If you’ve ever wanted to spice up your Instagram Stories with a soundtrack, you’re in luck. After code inside the app suggested the option to add a soundtrack to Stories earlier this year, Instagram officially launched music stickers on June 28. Along with adding an audible sticker, Instagram also launched a new tool that plays background music as you record a new video.
Music stickers offer a way for Instagrammers to choose a track from a database that can then be played with a Story. Instagram Stories let users build a sequence of images and video from the previous 24 hours, with the content excluded from followers’ feeds, instead appearing at the top of the display. The sticker plays the music while viewers are looking at your Story, and also displays a credit to the artist.
To add music to a Story, tap on the stickers icon and then click the music sticker. A new pop up will display the different songs now built into the social network. Instagrammers can browse by popular songs, moods, and genres, or use the search tool. After selecting a song, you can also jump to a specific spot in the song, say, if you only want the chorus or a particular line to play in your Story.
A second similar new feature introduces a video recording mode that adds a soundtrack from a selected song. Inside Instagram’s camera, a swipe over to the new mode called Music will open a similar song library. Unlike the Stories option, the camera mode will play the music as you record to get that song in the background.
The feature is made possible thanks to parent-company Facebook recently inking deals with the major record labels. In March, for example, Facebook struck a deal with Warner Music Group that will allow users to share its music in videos and messages. The record label controls the catalogs of a slew of high-profile artists, among them Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, and The Rolling Stones.
When Warner struck its recent deal with Facebook in March, the record label’s executive vice president of global strategy, Eric Mackay, commented that its extensive catalog of music tracks “will be represented throughout Facebook’s platforms … to create new opportunities for both our songwriters and Facebook’s users.”
Music stickers are already rolling out to Instagram users in 51 countries. The Music video mode, however, is heading out to iOS users first with an Android update to follow.
If you’re yet to get to grips with Instagram Stories, be sure to check out Digital Trends’ useful guide.
Updated on June 29: Added Instagram’s official announcement of music stickers.
