How to Make Music Play Through a Whole Instagram Story

Want your Instagram Story's soundtrack to last longer than a single 15-second clip? Getting your chosen song to play seamlessly across multiple photos and videos is one of the most common challenges creators face, but mastering it can totally transform your content. This guide will walk you through the exact methods to make music play through your entire Instagram Story, ensuring a smooth, engaging, and professional experience for your followers.

Understanding Why Your Music Currently Stops

Before we get into the fixes, let's look at why music usually cuts off. An Instagram Story isn't one long video, it's a series of individual segments, each lasting up to 60 seconds. When you use the native "Music" sticker, you're attaching that sound clip to a single segment. As soon as that segment ends and the next one begins, the music stops.

This is fine for a quick one-off post, but it creates a jarring experience when you're telling a longer story through multiple slides. A continuous soundtrack ties your slides together, sets a consistent mood, and keeps your audience engaged from the first frame to the last. It makes your Story feel intentional and thoughtfully crafted, rather than a random collection of clips.

Method 1: The Multi-Photo Technique Within Instagram

If your Story is composed entirely of photos, Instagram has a built-in feature that makes this incredibly simple. This is the fastest way to get a continuous soundtrack without leaving the app, but it relies on you setting things up in a very specific order.

Step-by-Step Instructions for the Photo Method

Follow these steps precisely to get it right on the first try:

1. Start a New Story: Open the Instagram app and tap the "+" icon at the top or swipe right from your feed to open the Story creation screen.
2. Select Multiple Photos: In the bottom left, tap the gallery icon to open your camera roll. Instead of tapping a single photo, look for the "Select" button (icon with stacked squares) at the top right of the gallery view. Tap it.
3. Choose Your Photos in Order: Now you can select multiple images from your camera roll. Tap them in the sequence you want them to appear in your Story. A number will appear on each thumbnail, indicating its order. Once you've chosen all your photos, tap "Next" at the bottom.
4. Arrange and Add the Music Sticker: Instagram will now show each photo as a separate, editable segment at the bottom. The important thing is that Instagram now understands these clips are part of a single sequence. Swipe up or tap the sticker icon (the smiley face) at the top of the screen and choose the "Music" sticker.
5. Choose and Adjust Your Song: Search for the song you want to add. Once you've selected it, the editing screen will appear. This is the most important step. At the bottom of the screen, you'll see a small circle with "15" in it, indicating the music is set for 15 seconds by default.
6. Extend the Music Duration: Tap that duration button. Instagram will give you the option to extend the music to match the total length of your photo sequence. If you added four photos at default length, you can slide the duration up to 60 seconds. Choose the maximum duration needed to cover all your photos.
7. Finalize and Post: Drag the timeline to select the part of the song you want to feature. You can also tap the sticker itself to cycle through various display options (like album art or animated lyrics). Position the sticker where you want it on the screen and tap "Done." When you publish your story, the music will now play continuously across all the photo segments you selected.

Why This Method Works (And Its Big Limitation)

This technique works because by selecting multiple assets from your gallery upfront using the "Select" feature, you signal to Instagram that you're creating a multi-part sequence. The platform then allows the Music sticker's duration to be extended across these linked segments.

The limitation, however, is significant: this method is designed almost exclusively for photos. While it sometimes works with short videos, it can be buggy and doesn't offer much control. If you want to mix photo and video content reliably, or if you need precise control over the timing of your slides, you'll need a more robust solution.

Method 2: Pre-Editing Your Story into a Single Video

For the ultimate control, reliability, and professional polish, the best approach is to build your Story outside of Instagram first. By creating one seamless video that includes all your photos, video clips, and music, you guarantee your soundtrack plays exactly as you intend. It might sound complicated, but modern mobile editing apps make it surprisingly easy.

This approach gives you complete authority over timing, transitions, effects, and sound, turning your idea into a perfectly executed piece of content.

Your Playbook for Creating a Polished Video Story

Just follow these simple steps using a mobile video editor. Popular, user-friendly apps for this include CapCut, InShot, and Canva.

1. Choose Your Editing App: Download a mobile video editing app of your choice. CapCut is an excellent free option with powerful features, and Canva is great for creators who already use it for other graphics.
2. Start a New Project in the Correct Format: Open the app and create a new project. The first thing you should do is set the aspect ratio to 9:16. This is the vertical, fullscreen format used for Instagram Stories and Reels.
3. Import Your Photos and Videos: Add all the visual assets from your camera roll into the app's project timeline.
4. Arrange and Time Your Content: Drag and drop your photos and videos into the order you want them to appear. This is where you get full control. Tap on each photo clip to adjust its duration. Want one to last 3 seconds and another to last 7? No problem. Trim your video clips to show only the best parts.
5. Add Your Music Track: Now, add your audio. Most video editing apps have a library of royalty-free music, or you can import a music file you have the rights to use. Drag the music track onto the audio timeline and line it up with the start of your first clip. The music will now extend across your entire project. You can even adjust the volume, add fade-ins or fade-outs, and more.
6. Add Finishing Touches (Optional): Want to make it even more dynamic? Add smooth transitions between clips, lay text overlays on specific moments, or apply color filters. This is how you make your content look professionally produced.
7. Export the Final Video: Once you’re happy with a final edit, export the video. Choose a high resolution (1080p is perfect for Instagram) and save it directly to your phone's camera roll.
8. Upload to Your Instagram Story: Now, open Instagram, swipe over to the Story screen, and upload the master video you just created. Instagram will automatically slice the video into 60-second segments for your Story but the video and audio will play as one continuous, unbroken piece.

The Advantages of Pre-Editing

• Flawless Reliability: Your music and visuals are "baked in" together. There's zero chance of Instagram cutting the audio between slides.
• Total Creative Freedom: You can mix videos and photos, control the exact timing of each element, add custom transitions, and match visual moments perfectly to the beat of the music.
• A More Premium Look: The small details, like smooth transitions and perfect timing, elevate your content and make your brand look much more professional and put-together.

Creative Tips for High-Impact Musical Stories

Once you've nailed the technical side, you can focus on making your Stories more creative and effective. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Sync Visuals to the Beat: When pre-editing your video, try timing your scene changes or photo transitions to the beat of the music. A transition that hits right on a drum beat or a swell in the melody is incredibly satisfying for the viewer.
• Let Lyrics Tell the Story: If you use the native Instagram Music sticker (with the multi-photo method), choose a style that displays the song's lyrics. As the music plays across your photos, the synchronized lyrics can add another layer to your narrative and grab the attention of people watching with their sound off.
• Create a Mini-Montage: Use the pre-editing method to create a quick, energetic montage. Set several photos to appear for just 1-2 seconds each over a fast-paced song to showcase an event recap, a new collection, or a behind-the-scenes look.
• Establish a Brand Sound: Consistent use of music is a powerful branding tool. Consider using songs from the same artist, genre, or vibe across your Stories to create a recognizable audio identity for your account. This makes your content feel cohesive and familiar over time.

Final Thoughts

To make your music play across your entire Instagram Story, you have two great options. You can either use Instagram's multi-select feature for photo-only Stories or step up your game by pre-editing your clips into one polished video. Both methods turn fragmented slides into a cohesive narrative that captivates your audience from start to finish.

Creating engaging, multi-slide Stories like this takes a little bit of planning, especially when you're trying to build a consistent calendar. At Postbase, we designed our platform specifically for the way social media works today - visual, video-first, and fast-paced. Our simple, drag-and-drop content calendar helps you organize all your creative ideas and see exactly what's going live, including your Stories and Reels, so you can build a more cohesive and impactful presence. If you're looking for a cleaner way to plan and schedule your content, give Postbase a try.