Buzz
This guide will walk you through the steps to add music to your photos on Instagram. You can use Instagram on both iPhone and Android devices to upload photos with music to your Story. If you want to add music to a photo posted on your main Instagram feed, you’ll need the free PicMusic app on iPhone.
Steps
Add Music to Photos on Your Instagram Story
Open the Instagram app with the colorful camera icon to access your Instagram feed if you're already logged in.
- If you haven’t logged into Instagram yet, you’ll be prompted to enter your email address and password before proceeding.
Tap the "Home" tab (Home page). If Instagram hasn't opened the home page, press the home icon at the bottom left corner of the screen.
Tap on Your Story at the top of the page to open the upload screen.
Capture a photo. Point the camera at the object you want to photograph, then tap the round "Capture" button at the bottom of the screen.
- If you prefer to choose an image from your Camera Roll, tap the "Photos" button at the bottom left corner of the screen, then select the image you wish to use.
Tap the smiley face icon at the top of the screen to open the selection list.
Tap on MUSIC in the selection list. This action will display a list of popular music tracks.
- You may need to scroll down to find this option.
Search for a song. Tap the search bar at the top of the screen and then type the name of the song or artist.
- You can also scroll through the list of music in the Popular section.
- If the search bar doesn't display any results, you will need to try searching for a different song.
Select a song. Once you find the song you'd like to use, tap on its name to add it to the image.
Choose a segment of the song to use. Tap and drag the box on the waveform at the bottom of the screen to the left or right.
- You can shorten the duration by tapping 15 SECS (15 seconds) and dragging up to select a different duration.
Tap Done in the top right corner of the screen.
Move the artist card. If the artist card for the song is blocking the image, tap and drag it to a less obstructive position.
Tap on Your Story at the bottom of the screen to add a photo to your Instagram post, so your followers can view it for the next 24 hours.
Use PicMusic
Install PicMusic.
App Store
Open PicMusic. After PicMusic is installed, tap OPEN in the App Store, or exit the App Store and tap the PicMusic app on your iPhone's home screen.
Tap on Add photos (Add images) in the center of the screen.
Select the photo you'd like to use. Tap on the album you want to choose from, then tap on the image you'd like to use. A checkmark will appear on the selected thumbnail.
- Initially, you might need to tap OK to grant PicMusic access to your photos.
Tap on ☰ in the top-right corner of the screen. This action will open a list of options on the right side of the screen.
Tap on Add music in the options list to open the iTunes window.
Select a song. Tap on Songs in the iTunes window, then search and choose the song you wish to use.
- Once again, you may need to tap OK to allow PicMusic access to your iTunes library.
Select your starting point. Tap and drag the sound wave left or right to adjust the starting time of the song.
- You can preview the start time by tapping the "Play" button (the triangle symbol) on this page.
- If you don’t want your song to fade out as it approaches the end, simply tap the pink "Fade" slider to disable this feature.
Tap on ☰ at the top-right corner of the screen. This will bring back the list of options.
Scroll down and select Instagram under the "SHARE" section.
Tap on OK when prompted. This action will save the video to your iPhone’s Camera Roll.
Tap on Open when prompted to open Instagram.
Tap on the Library tab located at the bottom left corner of the screen.
Select your video by tapping on its thumbnail image located below the screen.
Click on the Next button at the top-right corner of the screen.
Choose your preferred filter and then hit the Next button. If you wish to add more filters to your video, swipe through the available filters at the bottom of the screen.
Enter a caption if needed. To add a caption for your post, tap on the "Write a caption..." box located near the top of the screen, then type any text you like (for example, "Sound up!" (Turn up the sound!).
Click on Share at the top right corner of the screen. This will allow you to post your photo, along with the music, directly to Instagram.
Tips
- If you frequently use PicMusic, you may opt for the premium version to remove the watermark.
Warning
- Currently, there is no way to add background music to non-news photos using the Instagram app.
