{"id":64718,"date":"2022-10-05T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/helpdeskgeek.com\/?p=64718"},"modified":"2025-01-31T00:02:57","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T05:02:57","slug":"instagram-music-not-working-in-stories-try-these-10-fixes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helpdeskgeek.com\/instagram-music-not-working-in-stories-try-these-10-fixes\/","title":{"rendered":"Instagram Music Not Working in Stories? Try These 10 Fixes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 2018 Instagram announced a new feature where users can add music to Instagram Stories<\/a>. This lets you add your music to an Instagram story to get the vibe you\u2019re going for. Unfortunately, this popular feature doesn\u2019t always work as expected.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to use the Instagram Story music feature, but it\u2019s not working because of a glitch, one of these quick tips will likely get you back to posting your content.\n<\/p>\n\n\n

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1. Does the Instagram Music Sticker Work?\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we go through the steps of troubleshooting Instagram music, it\u2019s best to start by checking whether the feature is the problem in the first place.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Select the \u201c+\u201d button<\/span> in the Instagram app and select Story<\/span>. \nFollowing this, select a video or photo you want to share as a Story by selecting the gallery at the bottom left of the screen.\n<\/p>\n\n\n

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Select the Stickers option, search for the Music Sticker<\/span>, and select it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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If tapping on the Music Sticker<\/span> opens the music library, everything works as it should. <\/p>\n\n\n

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However, if it doesn\u2019t, that means something has gone wrong, and you should proceed through the following steps.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Update the Instagram App<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As always, your first stop should be to check if there\u2019s an update waiting in the Apple App store or Google Play Store. Updating the Instagram app is simple whether you\u2019re using iOS or Android devices. Just search for the app in your device\u2019s storefront, and there should be an \u201cUpdate\u201d button where the buy or install button usually resides. If not, it means your app is up to date.\n<\/p>\n\n\n

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Updating your app to the latest version ensures that any known bugs are resolved and that any changes made on Instagram\u2019s servers are now compatible with the version of the app on your device.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Check if Other People Are Complaining<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, the problem isn\u2019t with your device or with your app. Instead, the Instagram servers are simply having issues. The easiest way to figure out if this is the case is to check out Instagram\u2019s social media accounts to see if there\u2019s an official announcement. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Alternatively, check Instagram or sites like Twitter to see if anyone else is having issues with the Instagram Music feature. If other people are complaining about the same problem, then the right move is to wait until Instagram resolves the outage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Do You Have a Business Account?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are different kinds of Instagram accounts; not all have equal access to the Instagram music feature. If you have a business account, you can\u2019t use music from the library since it\u2019s not licensed for commercial use.\n<\/p>\n\n\n

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You\u2019ll have to switch to a personal or creator account to use the feature. Of course, this might not be what you want to hear since your business account has the audience you want to reach, so check out tip number eight below for an alternative solution.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Log Out and Log Back In\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes the problem is with your current logged-in Instagram session. Log out of the app and log back in to refresh your session, which might resolve some underlying issues preventing app features from working.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To log out, select the three lines<\/span> (the \u201chamburger\u201d menu), then go to Instagram Settings<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Select Log Out<\/span>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n

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Now log in and try to use music again to see if this resolves the problem.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Use a VPN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Instagram music isn\u2019t available in every region, usually due to how music licensing works where you live or are currently visiting. You can use a VPN<\/a> (Virtual Private Network) service to fool the Instagram app into thinking you\u2019re in a different physical location.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VPN encrypts your internet connection and creates a network \u201ctunnel\u201d between your computer and the VPN server. All internet traffic flows through the VPN server, and its location and IP address is the one everyone else on the internet sees when communicating with you.\n<\/p>\n\n\n

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By changing which VPN server you\u2019re connected to, you can change your apparent location and unblock services restricted by region.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Reinstall Instagram\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although it\u2019s rare, apps and their associated data can become corrupted or misconfigured on your mobile device. While it shouldn\u2019t be your first resort, you may want to consider deleting the app from your device and then installing it again from the app store.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process of removing an app is similar on Android and iOS devices. Touch and hold the app\u2019s icon and then choose to remove or uninstall the app from the context menu that appears. Following this, go to your device\u2019s app store, search for Instagram, and install the app from its store page.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Use a Third-party Video Editor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many of the problems that Instagram users have when it comes to using music in their Stories come down to copyright problems. Instagram cannot offer the music you want to use for licensing or regional restrictions.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the music feature of Instagram stories is convenient, it\u2019s not the only way to get music into the video clip you want to share.\n<\/p>\n\n\n

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If you have an iPhone or an iPad, you also have a free copy of Apple\u2019s iMovie app, which you can use to put any music you like into your video. If you have a Samsung Galaxy phone, there\u2019s also an included rudimentary video editor.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there are numerous third-party apps, free and paid, that can add the music of your choice to your Instagram videos without limitation.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You need to source the music from somewhere before importing it into your video editor. There are a few options here:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n