Instagram has several ways for users to add extra pizazz to their content and maximize engagement. Music is one way to do that. With the right song, a picture or video can come to life and help you connect with your audience.
That is why, whether you are an individual or social media brand marketer, knowing how to add music to your Instagram content is a valuable skill.
The app already lets you add music to Stories and Reels. This article will show you how to add music to standard IG video and picture posts.
How to Add Music to Instagram Video Post
Even though they have a music library embedded in them, Stories and Reels have limitations that a regular IG post does not. Stories disappear after 24 hours, and Reels have a 60 seconds limit.
What’s more, if you try to download a video with music in Stories or Reels, it will be downloaded without the song.
Publishing through regular posts is one way around these issues. But there is no way to add music directly to a video post within Instagram. To do that, you will need to create the video using a third-party app.
Many apps can do this on mobile devices, but we will go with InShOt for this tutorial. It is one of the most popular photography tools on Android and iOS.
To use InShOt to add music to Instagram video posts, follow these steps.
STEP 1 - Import your Video into the Editor
If you don’t have the app, you can install it from here for Android and here for iOS.
Once it is installed, launch the app and select Video under the Create New section.
A screen with your media library will appear, most likely under the Recent files category. If the video you want to add music is here, select it and tap the green arrow button to complete the upload.
Otherwise, tap the dropdown arrow to open the correct category and select your video from there.
STEP 2 - Choose the Music
With your video now inside the editor, click the Music effect icon.
Then tap Tracks to select the audio you want to add.
If you wish to record a voiceover or add an audio effect to the video, tap the Record or Effects buttons as appropriate.
Inside Tracks, you will find three tabs.
- Featured - curated music by InShOt. Free to use with copyright attribution, categorized.
- My Music - audio files saved on your phone, can import music from iCloud and Google Drive.
- Effects - categorized audio effects, free to use with the option to import effects of your own.
Tap each track to preview it. If you like one, tap the Use button beside it if the audio is already in your device. If not, tap the download icon to reveal the button.
Suppose the audio you want to add is from another video. In that case, there is an option to extract it under the Featured and My Music tabs.
All you have to do is select the video you want to extract from, and InShOt will do the rest.
STEP 3 - Edit the Music
Tapping Use will take you to the audio editor interface. From here, you can repeat the process and add additional songs or edit the audio.
You can split the audio clip, set the volume or duplicate it. To do any of these, simply tap the audio layer highlighted above to activate the options and hit the right button.
It is possible to use Fade In and Fade Out effects. Just tap Edit and drag the slider to the moment in the song you want it applied.
Also, by default, the audio track will align with the beginning of the clip. To change the placement, hold down the audio layer and drag right to your preferred timestamp.
Tap the white checkmark on the right to return to the main editor’s interface when you finish.
From here, you can apply any other edit to the video or simply tap the Save/Export(ioS) button in the top right of the screen to save and share the video.
That is how to add music to an Instagram video post using InShOt.
How to Add Your Music to Instagram Video Post through PC
InShOt is a great tool if you are doing all your editing on a mobile device. However, if you want to edit on a PC without installing a video editing software or plugin on your browser, Keevi Video Editor is an excellent online editor.
You can add music from your computer, choose from several hundred stock options, and publish the video directly to your Instagram account.
Here, we will show you how to use it.
STEP 1 - Import the Video to the Online Editor
First, open Keevi Studio. Then click Browse to import the video you want to add music to from your computer. You can also drag the video onto the specified area.
If you want to make a recorded video of yourself and add music, click the Record button to launch the video recorder.
What’s more, you can repurpose a YouTube video to publish on Instagram with your audio content by pasting the link in the textbox.
STEP 2 - Add the Music
After the video upload is complete, click the Add Media tab and select Add Audio from the list of options.
Following a similar process as video upload, import the music you want to add to your Instagram video.
If you don’t have a particular song saved on your computer, choose from Keevi’s library under the Stock Audio tab.
STEP 3 - Edit and Save the Video
After uploading the audio clip, it is possible to edit the song before exporting and publishing it on Instagram. You can split the audio, adjust its placement, and set the volume.
All you have to do is select the audio element within the timeline to reveal the options available.
You can also set when the music starts and ends by dragging the audio element to the right or left. Place your mouse on the handlebars at either end of the element to stretch or shrink the length of the song.
One other advantage of using Keevi Studio is that you can change the video’s aspect ratio. This feature is useful when repurposing a video from other platforms or publishing different types of Instagram content.
For instance, you can use the same video for your Instagram post with a square ratio and your Story, which has a vertical aspect ratio.
To do this, simply go to the Settings tab and click the dropdown button under Select Format. Each option is named after the fitting social media platform.
After editing, use the playback buttons to preview the video and see how the music aligns with it. Once you are satisfied with the result, click Export in the top right corner to render and save the video.
When the rendering process is complete, download the video to your computer or share it directly to Instagram.
How to Add Music to Picture on Instagram Post
So far, we have only discussed how to add music to Instagram video posts. But what if you wanted to add music to your picture? Unlike videos, people don’t typically expect photos to have background music.
That is exactly why adding a song to your IG picture post sets you apart and can boost your engagement.
However, it's easier said than done since Instagram doesn’t help you do this either. Once again, you will need another app to do this, creating what is essentially a slideshow video.
We will be using InShOt again to add music to a picture on your Instagram post.
STEP 1 - Import the Image(s)
Instead of selecting a video clip when InShOt opens your media gallery, this time choose the picture you want to share on Instagram.
Since you are technically turning your picture into a video, you can select as many pictures as you want from your library.
After selecting the pictures, tap the green arrow to import them into the editor.
STEP 2 - Add the Music
Using the process discussed earlier in the “How to add Music to Instagram Video Post” section, tap the Music effect icon and add your song.
Remember, besides the curated options, you can import any song or audio clip you’ve downloaded to your device. Just tap the Imported button under the Featured tab or Open From under the My Music tab.
The voiceover option is also handy if you want to create an explainer video with pictures.
Unless you have added a lot of pictures and selected a short song, there is the likelihood that the music will be longer than the total length of the picture slideshow.
To fix this, slide the picture track below the music track to the farthermost left. Then select the music track to open the greyed-out action bar on top.
Tap the Split button. InShOt will divide the audio clip at that exact point.
Next, tap the delete button to remove it from the editor.
You can also use this process to add different music for different pictures. Simply insert multiple songs to the timeline, place them at the beginning of each image, and split the excess when the photo ends.
When you finish, tap the white checkmark to return to the main editor.
STEP 3 - Save and Share
From the main editor, tap the Save/Export(iOS) button at the top right corner of the screen.
Select the resolution and frame rate from the pop-up window, then tap Save again.
InShOt will automatically save the picture slideshow to your device. You can share it from your media gallery or within InShOt.
This may not be perfect, but it is the best solution until Instagram allows users to add music directly to picture posts.
How to Add Music on a Video you post in Instagram using Spotify
There is no other way to add music to an Instagram video post other than using third-party apps. Besides that, you only have the app’s Stories and Reels features. But that is not to say you are limited to Instagram’s music library only.
You can share your Spotify music in your Story, and anyone who opens and taps the Spotify link will be able to play the song on their device.
It is not quite as in-app as the music effect in Stories and Reels, but it is a useful way to add some flair to your post. Here is how to do it.
- Open the Music you want to Add from Spotify
Launch Spotify and play the song you want to add to Instagram. Then tap the Share button.
- Select Instagram and choose Stories
Tap the Instagram logo from the options. Spotify will automatically launch the Instagram app, and you can post to your Story from there.
This process works on both Android and iOS devices. You can also use it to share music to Instagram from other music streaming apps, including SoundCloud and Shazam.
Your followers and anyone who visits your account will be able to play the shared music on their Spotify account by clicking Play on Spotify.
How to Add Music to Instagram Video Post without breaking Copyright Rules
The curated songs in Instagram Story and Reels are licensed for that specific purpose. It means when choosing music for your Instagram video post, there is a chance you might be breaking copyright laws. IG may penalize you in the following ways:
- Muting a portion of your video
- Taking the video down
It is possible to avoid this by following IG music guidelines. Still, a more straightforward solution would be to play royalty-free music.
Wrapping Up
Instagram is one of the biggest platforms for exhibiting your creativity, with several features designed to facilitate it. However, to add music to your IG video, you would need a third-party app. Keevi and InShOt are two of the best apps for this purpose on mobile and PC devices.
Need more tutorials and tips on editing social media content? Visit our learning page.
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