How to Make a Song Last Longer on an Instagram Story

Ever find the perfect part of a song for your Instagram Story, only to have it cut off after just 15 seconds? It’s a common frustration, but you’re not stuck with the default limit. This guide breaks down several simple and effective methods to make your music play longer, keeping your audience engaged for the entire length of your Story.

Understanding Why Instagram Limits Story Music to 15 Seconds

Before jumping into the solutions, it helps to know why the 15-second music clip is the default. It primarily comes down to two things: copyright licensing and user experience. Instagram has complex licensing agreements with record labels that often stipulate short-form usage. From a user experience standpoint, Stories are designed to be quick and tappable. Short clips keep the momentum going as viewers move from one Story to the next.

However, the 15-second limit for a single photo or video clip in a Story is just a default setting, not a hard rule. A single Story segment can actually be up to 60 seconds long if you upload a pre-made video. This is the key we'll use to extend your music. Let’s look at the different ways to do it, from the easiest tricks to more advanced techniques.

Method 1: The 'Split Story' Trick (Easiest Method)

This is the most popular and straightforward way to make a song play continuously across multiple Story slides. You’re essentially creating a sequence of 15-second clips that feel like one long, seamless Story to your followers. It’s perfect for using the official Instagram Music sticker with lyrics while extending the audio.

How to Set It Up, Step-by-Step:

• Step 1: Create Your First Story. Open the Instagram Story creator and choose your photo or record your video. Tap the sticker icon and select the "Music" sticker.
• Step 2: Select Your Song & First Clip. Search for the song you want. Once you choose it, a timeline scrubber will appear at the bottom. By default, it’s set to 15 seconds. Drag the scrubber to select the first 15 seconds of the song segment you want to feature. Customize the sticker appearance (like showing lyrics or the album art) and place it on your Story.
• Step 3: Post Your First Story. Once you’re happy with the first segment, share it to your Story.
• Step 4: Immediately Create the Second Story. Don't wait. As soon as the first story is live, swipe right from your feed to open the Story creator again. Use the exact same photo or video from the 'Recents' section of your camera roll for a seamless look.
• Step 5: Add the Same Song & Continue the Music. Tap the sticker icon, select "Music," and find the same song. Now, this is the important part: see the timeline scrubber at the bottom? Drag it forward until it picks up exactly where the first clip left off. Instagram often helps by showing markers or a slight pause. You’re selecting the next 15-second segment of the song (e.g., from 0:15 to 0:30).
• Step 6: Post It and Repeat if Needed. Position the music sticker in the same spot as before and post this second Story. The clips will now play back-to-back, and for a viewer tapping through, the music will continue without interruption. You can repeat this process for a third and fourth time to create a 30, 45, or even 60-second musical experience.

Pro Tip: For the most seamless effect, use a still image. It’s much harder for viewers to notice the transition between clips when the background isn’t changing. If you're using a video, try to use a long, continuous shot that you can split into 15-second parts.

Method 2: Use a Video Editor for Full Control (Most Powerful Method)

If you want music to play for up to 60 seconds without having to split your Story into multiple clips, the best approach is to prepare your content outside of Instagram. By using a simple video editing app on your phone, you can create a single 60-second video with your song already added, and then upload that directly to your Story.

This lets you create a more polished, uninterrupted viewing experience. Popular and beginner-friendly video editing apps include CapCut, InShot, and VN Video Editor.

Here's the General Workflow:

1. Start a New Project in Your Editor. Open your chosen video editing app and start a new project. Make a habit of setting the aspect ratio to 9:16, which is the perfect vertical format for Instagram Stories and Reels.
2. Import Your Media. Add the photo or video clips you want to use. If you’re using a single photo, you can stretch its duration on the timeline to fill the full 60 seconds. If you're using multiple photos or video clips, arrange them in the order you want.
3. Add Your Music. These apps allow you to add audio tracks. You can use royalty-free music from the app’s library, or you can import an audio file you have on your phone. (Just remember to be mindful of copyright laws if you’re using commercial music for a brand or business account.)
4. Edit and Align. Trim the music to match the length of your video, which can be up to 60 seconds. You can adjust the start and end points of the song and tweak the volume levels for a professional finish.
5. Export and Upload. Once your video is complete, export it to your phone’s camera roll in high resolution. Then, open Instagram, go to create a Story, and simply upload the video you just created. Instagram will recognize it as a single clip and won’t split it.

The one downside to this method is that you won’t get a tappable Instagram Music sticker with live lyrics. However, the tradeoff is complete control over the audio and a smooth, buffer-free playback for the entire 60 seconds.

Method 3: Share an Instagram Reel to Your Story

Here’s another great workaround that leverages a different Instagram feature. Instagram Reels allows you to use music clips for up to 90 seconds. By creating a Reel and then sharing it to your Story, you can easily get longer music without a video editor.

How to Do It:

1. Create a new Reel as you normally would. Add your photo(s) or video.
2. Select the "Audio" icon and pick your song. Adjust the timeline to include the part of the song you want, for a duration longer than 15 seconds.
3. Finalize your Reel with any text or effects, and then post it.
4. Once your Reel is live, go to the Reel on your profile, tap the paper airplane (Share) icon, and select "Add to Story."

Your Reel will now appear as a Story, playing with the extended audio you selected. Viewers can tap on it to watch the full Reel. This method is fantastic for promoting your Reels content while also creating a long-form musical Story. The only catch is that it will be framed as a 'shared Reel' post, not feeling quite as native as the other methods.

Method 4: The Screen Recording Trick

This in-a-pinch method works well if you want to feature a particular song that isn't available in Instagram's music library. It involves screen recording audio from a music app like Spotify or Apple Music and using that video in your Story.

Step-By-Step Guide:

• Step 1: Get Your Song Ready. Open your preferred music app, find your song, and cue it to just before the part you want to use.
• Step 2: Start a Screen Recording. Pull down your phone's control center and start a screen recording. (On iOS, it's the icon with a solid circle inside another circle, on Android, it's typically in the Quick Settings panel).
• Step 3: Play the Music. Immediately switch to your music app and play the song for the amount of time you need, up to 60 seconds. The lyrics or album art are displayed on screen.
• Step 4: Stop Recording. Stop the screen recording. It will automatically save as a new video in your phone's photo library.
• Step 5: Upload to Your Story and Cover It. Go to the Story creator in Instagram and upload this screen-recorded video. Since you probably only want the audio, you can completely cover the video by pinching to zoom in on a small detail, or by placing a large sticker or a photo from your camera roll on top of it. Now you have a Story with custom audio playing for the length of your recording.

The audio quality might not be as crystal clear as with official stickers, but it’s an effective workaround for hard-to-find tracks or for just getting an idea out quickly.

Final Thoughts

No matter your technical skill level, you have several dependable ways to break free from Instagram's 15-second music limit. Whether you choose to link multiple stories together, pre-edit your content in another app, share a Reel, or use a quick screen recording, you can create a more immersive and engaging experience for your audience with longer-lasting music.

Creating these kinds of multi-part or pre-edited Stories consistently can be a lot to manage on the fly. We built Postbase with this in mind. Its visual calendar helps you plan out more complex content, so you can see your week at a glance and decide when you want to put in the extra effort to create a longer, more dynamic Story. When you can schedule your core posts and Reels in advance, a bit more time opens up for creating standout content that captures your audience's attention.