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How to use music in instagram videos


Updates and Guidelines for Including Music in Video

Posted on May 20, 2020

Music is a bonding force in normal times. During difficult and isolating times like this, we know it can be even more important. As social distancing has forced everyone to stay apart, more people have turned to Instagram and Facebook Live to stay connected with their communities. This rapid rise in usage has created a lot of good during this crisis – raising money for frontline workers and underserved communities, driving awareness of healthy habits, encouraging people to stay safe by staying home, and bringing people together through new forms of entertainment. But it’s also highlighted some confusion across the community -- especially around the use of recorded music in Live on both Facebook and Instagram.

At its core, Live brings people together in a real-time and unproduced way, which has opened up new creative opportunities for many creators, artists, and other public figures.

So as we continue building for the long term, we’re sharing guidelines and product improvements around music in Instagram and Facebook videos and livestreams.

Clarifying Our Guidelines for Including Music in Video

We want to encourage musical expression on our platforms while also ensuring that we uphold our agreements with rights holders. These agreements help protect the artists, songwriters, and partners who are the cornerstone of the music community -- and we're grateful for how they've enabled the amazing creativity we've seen in this time.

Our partnerships with rights holders have brought people together around music on our platforms. As part of our licensing agreements, there are limitations around the amount of recorded music that can be included in Live broadcasts or videos. While the specifics of our licensing agreements are confidential, today we’re sharing some general guidelines to help you plan your videos better:

  • Music in stories and traditional live music performances (e.g., filming an artist or band performing live) are permitted.

  • The greater the number of full-length recorded tracks in a video, the more likely it may be limited (more below on what we mean by “limited”).

  • For that reason, shorter clips of music are recommended.

  • There should always be a visual component to your video; recorded audio should not be the primary purpose of the video.

These guidelines are consistent across live and recorded video on both Facebook and Instagram, and for all types of accounts -- i.e. pages, profiles, verified and unverified accounts. And although music is launched on our platforms in more than 90 countries, there are places where it is not yet available. So if your video includes recorded music, it may not be available for use in those locations.

People also have access to a library of custom music and sound effects at no cost using Facebook’s Sound Collection. The Sound Collection includes thousands of tracks available to use in the videos you share on Facebook and Instagram without any limits – spanning genres like hip-hop, pop, jazz, country, and more.

In-Product Video Notifications

We know it can be frustrating to have a stream interrupted or to have parts of your video muted because it includes music. To minimize these interruptions and to prevent confusion around audio use, we’re also improving our in-product notifications. These notifications are intended to alert you when our systems detect that your broadcast or uploaded video may include music in a way that doesn’t adhere to our licensing agreements.

Updates include making notifications clearer and surfacing notifications earlier to live broadcasters, to give people time to adjust their streams and avoid interruptions if we detect they may be approaching our limitations. And if your video is muted or blocked, we’ll make it clear what actions you can take to stop the interruption.

Looking to The Future

With these improvements, we look forward to people, artists, and creators continuing to use music to share and bond with each other across our platforms.

We will continue to work hand-in-hand with our music partners to enable people to build community with music in new ways, and especially during this time, we’re working together to maximize people’s ability to express themselves through our products.

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How to Use Copyright Music on Instagram

If you’ve ever wanted to use copyright music on Instagram, you’ve likely struggled to find the real facts. Some places suggest freedom with credit, while other information says otherwise. That’s made even more complicated by changing rules and Instagram features over the years.

Today, we’re giving you ALL the rules and requirements to use copyright music on Instagram. We’ll also break it down by feature, so you can find all the details you need to create Instagram videos with music!

The contents of this post do not constitute legal advice and are subject to change. Always pay attention to Instagram’s direct insight and any in-app suggestions or restrictions. The nature of copyright music is ever-evolving, and the best advice is only to use music you have the rights or correct license for.

What are Instagram’s rules about copyright music?

When artists make music, they (and their labels) want to make money from their work. The law also agrees that the creator should be paid. Most platforms, including Instagram, have strict rules against using copyrighted material that you do not have the right to use. In some cases, platforms make deals with rights holders to pay them a flat rate, allowing copyrighted content to exist on their platform.

Instagram has made several deals with the music industry to allow some use of copyright music on the platform. While the specifics of those deals are confidential, there are some guidelines to follow in an announcement by Instagram from May 20, 2020.
  1. Music recorded from live performances is permitted. If you attend a concert and share Stories, Reels, or Instagram Live videos of the gig, you should be okay. 'Music in Stories' is permitted wholly.
  2. Using too many full-length recorded tracks may limit your ability to broadcast live. If you’re streaming on Instagram Live and playing track after track, you might find your broadcast terminated.
  3. In general, video clips containing music should be short. While there is no clear answer on what 'short' means, aim for short-form content when in doubt.
  4. You should always have a video component when using copyright music on Instagram. Just playing songs with no visual element isn't permitted.
  5. Music may not be allowed in some countries. While music is available for Instagram in 90 countries, some places do not currently hold the rights, and might render these guidelines irrelevant in your area.

Does Instagram have its own copyright music?

Instagram does have its own catalog of copyright music. It’s by no means the biggest, most comprehensive collection in the world, but you can find certain songs on the platform when posting Reels and Stories. All you need to do is hit the music icon while editing your post, then type what you’re looking for into the search bar. Doing this means a music sticker will be added to your post, clearly showing and linking viewers to the track and artist.

Can I use copyright music on Instagram Stories?

Yes, you can use music in Instagram Stories. Stories allow you to use both recorded and live music performances – the only exception is countries where music usage is currently limited. Your content should include a visual component, and you can use Instagram’s music catalog.

How do you avoid copyright on Instagram Reels?

Yep, you can use music on Reels. Revealed in August 2020, Reels has a built-in music catalog and is the preferred platform for music use – it’s a pretty perfect medium for video and music. Reels are short-form pieces of content, which line up with Instagram's agreements made with rights holders. Using music on Instagram Reels also requires a visual component.

Can you play music on Instagram Live?

You can conditionally use copyright music on Instagram Live video. Live performances of artists are permitted, so they're your safest bet. Streaming full-length recorded tracks may result in your stream being limited or even terminated; the more full-length tracks you play, the likelier your chance of being restricted. As always, you should have a strong visual component when using copyright music on Instagram Live streams.

Can I get banned for playing music on Instagram Live?

While Instagram Live videos are only available at the time of broadcast, it doesn’t mean you can use copyright music without consequence. If you don’t have the correct license to use the track, you could end up in trouble.

If you fall on the wrong side of copyright law during an Instagram Live stream, you’ll receive an automated pop-up message. This basically serves as a warning, giving you the chance to stop playing the music or change it to something you’re cleared to use.

This process is automated, so mistakes can be made. If you don’t comply with the message, though, your Instagram Live video can be muted or even stopped.

Can I use 30 seconds of copyright music on Instagram?

‘You can just use a few seconds of music on Instagram – it’s fine.’ That’s a line you've surely heard before; unfortunately, it’s an urban myth. Unless you have full permission to use the music, you can never be truly safe. Sure, you can use 10, 20 or 30 seconds of a track and it might be OK.

But it might not be. Given Instagram doesn’t specifically say how much of a track you can or can’t use, you won’t know until it’s too late. Generally speaking, if you’re using a short snippet, it’s generally assumed you’re safer using a bridge or verse rather than the more recognizable chorus hook.

Does giving credit mean you can use copyright music on Instagram?

This is also an urban myth. While giving credit to songwriters, artists and rights holders is a nice thing to do, it doesn’t get you out of hot water. Even if you credit them, you still need a valid license or hold the rights to use their copyright music on Instagram without restrictions.

There’s no sure-fire way to look at a song and see if it’s copyrighted. You can search for individual songs’ copyright status, but as a rule of thumb, you should assume that you need to obtain a license to use it on Instagram. There are a few exceptions here, namely:

  • If the song is your own, and you own all the necessary rights. 
  • If the song is explicitly labeled as ‘in the public domain.’ This music has no ‘official’ owner and can be used how you wish. You can find a list of songs in the public domain here, which you can use for Instagram music.
  • If the track’s copyright protection has ended. For songs published in the USA during or after 1978, copyright protection remains for 70 years following the death of the last surviving author. For music released before that period, copyright protection remains for 95 years after publication. Following this, the track becomes public domain.

What do you do when Instagram blocks your video?

If you’ve done everything by the books and Instagram still blocks your video, don’t sweat it. Accidental copyright strikes and takedowns happen quite often, purely because Instagram uses an automated system to scan content for music. There aren’t real people trawling through each post, so accidents aren’t uncommon.

Occasionally, Instagram can block, mute or remove content even if you’ve stuck to the rules and haven’t done anything wrong. You can easily appeal this decision, though. Just follow the below steps:

  • Head to the notification menu, then click on the message telling you that your video has been blocked, muted or removed.
  • You should be given details about who’s flagged your content, and why. If the rights owner has reported you for copyright infringement, their details and reasoning should be available. 
  • Read the notice saying you actually do have permission to share everything within the video, and click ‘I agree.’
  • Hit the ‘Appeal’ button. You can expect a decision within 24 hours, and if you’ve followed the rules and have the right to use the copyright music in your content, Instagram should remove all restrictions.

Other ways to use copyright music on Instagram legally

If you’re in a country that doesn't currently allow the use of copyright music on Instagram, there are ways to use songs in your videos. Options include collaborating with artists, seeking the rights for individual songs, or paying for royalty-free tracks.

Collaborate with artists

Collaborating with artists is a great way to get access to their music. If they own the rights to their songs, they can grant you a license – perhaps for free. This allows you to use their music in your videos without worrying about breaking the rules. The best artists to collaborate with are smaller, up-and-coming artists or local groups. Twitter, Soundcloud and Bandcamp give you plenty of ways to discover smaller artists whose music may fit with your videos!

Seek to license individual songs

If you want to use a specific song in your video, you can always seek a license. Licensing individual, mainstream songs can be expensive, but worth it if you have something big planned. Licensing services will differ based on the country you’re in, but some examples are as follows:

United States

ASCAP, BMI or SESAC

Latin America

ACEMLA

Canada

SOCAN

United Kingdom

PRS or PPL

Australia

APRA or PPCA

Pay for royalty-free tracks

Royalty-free music is music you can use in content without paying royalties to artists or rights holders every time it’s played. Royalty-free music doesn’t automatically include public performance rights, meaning you still might have to pay royalties when you publish it on digital platforms.

Our music is more than just royalty-free. What sets us apart is that we own all rights to our music and offer users a direct license. Synchronization rights, mechanical rights and public performance rights? All included. Additional fees or royalties? Forget about it.

More than royalty-free. More like worry-free. Check out our catalog of 35,000 tracks and 90,000 sound effects, sign up for the 30-day free trial, and never get stuck asking the question, 'What music can I use on Instagram?' again!

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

  • Technology

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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How to add music to video on Instagram + 10 services

Today's article will answer in detail the important question - how to put music on video for Instagram. How not to get banned and avoid blocking publications? What apps and music tracks can I use? Where to find and download the best copyrighted music? About all this - below, and at the end of the article you will find a special life hack!

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Why add music to stories and videos?

Music definitely makes the content more dynamic and alive. A good composition can hold attention and evoke certain emotions in the subscriber. Have you ever seen high-quality video content without music?

Of course, a certain percentage of people keep their phones on silent. But we are targeting the entire audience.

Official music in stories via sticker

The English-speaking part of the audience has long been able to use the official compositions from the Instagram library as audio stickers.

This format is not yet available in Russia. Already, users can see the audio sticker widget directly when shooting stories.

The main problem is that the stories shot in this way will be silent for your subscribers :) Changing the IP to a foreign one will not help either, since your subscribers from Russia will have a Russian IP. The audio sticker attachment feature is likely to be activated in the near future.

Add music to your posts/stories in apps

There are several trusted useful services that will help your story and posts get the most interest from others. It is important not to forget that the current Instagram policy allows the use of licensed music that does not violate the copyrights of performers and their representatives. Therefore, the review will not contain dubious applications, the use of which can lead to restrictions on your account.

InShot (IOS/Android applications)

One of the best video editors that combines colossal functionality for a mobile application, a clear interface and its own library of licensed songs. Used by a large number of users for more than a year.

The application is available on Google Play and Itunes, the first installation gives a trial period of using the full functionality, which can really surprise you.

The interface is intuitive, it is very, very easy to figure out the procedure. In order to add music, click on create a new video.

Next, select the "Songs" item.

Here the library of performers opens, select the artist you like and the composition in the list inside.

InShot offers to copy the original title and artist so that users can optionally find the song they like when watching your video. Click "Use" and the music audio will be added to the video, after that you can trim the audio file to your liking, adjust the volume.

The screenshot below is an incomplete list of what this program is capable of: working with an image (correcting colors, cropping unnecessary frames), effects, text inserts and emoji. It can be safely recommended for permanent use.

KineMaster (IOS/Android apps)

Another powerful video editor, the interface is somewhat more complicated, but it's easy to understand. Here you can use the chroma key, control the speed of the video and many other useful features.

In KineMaster it is convenient to work with videos for different platforms, when creating a new project, the application offers a choice of format: library, all sorts of sound effects are immediately presented.

VideoLeap (IOS/Android application)

This editor has advanced functionality and is constantly updated on the iOS platform, the Android version allows you to add only licensed tracks from the library on your device, which is quite inconvenient, because most often such compositions are only shareware.

MovAvi (IOS/Android App)

Application links are available on the official website.

An application with nice and clear functionality, a small part of the audio files from the library is free, the rest of the application will offer to pay for use in your video material.

The disclaimer makes it clear that all audio content is official and is completely legal on the platforms. The library is intelligently divided into sections, so the search for songs is noticeably easier. If you have the ability and desire to use paid tracks, this is definitely a very good choice.

Where can I find licensed music for Instagram? TOP ways!

The author of the article himself uses several proven ways to find the best licensed music without fear of restrictions from Instagram:

InShot Library

The application has a lot of high-quality songs for every taste, for which you don’t have to pay extra. And in general, this program has long been the flagship among video editors for the social network Instagram.

SoundCloud + Telegram bot

SoundCloud.com is a music social network that publishes millions of licensed songs available for use. Search for "License > Commercial Use".

The platform itself does not allow you to download songs in Mp3 format to your computer, but there are third-party services that allow you to quickly and easily download a song of interest. One of these services is the Telegram bot SoundCloud Downloader, you just need to send a link to the bot and then download the audio file.

YouTube Audio Library

The service from Google also prohibits the use of music that is not protected by copyright in videos, but it has a huge library of music with an extended license, these files can be used both for personal purposes and for commercial use. You can download music from YouTube using websites and various programs.

Other ways to find licensed music

In addition to the above methods, there are many more programs and libraries that you can use:

  • Facebook music library - a couple of thousand free songs and sound effects, you can find something suitable if you want;
  • StoryBeat - this application still allows you to add any hit tunes and Instagram skips such stories, but how it works, and most importantly - how long it will roll - is unknown;
  • if you need realistic sound effects, the library of sound tracks from the BBC is the best fit, from the light noise of the surf and the crackle of a fire, to formidable natural phenomena, this format of musical accompaniment will definitely attract subscribers;
  • other audio services and applications such as VivaVideo, Timbeek, Vigo Video, Pic Music, Insta Video Mixer.

When posting posts and stories, Instagram checks the audio sequence for acceptable use, and if the track or sound effect does not meet the general requirements of the platform, such content will not pass moderation or will be banned in the future. However, there is a kind of life hack, which was promised to be told at the beginning of the article.

Life hack - why won't Instagram ban you?

A small life hack. At the moment, Instagram does not analyze music in stories. If the post / IGTV video with licensed music is deleted instantly, then the story hangs quietly for the prescribed 24 hours. We can record music from any service/video using e.g. screen recording. This functionality is built into the iPhone, I'm sure on Android devices too.

Turn on screen recording and a music track that we will add to stories. When you record the desired fragment or the entire song, stop recording the screen. Then add the audio track from our recording to your story using the InShot app (there is an "import music from video" button).

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