Can I use royalty free music on instagram?

Instagram's Reels feature makes it effortless to share photos and videos with music. To add music to your Reel, tap the music note icon before or after recording. Browse Instagram's library, select a track, and choose the section that fits your content. This process is designed to enhance creativity and engagement for DJs, producers, and artists.

Adding music is simple: after selecting your photos or videos, use the feature to preview and align the audio. Instagram's tools let you trim and sync music for the best result. For unique sounds, consider using original productions or rights-cleared tracks from House of Tracks to avoid copyright issues and stand out in your genre.

Want your own music available in Instagram's library? See How to add your music to Instagram music? for details on getting your tracks featured.

Shazam is a powerful app for identifying music you’re currently listening to or reading about. If you discover a track with Shazam and want to share it on your Instagram Story, the process is direct and supports both artists and fans.

How to share identified music from Shazam to Instagram Stories

• Open Shazam and use it to identify the song you’re listening to or reading about.
• Once identified, tap the share icon on the track’s Shazam page.
• Select Instagram Stories from the sharing options.
• Shazam will generate a Story draft with the song’s artwork and details.
• Edit your Story as needed, then publish to share with your followers.

After sharing your Story

Once your Instagram Story is live, followers can tap the Shazam link to listen to the track or learn more about the artist. You can return to Shazam through Instagram to replay the song or explore related music.

Supporting music rights and recognition

For producers and DJs, using Shazam and Instagram Stories helps promote your tracks and ensures proper recognition. Tools like DJMonitor support accurate royalty tracking for music you produce or release.

Extra tips for sharing music

• Share your track’s artwork on Instagram or other platforms. Learn more about artwork and color psychology.
• Looking for music to use in your own Stories? Explore royalty-free music for Instagram and other social media.

To add music from the Spotify app to your Instagram Story, play the track you want to share in Spotify, tap the three-dot menu, and select Share. Choose Instagram Stories from the options. Spotify will open Instagram and automatically generate a story draft with the song’s cover art. You can then add text, stickers, or effects to personalize your story before posting.

Once published, your Instagram Story will display the Spotify track art and include a direct link. Viewers can tap Play on Spotify to open the song in the Spotify app. This method works for any track available on Spotify, making it easy for producers, DJs, and artists to promote releases or share music discoveries with followers. Note that only the cover art and a link are shared, not the audio itself, Instagram’s music sticker uses its own licensed library for playback.

For more on maximizing Spotify as a producer, check out our Spotify producer guide.

To add music to your Instagram story, open the Instagram app, create a new story, and tap the sticker icon. Select the music sticker, search for a track in Instagram’s library, and choose the section you want to feature. The song will play with your photo or video, and you can customize how the track appears visually on your story.

If you want more control over the audio, use a music or video editing app to add your own track before uploading. This is useful for producers and artists who want to showcase unreleased demos, exclusive beats, or custom edits. Just make sure you have the rights to the music you use, as Instagram may mute or remove stories with unauthorized tracks.

For artists looking to promote their own releases, consider distributing your music to Instagram’s library so others can use your tracks in their stories. You can also share a story featuring your track and include a link to where it can be streamed or purchased. For more on getting your music onto Instagram, see our guide on how to distribute music.

Someone looking to safely share music in Instagram videos should use a trusted music database with royalty-free tracks. House of Tracks offers a large database of professionally produced music, making it easy for creators, DJs, and businesses to find tracks that are cleared for use on Instagram and Facebook. This helps you avoid copyright claims and ensures your content remains accessible to your audience.

When you want to add music to your Instagram video, you can select a track from our database and include it in your video before uploading. This method is safer than relying on in-app music libraries, especially if you plan to share your video across both Instagram and Facebook. Using royalty-free music means you do not have to worry about licensing fees or your video being muted or blocked in certain regions.

To get started, explore our royalty-free music section. Here you will find tracks suitable for Instagram Reels, Stories, and Facebook posts. Every track in our database is vetted for safe sharing, so you can focus on your creative vision without legal concerns.

For more details on how royalty-free music works and why it matters for social media, visit our Royalty Free Music page.

You can choose from millions of tracks on Instagram, covering a huge range of genres and styles. Use the Music Stickers to search for specific songs, browse curated recommendations in the "For You" section, or explore trending tracks. If a song or album is missing from Instagram’s library, you can import music from external platforms like Spotify, SoundCloud, or Shazam to expand your options.

Instagram’s music selection includes electronic, pop, hip hop, rock, indie, acoustic, and many more genres. This makes it easy to match the right vibe for your story, reel, or post, whether you want a club-ready beat, a chill background, or a catchy hook. Producers and DJs can leverage these tools to showcase their own releases or discover new sounds for content creation.

For artists and creators, understanding how to maximize your music’s reach on Instagram is key. Optimizing your tracks’ metadata and ensuring your releases are available on major streaming platforms like Spotify can help your music appear in more searches and playlists. If you want to learn more about distributing your music or using Spotify as a producer, check out our guide: Mastering Spotify as a producer.

Instagram does pay music royalties when your track is used in Stories, Reels or posts. If your music is officially licensed and added to Instagram’s music library, you are eligible for royalties each time users feature your song in their content. This applies to both background music and featured tracks, whether you are the original artist, producer or rights holder.

How do Instagram music royalties work?

Instagram secures licensing deals with major labels, publishers and collecting societies. When a user selects your track from the Instagram music library, the platform tracks usage and distributes royalties through your publisher, distributor or performing rights organization (PRO). These payments are typically pooled and paid out based on usage data, not per individual play.

Who gets paid for music on Instagram?

Royalties are paid to the registered rights holders, which can include artists, producers, songwriters and publishers. If you have released music through a distributor or aggregator, they will collect royalties from Instagram and pay your share according to your agreement. Ghost producers and co-writers should ensure their credits and splits are properly registered to receive their portion.

What should producers and artists check?

• Make sure your tracks are delivered to Instagram via your distributor or publisher.
• Register your works with a PRO to track performance royalties.
• Confirm your metadata and splits are accurate to avoid missed payouts.

For more on how music royalties work for producers, see our Producer Royalties guide.