit for your Story? Comment below!

Linda Andress

Linda’s passion is turning ideas into a successful copy. She has worked for more than eight years in the publishing industry, providing unique and varied writings. She has experience in successfully implementing PR strategies and organization, including events and meetings (congresses, industry symposiums, and training workshops). When she’s not working, she’s reading (probably 3-4 books at a time), shopping for hours in bookstores and comic book stores, playing video games or volleyball, or spending time with her family, including her two dogs, Mickey and Pete.