How to Upload Your Own Music to Instagram Story

Want to soundtrack your Instagram Story with a song that isn't in the official music library? Whether it's your own freshly produced track, a cool sound effect, or a snippet you have the rights to, adding custom audio can make your content stand out. This guide will walk you through exactly how to upload your own music to your Instagram Story, covering every method from the official artist route to clever, immediate workarounds.

Why Can't I Just Upload an MP3 to My Story?

Before jumping into the "how," it helps to understand the "why." You might wonder why Instagram doesn't just have a simple "upload audio" button next to the music sticker. The answer boils down to two main things: music licensing and copyright.

The vast library of songs available in Instagram's Music Sticker exists because Meta (Instagram's parent company) has negotiated complex and expensive licensing deals with record labels, publishers, and artists. These agreements allow you to use their popular tracks in your personal content without getting hit with a copyright strike. They get paid, and you get to use the music.

When you want to add your own sound, Instagram has no way of knowing if you actually have the legal right to use it. Are you the original artist? Did you pay for a license? Or did you just rip a chart-topping hit from YouTube? To avoid navigating that legal minefield on a global scale, they simply don't offer a direct audio upload feature for Stories. But don't worry, there are several effective ways to get your sound on there.

The Official Method: Getting Your Music on the Instagram Music Library

If you're an artist, band, or producer, this is the best long-term strategy. Getting your music officially into Instagram's system not only lets you use it in your own Stories and Reels but also allows millions of other users to discover and feature it in their content. It treats your music as a legitimate track within the ecosystem, complete with your artist name and song title displayed on screen.

You can't upload your songs directly to Meta yourself. Instead, you need to use a digital music distributor. These services act as the middleman between you and major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

Step 1: Choose a Digital Music Distributor

There are many reputable distributors to choose from, each with a slightly different pricing model and feature set. The good news is that nearly all of them include distribution to Instagram and Facebook as a standard part of their service. Here are a few popular options:

• DistroKid: Known for its simple, subscription-based model. You pay one annual fee and can upload unlimited songs and albums. It's often favored by independent artists for its speed and ease of use.
• TuneCore: A pioneer in the space, TuneCore operates on a pay-per-release model (you pay a fee for each single or album you upload per year). It offers more detailed analytics and publishing administration services.
• CD Baby: Charges a one-time fee per release with no recurring costs, which some artists prefer. They focus heavily on physical distribution (CDs, vinyl) in addition to digital.

Read up on each to see which payment plan and feature set best fits your release strategy and budget.

Step 2: Prepare and Upload Your Music Files

Once you've signed up for a distributor, you'll need to prepare your assets. This is a vital step - getting it right ensures your music looks and sounds professional when it goes live. You'll generally need:

• High-Quality Audio File: Forget MP3s. You'll need an uncompressed audio file, typically a .WAV or .FLAC file, to meet quality standards.
• Cover Art: Your album or single art must be a high-resolution square image, usually at least 3000x3000 pixels.
• Metadata: This is all the information about your song - song title, artist name, songwriter credits, genre, and producer info. Be thorough and accurate here, as this is exactly what will appear on Instagram and Spotify.

You'll upload all of this through your chosen distributor's dashboard.

Step 3: Select Instagram as a Distribution Platform

During the upload process, your distributor will present you with a list of platforms where you can send your music. You'll see a big checklist with stores like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and social platforms. Make sure you check the box for Instagram & Facebook. Some distributors group it under "Social Media" or have it automatically selected, but always double-check to be sure.

Step 4: Wait for Approval and Find Your Song

This part requires a little patience. After you submit your song, the distributor's team will review it to make sure it meets all the technical requirements. Then, they send it to all the platforms you selected. This process can take anywhere from a few business days to a couple of weeks.

Once your song has been delivered and processed by Instagram's system, you can access it just like any other track:

1. Open the Instagram Story camera and take a photo or video.
2. Tap the Sticker icon at the top of the screen.
3. Select the "Music" sticker.
4. In the search bar, type your artist name or the song's title. Your track should pop right up!
5. Select it, choose the 15-second clip you want to feature, customize the look, and you're good to go.

Quick Workarounds: Adding Music to Your Story Right Now

What if you're not an artist, or you just need a specific sound for a single Story today and can't wait weeks for distribution? These quick and straightforward methods get the job done instantly, though with a few trade-offs.

Method 1: The "Play It in the Background" Trick

This is the oldest, simplest, and most low-tech trick in the book. It uses your phone's microphone to capture whatever is playing from your phone's speakers while you record your Story.

How it Works

You literally just play the song on your device and record your video. The audio gets captured along with the video, bypassing the need for the Music Sticker entirely.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Open a music app (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, etc.) or your phone's local music player.
2. Find the song you want to use and start playing it. Adjust the volume as needed.
3. Quickly switch over to the Instagram app.
4. Open the Story camera. Don't worry, the music will keep playing in the background.
5. Press and hold the record button to capture your video. The music playing will be recorded as part of your video's audio.

Pros and Cons

• Pros: Incredibly fast, free, and requires zero extra apps or effort.
• Cons: The audio quality will be noticeably lower, as your phone's mic is recording sound from a speaker. It will also pick up any other background noise (like you talking, or a nearby fan). Plus, you won't get the cool interactive lyrics or song title/artist sticker on the screen.

Method 2: Using a Third-Party Video Editing App

For high-quality audio without going the official distribution route, using a mobile video editor is your best bet. This method involves creating the final video outside of Instagram and then uploading it as a complete clip to your Story.

How it Works

You'll use an app like CapCut, InShot, or Splice to combine your visual content (a photo or video) with the audio file you have saved on your phone. You export the finished product as one seamless video, ready to upload.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Make sure the music track you want to use is saved to your phone's files (e.g., as an MP3 or M4A).
2. Download and open a video editing app of your choice. We'll use InShot as an example.
3. Start a new video project and import the photo(s) or video clip(s) you want to use in your Story.
4. Tap the "Music" or "Audio" track option.
5. Choose the option to import music from your phone/files and select your audio track.
6. The app will place the audio on a timeline below your video. You can trim, fade, and adjust the audio's start and end points to perfectly match your visuals.
7. Once you're happy with it, export the video. Be sure to export in high resolution and in a vertical format (9:16).
8. Open Instagram, swipe to your Story camera, then swipe up to access your camera roll.
9. Select the video you just created and share it to your Story.

Pros and Cons

• Pros: You get perfect, high-fidelity audio - the same quality as the original file. You have full creative control over editing and timing. You can use any audio file you legally own.
• Cons: It's more time-consuming and requires using another application. Like the background method, you won't get the official Instagram Music Sticker features.

A Note on Copyright and Best Practices

It's important to remember that music copyright is serious. The methods above assume you are using music you created yourself or have the legal rights to use. If you use a copyrighted song you don't own in a video editor and upload it, Instagram's automatic content recognition system may still flag it and either mute your Story, take it down, or place a link to the original artist. To stay safe, always use your own original audio, license tracks from royalty-free music services, or work directly with artists for permission.

Final Thoughts

Getting your own music on an Instagram Story can be done in a few ways. You can go the official, professional route by using a distributor to get your tracks in the Instagram music library, which is ideal for artists and brands. For a quick and easy solution, you can use handy workarounds like third-party video editors or the simple background music trick to get the job done in minutes.

Once you’ve mastered creating top-tier Stories and Reels with your unique sound, the next challenge is building a consistent content schedule. Creating visual content can be demanding, which is why we created Postbase, a social media management platform built specifically for today’s short-form video world. It lets you visually plan and schedule all your content from one clean calendar. Because Postbase was designed for formats like Reels and Stories from Day one, everything just works smoothly, giving you more time to create and less time fighting with clunky software.