Gareth O’Sullivan — November 29, 2018 — November 29, 2018
If you haven’t been living under a rock, then you must have heard of Instagram’s new music sticker. Demystifying how to add music to Instagram, Instagram’s fantastic new feature is not just for the general user, but for brands too.
In this article, you’ll learn what Instagram music stickers are and how to add them to your Instagram Stories. You’ll also find a solution for those who don’t currently have access to this particular feature.
What You’ll Find In This Post:
- What are Instagram music stickers?
- How to add music to Instagram using the music sticker
- Music sticker not available? Here’s what you can do…
- Top royalty-free music sites for social media videos
What are Instagram music stickers?
Instagram music stickers are a recent feature that Instagram has introduced. The feature allows it’s users to add songs to their Instagram stories. It’s free and very simple to use. There’s a very large collection of songs available from a variety of different genres.
And yes, you’ll find plenty for the holiday seasons.
How To Add Music To Instagram Using the music sticker
To get started and learn how to add music to Instagram using the music sticker, follow the below guide.
Please note that the music sticker is not available worldwide.
Step 1) You’ll first want to load up Instagram (make sure you have the newest version of the app downloaded) and either swipe right or click the camera icon in the top left corner. You’ll now need to take a picture or upload an existing one. After you’ve done that, click the sticker icon in the top right corner.
Step 2) Scroll down to find the music sticker or type in search bar “Music” and tap the “Music” sticker.
Step 3) Browse the songs in the Popular, Moods or Genres category to find the ideal song. You can also find a specific song by utilising the search function.
Step 4) Once you have found the song, tap it to add it to your Instagram Story. You’ll then be given the option to choose a specific part of that song along with the duration of the song from 5 – 15 seconds.
Step 5) If you are happy with the song, click “Done” in the top right corner. This will add the music sticker to your story, and allow you to continue editing, adding other stickers or publish the story. That’s literally it.
If you’re a Shazam user, you’ll be happy to know that Shazam is now one of many apps that integrates with Instagram Music Stickers. Recently, Shazam announced a new feature for their users, allowing them to identify songs and have the option to immediately post the results to their Instagram Stories.
Music sticker not available? Here’s what you can do…
The Instagram music sticker isn’t available in all countries, and if that’s the case for you, then don’t worry. There are still many other ways you can include music in your Instagram Story.
You’ve got two options. You can either create the video on your desktop and import songs or utilise mobile apps and include the songs within the video. The latter is, by far, the easiest method.
One of the best apps on the market to achieve this is called CutStory for Instagram Stories, and is available on both iOS and Android platforms. The only downside of this app is you’ll need to pay a small fee to unlock the music feature.
To get started with this app, download it from the App Store and load it up. You’ll have the option to either create a video story or photo story. Whichever you select, import the content and browse the stickers, adding music, text etc. If you are happy with the outcome, simply click the download save button in the bottom left corner.
You’ll have the ability to add it to your Instagram Story, Facebook Story, WhatsApp story, IGTV and many other applications.
Top royalty-free music sites for social media videos
Before I share this golden list, for those that aren’t aware, royalty-free music is audio that you can use for your social media content, website, and much more. Usually, they’ll grant you permission for specific uses of the audio. Some websites offer the ability to use their selection of royalty-free music at no cost, whereas others will offer their royalty-free music category at a premium cost, which usually is worth it, as the audio is much clearer and more engaging.
Without further ado, here are the best royalty-free music sites for social media videos.
1. Epidemic Sound
Type of License: Royalty-free
Epidemic Sound is one of my favorite royalty-free music sites. I began using this many years ago for an old YouTube channel I previously ran. They offer a very large selection of music from all various genres. The pricing varies depending on the use. They have a creator subscription at £10 per month, or the option of single track licensing.
2. YouTube Audio Library
Type of License: Free (public domain) & Creative Commons
YouTube’s Audio Library is another handy collection of great royalty-free songs. I’ve used plenty of these tracks for YouTube videos and much more. One of the best things about YouTube’s Audio Library is that you are able to narrow down your search for specific songs via selecting genres, moods, popularity etc.
3. AudioBlocks
Type of License: Royalty-free for personal or commercial projects.
AudioBlocks is part of the StoryBlocks network. The range of songs available is fantastic and some of them are very catchy. You’re able to filter through via selecting music, sound effects or loops. There are over 100,000 options, all of which are 100% royalty-free. In terms of pricing, AudioBlocks offer the cheapest subscription. Starting $ 9/month, with other plans from $ 15/month up to $ 65 per month for images, video and audio.
4. AudioJungle
Type of License: Royalty-Free
AudioJungle is a very popular royalty-free music website, one of many that I’ve used in the past. They have a collection of tracks and sounds totaling over 700,000. This particular website is very popular due to the pricing and quality of tracks available. Pricing starts at just $ 1.
5. Soundcloud
Type of License: Creative Commons
For those looking for more tracks that are a little more interesting and may flow better with your videos, then check out Soundcloud. This website is used by various artists, beat producers and much more. Most of the tracks are licensed under Creative Commons, meaning you can use the tracks as long as you follow the guidelines mentioned by the artist.
6. Freeplay Music
Type of License: Creative Commons
Whilst this website is quite pricey compared to the others listed here, they sure do make up for it in the quality and size of their selection. If you’re using the songs for a personal project/personal YouTube that doesn’t monetise in any way, then you’re able to access almost every song for free. It’s worth checking out the pricing breakdown for a better understanding.
7. IncompeTech
Type of License: Royalty-Free
IncompeTech is fairly different to the other sites listed in this article. This particular website is run by the artist himself, Kevin MacLeod. All of his tracks are available to use royalty-free. With the appropriate attribution, users are able to download and use his music for free. If you would rather use Kevin’s music without providing attribution, that’s possible for a fee starting from $ 30 per piece. Discounts can be arranged if you’re purchasing more content.
8. Amazon Music
Type of License: Royalty-Free
Amazon also offers a selection of tracks available to use under a royalty-free license. There are currently over 900 songs available, from $ 0.99, and varying in length. It’s also possible to purchase albums of royalty-free music on the site too.
9. BenSound
Type of License: Royalty-Free
BenSound is similar to IncompeTech, all tracks are created by artist, Benjamin Tissot. He’s created tons of fantastic quality tracks, some of which have been used all over the web. Bensound has two subscription models available – Standard Subscription at €129 per year and Extended Subscription at €479 per year. Both subscriptions provide access to the entire audio library.
On To You
Utilizing Instagram’s Music Sticker feature will make your Instagram account stand out and attract attention as users will likely be interested in hearing the songs you’ve added to your story. Let your creative juices flow, consider using this fantastic feature for promoting your seasonal products and services, by playing seasonal music in your stories alongside product tagging and many other features the platform has added recently. Putting a few of these marketing ideas in place with a successful Instagram growth strategy will help you dominate the platform.
If you’re looking to boost your video content, pair the above tips with an all-in-one social media scheduling platform like Sked. No longer just for Instagram, Sked gives users the power to create, plan, schedule and deploy content across Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter (coming soon) too. Get started with a 7-day free trial today.
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