How to add music to your instagram story when it doesn t show up

Instagram keeps better every time and always creates new features to make Instagram more creative and fun for its millions of users. One way it has achieved this is with the music stickers.

Although Instagram already allows users within the platform to spice up their photos and videos on the platform with many effects, one new effect it has added is the music sticker to allow users to add song clips to their Instagram stories.

These stickers allow Instagram users to create a soundtrack for their Instagram story, and they get to decide what part of the preferred song they would like to feature in their Instagram story.

There are many tunes to pick from, but it doesn’t really matter if you can’t seem to add music to your Instagram story.

One crucial point to take careful note of is that although this feature isn’t so new as it was introduced in 2018, it is not available globally.

This feature is available in about 60 countries, but the app continues to work with music industry partners in various countries so as to widen the list of countries where the app is available.

This sticker is a new way for Instagram users to explore their creativity, and they are using this feature to not only express themselves but also to optimize their content.

If you can’t add music to Instagram, don’t get worried yet. You only need to get the update, and below are some proven methods to fix the problem.

Search For Instagram Updates

Sometimes, the feature is available in your country, but you would still not be able to add music to Instagram’s story. This is probably because your Instagram app is not updated.

The music sticker feature only works with updated apps, so the problem might be that you’re using an outdated app.

Most phones automatically download and install updates, but if your mobile device isn’t one of them, you can update the app manually. If you’re using an iOS device, go to the iOS Apple store and update your app right there.

However, if you’re using an Android mobile device, you would need to update your app from the Google Play store. Open the play store and go to the Apps and games on the menu located in the right corner of the play store.

Go to the update section and choose to update your Instagram app. The update will appear in a blue button beside the app name if it is not quite updated.

Once you update the app, the music sticker should appear on your device as this feature tends to appear on an Android device with a 5.1 OS and higher.

Once you update, relaunch the Instagram app, and you should be able to access the music sticker amongst the sticker tray on your story.

Log Onto Wi-Fi

One top reason you may not be able to add music to an Instagram story is that you have a bad network connection or you’re not connected to a Wi-Fi Network. To fix this particular issue, visit your phone settings.

Go to the WI-FI settings and switch it on, then go to the list of available networks and choose the network you would like to connect to.

Most Wi-Fi networks require a password to be able to access; enter the password if you possess it or try obtaining it if you don’t.

Once you do this, you can reload your Instagram page, and if the Wi-Fi connection is strong, you would be able to add music to your Instagram story seamlessly.

Log in and Out of the Mobile Application

If the above options don’t work for you, then another method you can try to fix the problem of adding music to the Instagram story is logging in and out of the app.

Doing this gives the app ample time to reload, especially if you just installed an update of the app. If you’re logged into the Instagram app, go to your profile page and click on settings.

Tap on the three displayed lines at the right corner of the page and choose settings from the options displayed. This will take you to a brand new menu; scroll to the end, and click the logout option.

After some time, you can log back in on the platform and check the stickers tray in your Instagram story to see if you can now add music to the Instagram story.

Delete the Instagram App Completely

Sometimes, what is required is that you delete the app completely from your device if installing an update doesn’t work. To do this, you will be needed to go to your phone’s setting. Click on apps (this could be presented as ‘apps and notifications’ or app management).

Click on it and scroll through the app options provided on the page to Instagram. Click on it, and you will be provided with different options; tap on uninstall and confirm the option to uninstall the Instagram app.

After uninstalling successfully, visit the Google Play Store on your Android device or App Store on your iOS device to install the app again on your mobile device.

This successfully eliminates any bug that might prevent the update from making its way to your app.

It also helps you start afresh, and once you log into your newly installed app, you should be able to easily add music to your Instagram story with the use of the music sticker from the stickers tray on Instagram story.

Make Use of A VPN

Since the music sticker feature is not available globally, there’s a chance that Instagram music is not available in your country and will therefore make it difficult for the sticker to appear in your music tray.

If you still want to add music to an Instagram story despite the restriction on your country, you can use a VPN.

The use of a VPN application allows you to hide the IP address of your resident country and replace the VPN with the IP address of a country where the feature is currently available. There are about 60 countries to make your choice from, so make it count.

Simply Relax

If you have attempted most of the fixes above and you still find it challenging to add music to your Instagram story, then you can just simply relax. Sometimes the key is patience, and in due time, the music sticker will make its way to you.

Instagram is continually updating the app, optimizing the performance of the social media platform, and fixing issues on the platform. In due time, the feature will be accessible to you, and you will be able to make use of the Instagram music feature in no time at all.

How To Add Music To Instagram Story

If any of the fixes provided above worked for you, the next question on your mind would be how to add music to the Instagram story. Luckily for you, we’ve got your covered on that as well.

The music feature is available with the music sticker, which basically gives the option of adding a soundtrack to your Instagram story.

This is always fun, and Instagram allows you to customize the feature by choosing which part of the song you would really like to add to the story.

Choose the picture or video you want to add to your stories, and then tap on the stickers tray to add a sticker to your story. Scroll through, and you would come across the music sticker.

Once you tap on this sticker, a library of songs is opened to you, and you can either choose from the list of popular songs, songs Instagram thinks you would like or browse by genre, theme, and even mood.

You can also choose to search out a specific artist or song title with the use of the search bar provided at the top of the page.

After picking your preferred tune, which you would like to associate with your Instagram story, you can then customize it to the part which you would prefer to play over your story. After doing this, users can post their stories so followers can explore.

You can also add music to videos and photos using the same process and then send as direct messages to people.

However you choose to share it, anyone who views such a story or message will be presented with the artist’s name and song name, so they are aware of what they’re actually listening to.

How To Confirm If You Can Add Music To Your Instagram Story

Sometimes, you need to look through to confirm whether or not any of the methods above worked, and you can now add music to your Instagram account. Below are detailed steps to help you check if you successfully fixed the problem.

  • To begin, you would need to launch the app and then click on the camera, which is at the top corner of the Instagram page. Alternatively, you can choose to tap the plus icon beside your image at the top of your news feed.
  • Choose a picture or a video; you could also choose to record a video immediately.
  • Tap on the sticker icon provided below; it is quite easy to spot as a square smiley face represents it.
  • Tapping on it would lead you to a new sticker menu.
  • Look through the stickers option for a sticker tagged ‘music;’ you can also use the search bar above to sift through quickly by typing in ‘music.’
  • If the music sticker appears, you can then add the music you prefer following the guide above. However, hope is not quite lost if it doesn’t, as you can add music to Instagram without the music sticker.

How to Effectively Add Music to Instagram Story Without the Music Sticker

Not being able to access the music sticker feature doesn’t mean you’re out of luck; there’s another way to effectively add music to your Instagram story, and below are two methods to do exactly that.

Play Music Over Video

Rather than choosing a song from the extensive library available with the music sticker, you can improvise and use a streaming app to add music to Instagram with the following steps.

  • First, choose a music streaming app and open it. You could choose to go with Spotify or Apple music if you prefer.
  • After launching the app, choose the music you want and start playing it.
  • While the song is still playing, switch to the Instagram app and start recording your story.
  • The music playing in the background will be recorded into your story, and you can then post it.

This process doesn’t allow you to add lyrics or an album cover to your story, but it does the trick of adding music to an Instagram story. As long as you don’t violate any copyright, the music will not be removed from your video.

Another effective method of adding music to the Instagram story is simply by sharing. Most music streaming apps offer the option of sharing on Instagram.

SoundCloud offers this feature, and so does Spotify; Spotify partnered with Instagram back in 2018 to allow music sharing to be done seamlessly on both platforms.

To successfully share music to Instagram stories from Spotify or any music streaming app, follow the outlined steps below.

  • Open the music streaming app to get started.
  • Choose a song you like and would want to add to your Instagram story.
  • Click the three-dot icon on the song to explore its options. Click on the share option provided.
  • A list of active apps you can share to will pop up; choose the Instagram story to continue.
  • This will automatically redirect you to the Instagram story, and a styled preview of the song will be created for your story.
  • You can choose to customize it better by adding GIFs or some text to the music.
  • When you’re done, hit the send button, and the music will be posted to your Instagram story.

One great part of this option is that it could trigger the music sticker on your app. Try creating a new story and check the stickers’ tray to see if the music sticker appears. If it doesn’t, you can keep using this option to share your favorite music with your follower via your Instagram story.

FAQs

Why is it difficult to add music to my Instagram story

It could be due to a restriction on your country or region; the app might not be available in your location. There are also other reasons which you could solve by checking out the fixes provided above.

Why did the music sticker disappear on my Instagram?

It could actually be due to a change in located to a region where it isn’t enabled. There could also be a small glitch in the app that’s preventing the sticker from appearing in the meantime.

How do I add the music sticker to my Instagram story?

Simply click on the story icon, choose a photo or a video and then sift through the stickers try to add the music sticker to your Instagram story.

Conclusion

It is always fun to try new features on Instagram, and the Instagram music feature is one of them. It allows you to showcase your creativity on the platform and also optimize content being shared to increase engagement with the audience.

If you can’t add music to the Instagram story, we’ve provided some methods to fix the issue and a guide to add music to Instagram’s story after the issue is fixed. If none of the provided methods work for you, you can try out any of the alternatives provided above.

Sharing music is always a fun thing to do, and with these solutions, nothing should stop you from communicating with your followers through the use of music on your Instagram story.