5 Reasons Why You Can't Add Music to an Instagram Story + Fixes

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posted on 1 year ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Are you having trouble adding a song to your story on Instagram? To add music to Instagram stories, you'll typically use the Music sticker. If the Music sticker isn't showing up, it's usually because you're in a region that doesn't support the feature, or you're sharing branded content. There could also be a problem with the Instagram app or your internet connection. This wikiHow article will discuss reasons why you can't add music to your Instagram story, and give you some helpful fixes. We'll also teach you a few alternatives for adding music to Instagram stories without using the Music sticker.

Things You Should Know

If you can't find the music sticker, you might be in a region that doesn't support it.
If you have a Business account or are sharing branded content, you won't be able to add music unless it's royalty-free.
Update the Instagram app if the music sticker isn't available.

Reasons & Fixes

Music stickers may not be available in your region. Due to copyright reasons, music stickers are only available in a few countries. The most common reason that you can't add music to your story is that you're in a region that isn't supported. To get around the regional restriction, you can use a VPN to change your location to a country with access to music stickers, such as the United States, UK, or Canada.

Branded campaigns or business accounts can't share copyrighted music. If you're trying to create a Story with branded campaign content, you won't have the option to add music to your story. Similarly, if you have a Business account, you won't be able to add music to your Stories unless it's royalty-free. This means you won't find any of today's top hits when adding music to your story. If you have a Business account, you may want to switch it to a Creator account instead. Creator accounts can add music to Instagram stories, unlike Business accounts. Creator accounts also allow you to track your account's performance, display contact information and category labels, provide a secondary inbox, and give you growth insights. Alternatively, you can switch your Business account back to a Personal account.

Instagram may be out of date. Not being able to add a music sticker may be a symptom of an out-of-date app version. You can go to the Google Play Store to update on Android or the App Store to update apps on iPhone or iPad.

Your Instagram app cache might be corrupt. Sometimes a full cache or corrupted files can cause issues for the Instagram app. If Instagram crashes when you're trying to add music, clearing the app cache will usually help. On iPhones and iPads, there's no option to delete app cache. Instead, you'll need to delete the Instagram app and then reinstall it from the App Store. On Android, go to Settings > Apps > Instagram > Storage > Clear cache.

There might be a problem with your internet connection. A poor Wi-Fi or cellular connection could be the reason why you can't add music to your Instagram Story. In that case, try switching to Wi-Fi if you're using cellular, or cellular if you're using Wi-Fi. You can also check your connection speed with sites like https://fast.com to make sure you're getting what you pay for.

How to Add Music to Instagram Stories

Open Instagram on your Android, iPhone, or iPad. Tap the icon that looks like a camera lens on a gradient orange and pink background.

Tap +. You'll see this at the bottom-center part of your feed.

Tap STORY. This opens the Instagram story camera.

Record or create your story. You can hold down the shutter button to record video, tap it to capture a photo, or tap the gallery icon to select a photo or video from your gallery. Check out our guide on Instagram Story Hacks for quick ways to boost story engagement.

Tap the Sticker icon. It looks like a square smiley face with a bent corner. You'll find it at the top of the screen.

Tap the Music sticker. This sticker says "MUSIC" on it with straight music bars next to it. If you don't see it, try typing music into the search bar, or scrolling down a little bit. Once you tap the sticker, you'll see a "For you" tab and a "Browse" tab. You can select either tab to browse for a song. Otherwise, you can search for a specific song or artist using the "Search music" bar at the top.

Tap the song you want to add. This adds the song to your story and gives you the option to make changes before posting.

Choose your preferences. Tap the number at the bottom-left to choose how many seconds you'd like the song to play for, then use the slider to select the part of the song you want to play. You can also use the icons above the slider to choose how the song title and artist appear on your story.

Tap Done. Now that you've added the song, you can continue editing your story before sharing. To publish your story, tap Your story at the bottom, or choose Close friends to share with specific people.

Alternatives

Add music to a photo or video in a different app first. If the music sticker isn't available, you may be able to add the song to a video in a different app, then upload your video to your Instagram story. You can use an online video editor like Clideo, or an app like Filmr or InVideo. If you have a Business account or are sharing branded content, your story may be flagged for uploading copyright content, even if you do so without using Music from the Instagram app.

Share a song from a music app. If you can't add music to your Instagram story because of your region or account type, you can share a link to a song on your story instead. This will work with most music apps, including like Spotify, Apple Music, Shazam, and SoundCloud.