How to Add Music to an Instagram Business Account

Adding a trending song to your Instagram Reel or Story seems like a simple step, but for a business account, it can quickly turn into a frustrating quest. Suddenly, the popular music library you see on your personal profile disappears, replaced by a much smaller, unfamiliar collection of generic-sounding tracks. This article breaks down exactly why this happens, how to fix it, and what other options you have to get great audio for your brand's content.

Why Can’t I Add Popular Music to My Instagram Business Account?

The short answer? Music licensing. It all comes down to the legal difference between using music for personal enjoyment and using it for commercial purposes. When you, as an individual, add a Taylor Swift song to a Story of your dog, that’s considered personal, non-commercial use. Instagram has agreements with record labels that cover this type of organic sharing.

However, when a business uses that same song in a Reel promoting a product or service, it’s legally considered a commercial use - basically, an advertisement. The licensing agreements for commercial use are far more complex and expensive. To protect themselves (and you) from major copyright infringement issues, Meta restricts business accounts to its “Sound Collection,” a library of royalty-free music and sounds that are pre-cleared for commercial use.

While this is legally the safest route for Instagram to take, it leaves many brands feeling left out of the cultural conversation driven by trending audio. Viral sounds are a powerful tool for discovery and connection on Instagram, and not having access to them puts business accounts at a disadvantage.

Before You Change Anything: The Quick Checks

Sometimes, the music issue is just a glitch. Before you make fundamental changes to your account, run through these quick troubleshooting steps.

• Update Your App: It sounds basic, but an outdated app is often the source of strange bugs. Go to the App Store or Google Play Store and make sure your Instagram app is updated to the latest version.
• Log Out and Back In: The classic "turn it off and on again" solution works for a reason. Log out of your Instagram account completely, close the app, wait a minute, and then log back in. This simple refresh can often fix temporary glitches.
• Clear Cache (Android Users): If you’re on an Android device, you can clear the app's cache. Go to Settings >, Apps >, Instagram >, Storage >, Clear Cache. This removes temporary files that might be causing the issue without deleting your data.

If you’ve tried these steps and still see the limited music library, the issue is almost certainly related to your account type, not a technical bug.

The Easiest Fix: Switch to a Creator Account

For most small businesses, service providers, and brands, the most effective solution is to switch your profile from a "Business" account to a "Creator" account. Creator accounts are designed for public figures, influencers, and artists, but they function almost identically to business profiles while granting access to the full, licensed music library.

By making this switch, you retain essential professional features like detailed analytics (Insights), contact buttons on your profile, and the ability to run ads. What you gain is access to the trending songs that drive so much of the platform's engagement. For many businesses, the trade-off is well worth it.

It’s important to note that while this is a widely used workaround, Meta's terms technically state that promotional content should use commercially-licensed audio. However, the risk for a small business is generally considered very low, and this method has become standard practice for many brands.

How to Switch to a Creator Account: Step-by-Step

Switching your account type takes less than a minute. Here’s how to do it:

1. Navigate to your Instagram profile and tap the three horizontal lines (the “hamburger menu”) in the top-right corner.
2. Tap on “Settings and privacy.”
3. Scroll down to the “For professionals” section and tap on “Creator tools and controls.”
4. Near the bottom, you'll see an option to “Switch account type.” Tap on it.
5. You’ll be presented with two options: “Switch to Business Account” (if you're a Creator) or “Switch to Creator Account” (if you're a Business). Select “Switch to Creator Account.”
6. Finally, Instagram will ask you to select a category that best describes what you do. Options like "Entrepreneur," "Digital Creator," or "Blogger" are great, general-purpose choices for businesses. Pick one that feels aligned with your brand.

Once you confirm, go back to create a Reel or Story. Tap the music sticker or audio button, and you should now see the complete music library, full of the trending songs you were missing.

Other Ways to Use Great Audio on Instagram

If you’re not comfortable switching to a Creator account, or if your company has strict policies about copyright, don't worry. You can still create engaging content with high-quality audio. Here are a few excellent alternatives.

1. Use Original or Trending Audio from Other Creators

Not every viral sound is a pop song. A massive number of trending audio clips are original creations from other users - a funny voiceover, a satisfying ASMR sound, or an insightful quote. These are often fully available to business accounts.

You can find them by simply scrolling through your Reels feed. When you hear a sound you like, tap on the "Original audio" name at the bottom of the Reel to see how many people are using it. If it’s popular, save it for later and incorporate it into your own content. Creating your own unique Original Audio is also a powerful strategy, if it takes off, your account becomes the source of a trend.

2. Edit Your Video with a Third-Party App

Another great method is to add music to your video *before* you upload it to Instagram. This gives you complete creative control and access to different music libraries. Apps like CapCut, InShot, and VN Video Editor are popular choices.

Their strength lies in their built-in libraries of commercially-licensed songs and sound effects. You can find everything from lo-fi beats to energetic corporate tracks that fit your brand’s vibe perfectly. Edit your video in the app, add the sound, export it to your phone, and then upload the finished video as a Reel on Instagram.

3. Subscribe to a Royalty-Free Music Service

For brands that need consistently high-quality, professional-sounding music and want to be 100% compliant with licensing laws, a subscription service is the best investment. Websites like Epidemic Sound, Artlist, and Envato Elements offer vast catalogs of incredible music produced by independent artists.

You pay a monthly or annual fee for a license to use their music across your social platforms, website, and ads without any copyright worries. This is the gold standard for larger businesses or any brand that produces a lot of video content and needs a reliable source for legally-sound, premium audio tracks.

A Quick Guide: How to Add Music After You’ve Unlocked the Library

Once you’ve solved your access issues by switching to a Creator account or choosing another source, here’s a quick refresher on how to physically add the music to your content.

How to Add Music to an Instagram Reel

1. Open the Instagram app and swipe right or tap the “+” icon and select "Reel."
2. Record a video or upload one from your camera roll.
3. Tap the music note icon on the left-hand toolbar to open the audio library.
4. Search for a song, or browse the “For You” or other category pages.
5. Tap on a song to preview it. Once you find one you like, use the slider at the bottom to select the exact clip you want to use (up to 90 seconds, depending on your Reel's length). Tap “Done.”
6. You can then tap the audio button again, and go to "Controls" to adjust the volume of the camera audio and the music so they are balanced.
7. Finish editing and share your Reel!

How to Add Music to an Instagram Story

1. Swipe right from your home feed or tap your profile picture with the “+” to open the Story creation screen.
2. Take a photo/video or upload one from your library.
3. Tap the sticker icon (the square smiley face) at the top of the screen.
4. Select the “Music” sticker from the options.
5. Search for the song you want and select it.
6. Choose your favorite 15-second clip using the slider. You can also customize how the music sticker looks, choosing between different lyric displays, album art stickers, or a small title box.
7. Position the sticker wherever you'd like on the screen and share your Story.

Final Thoughts

Not having access to popular music can feel like you’re missing out on a key piece of the Instagram puzzle, but it’s a problem with clear solutions. Switching your business profile to a creator account is the fastest way to unlock the full library, while using original audio or third-party editing apps gives you safe, alternative paths to creating a great soundtrack for your content.

Planning which Reels use what trending audio can feel chaotic, but a visual content calendar makes it much smoother. At Postbase, we built our whole platform around how people create content today - meaning short-form video is a priority, not an afterthought. You can visually plan your videos, manage all your platforms in one place, and trust that scheduled Reels will actually publish when they’re supposed to, making it much simpler to build a consistent and engaging presence.