As the head of Instagram Adam Mosseri so perfectly put it in a recent tweet “Instagram is no longer a photo-sharing app”. The days when Instagram was about sharing cute puppy photos between friends are long gone. With over one billion monthly users, Instagram is now a thriving community where influencers, businesses, and people come together to inspire and share ideas through content.
Do you know what the most engaging content on Instagram is nowadays? Videos! And do you know what every video worth its weight in content has? Music! Except, there’s just one problem to this “add video with music to Instagram and gain a legion of followers” idea, and that’s music copyright laws.
Although Instagram is a mind-boggling large playing field of content, it can still sniff out a video that features music that it shouldn’t. To make sure your valued content doesn’t get taken down due to copyright infringement, it pays to know, and play the game a little.
In this article, we are going to showcase the different ways you can legally upload a video to Instagram with a phat beat attached to it.
Can A User Add Music Directly To Their Instagram Post?
Unlike their stories and reels, there is no current in-app music feature that allows you to add music directly to an Instagram post. On stories and reels, Instagram allows users to select from millions of safe-to-use tracks that pertain to every style of content you can possibly imagine. If you find Instagram music not working, ensure your app is updated and try switching to a business account for broader music access.
Maybe you want to upload a clip of a palm-tree-lined beach with the love of your life diving into its pristine waters? And wouldn’t the funky intro to Bob Marley and the Wailers “Could you be loved” set the scene just so perfectly? Well, Instagram could help you out with that, as long as it’s uploaded as a story.
What if you wanted to post this same slice of paradise onto your Instagram with Bob Marley serenading the moment? This is where things get tricky, but not all hope is lost. The methods below may just get you your picture-perfect, envy-including post after all!
Read more: How To Add Music To Instagram Stories
How Can You Add Music To Your Instagram Post?
Ok, so now you know that Instagram has decided to make your day a little harder than you would have hoped for. But don’t give up just yet. Just because there’s not an in-app music feature for posts doesn’t mean your post won’t be elevated by sound soon enough.
Attach Music To Your Video Using a Third-Party App
Because Instagram chose not to include an in-app music feature for posts, now there are literally hundreds of third-party apps that are ready to swoop in and do this for you. The beauty of these apps is that they don’t just have their own library of songs for you to peruse and choose. They also allow you to add externally downloaded music from, say, your iTunes, or in some cases, even Spotify.
Sometimes too much choice can actually be a bad thing, and in the case of third-party video apps, this couldn’t be any closer to the truth. To save you the time and hassle of finding a trustworthy app that’s easy to use and has plenty of tunes, we’re going to feature two of the best.
Tempo
Tempo is regarded as the easiest video editing app available to download today. Tempo knows that not every person with video editing dreams wants to learn the convoluted craft of video and photo editing through a high-end program called Lightroom.
Most people want to spend the littlest time possible to get their videos in shape and ready to post. Luckily, Tempo has simplified the process right down so that anyone with basic skills can edit their video and lay some delicious music over the top of it.
However, it must be known, that like most premium apps and services these days, Tempo requires you to sign up for an annual subscription after their free, three-day trial ends. This is cool though because you have three days to play around with editing some videos. If after three days you can’t see the value in Tempo, then no harm done, simply tap out and move on.
In the meantime, here’s a breakdown of the exact step-by-step process of adding music to a video with Tempo.
- Open the app
- Locate the video button on the top-right of the screen and press it
- Now press the video button at the top-left of your screen
- Select whichever clips you want to use
- Then press the orange-colored check-mark
- Find the music button at the bottom of the screen and press
- Open up the app’s extensive in-house music library
- Find a song that you wish to use
- Press use
- Now trim and edit the audio that is displayed underneath
- Once you’ve finished slicing and dicing to your exact specifications, press save and select your export size
- Once this is done it’s time to upload your video to Instagram
- Press the Instagram button
- Select Open
- Select post
- Publish your post to Instagram
Although this process may seem a little long-winded at first, trust us, after the first couple of tries you’ll be breezing through it like it’s nobody’s business.
Add Background Music To Video
Aptly named “Add Background Music To Video”, this app allows you to do exactly what it says on the tin. Although it costs very little to purchase and very little to subscribe, just like Tempo, there are costs involved with using this app. However, when you compare it to high-end video editing programs and apps that some users sign up for, the cost of this app pales in comparison.
Yes, it allows you to add background music to your videos, but don’t think that’s the only trick up this app’s sleeve. Other notable features include allowing you to record your own voice-over, and trim and cut your videos, frame by frame, to make them as snappy as possible. On top of those two nifty tools, you will also have access to audio fade-in and fade-out effects to ensure your videos sound uber-professional. Moreover, those familiar with Logic Pro X for Windows’s robust capabilities appreciate this app’s seamless audio editing features, making it a powerful addition to your video editing toolkit.
Add Background Music To Video understands how important first impressions are for content creators, which is why their user interface is beautifully designed and comes with a tonne of options. Of course, their app also makes it super easy to upload your audio-backed videos to Instagram and all other socials.
TikTok
Okay, so maybe not everyone who posts videos to Instagram uses TikTok, but with the app now in the “one billion users” club alongside Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, it’s safe to say a lot of you do. The beauty of creating a music video on TikTok and posting it directly onto your Instagram is there is no need for a middleman (third-party apps).
TikTok is a video-sharing platform which means this is their bread and butter, and they can take your musicless video from zero straight to hero with some fitting music in the background. Another cool aspect of creating music videos on TikTok is it’s both free to download and free to use. So, not only are you getting double the exposure on both channels but it also comes free and easy.
Read more: Does Instagram Notify Your Friends When You Screenshot?
Move To/Live in Brazil, Turkey, or India
You’d be correct in thinking that this last idea is a little far-fetched, but hear it out first. Instagram isn’t silly, they know users want direct access to music for feed posts. Not only would this feature allow users to ditch their subscription with a third-party app, but it also makes Instagram more desirable. And in the ever-changing climate of social media, platforms have to stay desirable and remain current.
That’s why Instagram is currently trialing this feature in select areas of Brazil, Turkey, and India. So yeah, maybe you could go out on a limb, move to one of these countries and be lucky enough to link into the feature.
If you do, be sure to let us know what you think. Or, if that sounds like the most ludicrous idea you’ve ever heard, you could just wait for Instagram to flick the global switch and give its users something to really cheer about. Sweet, sweet music!
Summary
As you can see, there are many avenues to go down when looking to give your Instagram post an injection of life through the gift of music. Whether you’re an influencer who makes their living off the back of their Instagram account.
Or, like most of us, you like Instagram because it allows you a backstage pass to inspiring people’s lives, and you enjoy showing friends what you’re up to every now and then. At least now you know where you stand when it comes to adding music to Instagram posts.
Yes, this may seem like a strange new world to the old guard, all this content creation and sharing. But, you know how Bob Dylan was singing “the times are a changin” way back in the 60s? Well, the sentiment couldn’t be more on point today if it tried, and Instagram is the new kid on the block that everyone wants to be friends with.
You can read additional Instagram articles here.
