How to play a song on instagram

How to add music to an Instagram Story, with and without stickers

In 2018, Instagram introduced the option to share music on Stories, allowing users to add their favorite songs to their photos and videos. This move allowed Instagrammers to access thousands of songs and gave them the ability to share their Stories in a new, musical way.

In this guide, we’ll go over exactly how to add music to an Instagram Story, and we’ll share how to troubleshoot issues that may be preventing you from doing so.

How to put music on an Instagram Story with a sticker

Multiple formats for adding music to Stories have been released since the launch of Instagram’s music feature. However, the most common (and quite frankly, the simplest) way to add music to your photos or videos is to use the Stories sticker.

How to add a music sticker to an Instagram Story

The process of adding a music sticker to your Instagram Story is straightforward:

Open the Instagram app.
Press your Story icon (which looks like your profile picture) at the top-left of your screen.
Upload your Story by swiping up to access your Camera Roll or shoot it with the Story camera.
Press the sticker button at the top of the screen or swipe up.
Tap the Music button.
Either type the song you want to use into the search bar or browse via your mood, genre preference, or what’s popular today.
Press the song to add it to your Story.
Then, press Done at the top-right corner of the page.
Move your sticker to the placement you want on your Stories.
Press the “Your Story” button at the bottom-left of the screen.

When selecting a song for your Story, you have the option to listen to a preview before adding it. All you have to do is press the play button to the right of the song.

Why can’t I add music to my Instagram Story?

Trying to add music to your Instagram Story but having trouble? There could be a few reasons why you’re experiencing that glitch:

Your app isn’t up to date. If you can’t find the music sticker in your Stories, try uninstalling and reinstalling the Instagram app first. Sometimes a quick update is all that’s needed to bring your music-adding capabilities back.
The music feature is not available in your country. If you reinstall the app and there’s still no sticker, it could be because your country isn’t on the list of those that can access music for Stories. Right now, the feature is available in only 60 countries, including the United States, New Zealand, France, Australia, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Mexico, Japan, and Portugal. If your country is not on the list, you can use ClearVPN and its shortcut Unlock Instagram Music. Once you hit that shortcut, ClearVPN will connect your iPhone to the IP of a country where Instagram music stickers are available.

How to edit the music sticker in your Story

When adding a music sticker to your Story, you’ll probably notice that there are a few options to edit the song you chose. In addition to rewinding and fast-forwarding through the song to select the precise clip you want to use, you can also choose:

The length of the clip (up to 15 seconds)
The color of the music sticker
The size and type of sticker
Whether you want the lyrics displayed instead of the sticker
The color and font of the lyrics

Here’s how to edit your music sticker:

Follow the instructions in the previous section to add the music sticker to your Story.
Tap the music sticker itself to change the icon or switch to lyric mode. You can also do this by swiping left on the icons above the music player.
Press the color wheel at the top-center of the screen to change the color of the music sticker or the lyrics.
Press Done.
Press the Your Story button at the bottom-left of the screen to post it.

If you want to have music on your Instagram Story but don’t want a sticker to be visible, you can drag the sticker off the screen. It will disappear from the Story preview display, but after it publishes, you’ll still hear the music and see the song title and artist at the top of the screen.

How to add music lyrics to your Story

If you’re struggling to figure out how to add a song’s lyrics to your Stories, don’t worry. Below are instructions for how to find and use that editing feature:

Open the Instagram app.
Press your Story icon at the top-left of your screen.
Upload your Story by swiping up to access your Camera Roll or shoot it with the Story camera.
Press the sticker button at the top of the screen or swipe up.
Press the Music button.
Find the song you’d like to use.
Press the song to add it to your Story.
Press the letter button directly above the music player and swipe left to see more font options.
Select the font you wish to use.
Press Done.
Press the Your Story button at the bottom-left of the screen.

How to add music to Instagram Story without stickers

If you don’t want to use the music stickers, you’re in luck; there are a couple of other ways to add your favorite songs to your Instagram Stories.

How to put a song on your Instagram Story from Apple Music

Love using Apple Music to rock out? Well, there’s a simple way to share the song you’re jamming out to with your followers via Instagram Stories.

Here’s how:

Open Apple Music.
Navigate to the song you wish to share.
Press the three horizontal dots at the center-right of the screen.
Select Share.
Swipe on the apps until you find Instagram (if you don’t see it, press More).
Allow Instagram to open automatically.
Press the Your Story button at the bottom-left of the screen.

It’s important to note that the song won’t play directly on your Stories, but if a user taps on that Story, it will take them to Apple Music, where they can play it.

How to share a Spotify song on your Instagram Story

If you’re more of a Spotify user, you’ll be happy to learn that sharing a song from that platform is just as straightforward. Here’s how to do it:

Open the Spotify app.
Navigate to the song you wish to share.
Press the three horizontal dots at the top-right of the screen.
Scroll down and select Share.
Select Instagram Stories.
Press the “Your Story” button at the bottom-left of the screen.

Following these instructions will share your song choice to your Stories. Once again, it’s important to note that the song won’t play directly on your Stories, but if a user taps on that Story, it will redirect them to the song on Spotify.

How to play music from SoundCloud on your Story

Just like Apple Music and Spotify, the instructions for sharing SoundCloud songs on your Stories are easy to follow. And, like music shared from those platforms, songs from SoundCloud will not play on your Stories. Instead, followers who tap on the Story will be redirected to the song in SoundCloud.

Here’s how to share a song on your Stories through SoundCloud:

Open the SoundCloud App.
Navigate to the song you wish to share.
Press the three horizontal dots at the bottom-right of the screen.
Select Share to Instagram Stories.
Press the Your Story button at the bottom-left of the screen.

Adding music to an Instagram Story is a great way to elevate your content and make it unique. Whether you’re sharing your current favorite song or adding some background music to a video, we hope this guide helps you take your Stories to the next level. And if you want to make a video Story with your favorite track, check out the music video editors that help you do just that.

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Audio
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Emily Blackwood

Writer and editor, driven by curiosity and black coffee.

How to Add Music to an Instagram Story

Instagram Stories are easy to make, but they can require a lot of thought if you want to make them truly entertaining. Thankfully, Instagram offers a number of tools to help make your stories as fun as possible.

Maybe you've got some great photos or videos and some cool filters and stickers to layer on top, but your story is still missing one important factor—music. Instagram offers a selection of tunes from its own library and your favorite music streaming services, like Spotify(Opens in a new window), SoundCloud(Opens in a new window), and Shazam. Here's everything you need to know about music and Instagram.

Add Music in Instagram

You can add music directly to your story using Instagram’s library. Tap the plus (+) icon at the top of the app, then scroll to Story on the bottom navigation bar. You can also long-press Your Story and tap Add to Your Story or swipe to the right to open your camera, then select Your Story after the photo or video is captured.

At the camera screen, snap your photo or video. You can also swipe up to see your photo library, then select what you want to add. Apply whatever filters or special effects you want. When you're ready to add a tune to your story, tap the Sticker icon and then tap the Music sticker.

At the Music screen, browse through the different sections and genres to find a tune. You can also use the search field at the top of the screen to search for particular music by song, artist, or album. Spot a song you like? Tap the Play button to hear a short clip.

When you're ready to make a selection, tap the song you want in your story. You will have the opportunity to scroll through the song and decide what sound clip (up to 15 seconds) will play over your story. Move the slider bar until you find the section you want added.

Some songs offer multiple images from which you can choose, so tap the music thumbnail to change the image. Some even offer lyrics that appear on the screen as the music plays. When you're happy with the image you've chosen, tap Done and the song is added to your story in the form of a sticker.

Once you've finalized your music selection, the song appears as a sticker in your story. You can choose where the sticker will be placed in your story by moving it around the screen with your finger. Change the size of the sticker by pinching or expanding two fingers. Use two fingers and twist to change the orientation of the sticker.

Don’t like the look of your sticker? Double-tap it to return to the previous screen, where you can change the appearance of the sticker. Tap Done to return to your story.

If you’ve recorded a video, you can do even more with your sticker before you post the story. Hold down on it and you’ll be able to pin the sticker to a specific person or object in the video. This means the sticker will move along with the object as it moves in the video.

When you're done tweaking the music, tap the Your Story icon to publish your story with music. Alternatively, if you want only specific people to see it, you can either tap Close Friends to send it to a custom group of people, or tap Send To and select which users should get it.

To view your story, tap the Your Story icon. Your story appears with the music automatically playing. Tapping the song label pauses the music and brings up a window at the bottom through which you can save the music or send it to another person on Instagram. Your followers can view your story and play the music in the same way.

Add Music From the Spotify App

You can add music to your Instagram story by grabbing it from the Spotify app. With a song playing in Spotify, tap the ellipsis icon and choose the Share option. Tap Instagram and you're taken to your Instagram story, where your selected song appears with its cover art. You can add text, stickers, and other effects to your story. Tap the Your Story icon to post the story with the song you selected.

Once your story has been posted, it will serve as a link back to Spotify. Tap the Your Story icon in Instagram to view it. Anyone who views your story can tap Play on Spotify, and then Open Spotify to launch the song in the app.

Add Music From the SoundCloud App

Share a song from the SoundCloud app to your Instagram story by selecting a song and choosing Share. Select Stories to import the song and its associated image into Instagram.

Once the story has been published, it will serve as a link back to the song on SoundCloud. View the story, tap Play on SoundCloud, then select Open SoundCloud to open the song in the app.

Add Music From the Shazam App

While Shazam is primarily used to analyze and identify songs you’re already listening to, you can also get the app to play music and send it to Instagram. Open the app and allow it to recognize a song that is currently playing.

Tap the song in Shazam, then tap More and Share. Tap the Instagram option to send the song and its artwork to the Instagram app. After the story has been published, you can travel back to the Shazam app through Instagram. To do this, open the story in Instagram and tap the Open Shazam button to play the song in the app.

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Music in Stories, short videos and replies with songs: Instagram will launch new features in Russia

June 22, 2021

Technology

Marina Dulneva Author
Anastasia Skrynnikova Editorial Forbes

Instagram has announced the launch of new features in Russia. Users will have access to a TikTok-like Reels video service and a music sticker in Stories. With it, you can add music to your stories and answer questions with songs. Russian Facebook users will be able to pin it in the profile header so that it plays when the page is opened

Starting June 23, Russian Instagram users will begin accessing Reels, a platform for short videos, the company said.

With Reels, you can shoot and edit videos up to 30 seconds long, apply AR effects to them, and use the green screen effect to change the background. In Reels, you can add music from the app's library or choose from trends or recommendations. Users will also be able to create their own original audio, and if their account is public, other users will be able to use this audio in their videos.

Video created using the new feature can be published in the Stories or Post format, optionally limiting the audience. Facebook and Instagram are also launching a new music sticker in Stories. To add music to your Stories, you will need to follow these steps:

open the camera in the application, select a photo or video from the gallery, click on the sticker icon and select the Music sticker;
find any song from the library, select a fragment, add the name of the artist and the name of the song. If the composition has lyrics, it will automatically appear on the screen;
Click on a sticker to change the text style and animation. The sticker can be moved, rotated and resized.

With the release of the music sticker, Instagram and Facebook users will be able to answer questions in Stories with songs. In addition, Facebook users will be able to add their favorite track to the Hobbies / Interests section and pin it to the profile header - it will be played every time someone decides to visit this user's profile.

“Reinventing TikTok is unlikely to succeed”: what’s wrong with YouTube and Facebook’s short video services

Instagram began to roll out the Reels feature around the world in an attempt to attract the TikTok audience. In Russia, the short video format is gaining popularity - VKontakte is already developing its own clone of TikTok - the service is called Clips. In addition, in the fall of 2020, the head of the Ministry of Education, Sergey Kravtsov, announced joint plans with Mail.ru Group to develop an educational network for Russian schoolchildren, similar to TikTok.

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Marina Dulneva

Author
Anastasia Skrynnikova

Editorial Forbes

#instagram #reels #Facebook #the Internet #tiktok #video

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overlay on videos and photos, how to use music stickers

*social networks Instagram and Facebook belong to Meta, an organization whose activities are recognized as extremist and banned in the territory of the Russian Federation

Sultan Suleimanov

listens to music on Instagram *

Author profile

Users of Instagram and Facebook* from Russia since June 23 have access to music stickers, a feature that allows you to add song snippets to stories.

Music stickers on Instagram* appeared back in 2018, but earlier users from Russia weren’t able to use them: they couldn’t be added to their stories and they couldn’t listen to music in others. Now everything has changed, and now we will tell you how to use it.

Step 1

Go to Instagram* and select a photo or video

Before adding a music sticker, you need to create a post in your story. Go to the Instagram app*, swipe left and either take a photo or video in the app's camera or add it from the gallery. This also works with text stories created by the "Create" button in the side menu of the camera, but not with posts in the feed.

You can process your post - add filters and other stickers - at this stage, or after adding music.

The button with the image of a note allows you to quickly add a music sticker, but you may not have it on the screen. It's safer to click on the add stickers button and find a sticker there that says "Music"

Step 2

Add a music sticker

Click on the add stickers button and find the item "Music" there. A list of recommended tracks will appear, but there is a search bar at the top of the screen - you can use it to find the song you are interested in. Click on the track you want to add to your story.

Facebook*, which owns Instagram*, does not disclose the size of the music database, but there are definitely popular performers there. For example, Artur Pirozhkov, Elka and the King and the Jester group.

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Judging by the list, Instagram* forms the “For You” tab based on user subscriptions: I see in the list of musicians that

is subscribed to

Step 3

Select song snippet

After you have selected a song, you will be prompted to set up a sticker. Globally, there are two settings: which fragment will sound in stories and how the sticker itself will look.

First select a fragment - it can be up to 15 seconds long. To do this, move one of the two sliders at the bottom of the screen left or right. Next to the sliders there is a button for changing the duration: if 15 seconds is too long, you can trim a fragment of the song.

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The button adjusts the duration of the fragment over time. It does not work for stories with videos: the fragment will last as long as your video. The dotted slider allows you to precisely select a section of the song, and the slider above it is useful for quickly moving through the track

Step 4

Customize the appearance of the sticker

If the Instagram database* contains the lyrics of the song you have chosen, then animated lines will appear on the screen, just like in karaoke. By switching between the buttons at the bottom of the screen, you can customize the font and animation associated with it. The colored round icon at the top of the screen is needed to change the color of the text.

If there is no text in the Instagram database* or you don't want to display karaoke in stories, you can choose one of two static sticker options: they show the album cover, artist name and song title.

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How to make a simple mask for Instagram*

When you're done with the settings, click the Done button.

Click on the rainbow button to change the color of the text. If Instagram* doesn't know the lyrics of your song, only static stickers

will be available to you

Step 5

Place the sticker on the screen

You finally got a music sticker! Now you can move it around the screen, tilt and resize it, just like with regular stickers. Pick the perfect location and post what you've got.

This is what the story will look like after posting

What if I don't have a music sticker?

As a Facebook representative* explained, music stickers will gradually appear among Russian users. This means that you will probably have to wait a few days or weeks - the exact timing is unknown.

To brighten up the wait, you can:

Update the Instagram app* to the latest version.
Learn more