Back in 2018, Instagram introduced the option for users to add music to their Instagram stories. It has proven to be popular with many users, however, others are still waiting to be granted access to this feature.
The library of music comes from Apple Music meaning users have access to almost every top hit every created.
Considering how much better music can make an Instagram story, it can be frustrating for those users who don’t have access to the feature. In this article, we are going to look at the possible explanations for this happening and look at any potential workarounds. Let’s get into it.
Why is Instagram music not available for some accounts – the most common reason
Although music was made available for Instagram stories back in 2018, it has been introduced in a staggered approach meaning some users have had to wait for more updates than others.
As a result, you may well have just not updated your app to its latest version. This is the most common reason why the music button isn’t appearing in your Instagram reels.
You also need to be logged into a personal account to get access to the Instagram Music feature – you won’t be able to use it if you’re signed into a business account. If you’re signed into your personal Insta, run through the steps below to get your Music button back.
Check for updates
To check to see if your Instagram app needs updating on an iOS device, please follow these instructions:
- Navigate to the App Store and select it.
- Select your account icon on the top right hand side of the screen.
- Scroll down until you see a list of apps that have pending updates.
- If you see Instagram on this list, then select the ‘update’ button to the right of it.
- Wait for the update to complete, then re-open Instagram and see if you can now add music to posts on your story.
If you want to ensure that an out of date Instagram never disrupts your online experience again then you can elect to turn on automatic updates for all of your apps on your iOS device. To do this, please follow these steps:
- Open up the settings app on your phone.
- Scroll down until you see ‘App Store’ and select it.
- Underneath the ‘automatic downloads’ subheading, ensure that the toggle next to ‘app updates’ is switched on.
- From now on, all apps will update to their latest version automatically.



One factor that is worth considering if you do elect to turn on automatic updates is storage space.
You will need to ensure that you have plenty of available storage space before turning on automatic updates because otherwise you are going to encounter storage issues.
To check your available storage space, please follow these instructions:
- Open up the settings app on your iOS device.
- Select ‘general’ followed by ‘iPhone Storage’.
- From here, you will be able to see how much storage space you have left and make a judgement call on whether turning automatic updates on or not is a good decision.
- If you decide that you want to clear some storage space then this page will provide you with some recommendations on what you should/could get rid of.
You may be trying to add music in an incorrect manner
Perhaps you do have access to music on Instagram stories but you’re just not employing the correct method when it comes to adding tunes to your story posts.
With that in mind, here is how you should be going about adding music to your Instagram story posts:
- Log in to Instagram on the mobile phone app.
- Select the story icon and add a new photo or video to it like you normally would.
- Select the sticker icon from the list of option at the top of the screen.
- Select the music sticker. If you can’t see it then type in ‘music’ into the search bar and then select it.
- From the subsequent screen, browse the a selection of tracks and select the song that you would like to add.
- Press done on the top right hand side of the page and publish the post, with the music, on to your Instagram story.
Adding music might not be available in your location yet
The music feature on Instagram Stories is still only available in the following countries:
- USA
- United Kingdom
- Australia
- Sweden
- New Zealand
- Germany
- Canada
- France
It is unclear at this stage why only people in those countries have access to the feature, and also if there are plans to extend the feature to other countries soon.
As a result, if you live in a country not featured on this list then your only option is to use a VPN to see if that gives you access to music on Instagram. If it doesn’t, then we’re afraid you’ll just have to be patient until the feature launches in your country.
Conclusion
To conclude, adding music to your Instagram stories is a great way of making your content on Instagram more fun and noticeable – you’re sure to get a ton of new friend requests when you do!
If you are struggling to gain access to the feature then we hope that by following our instructions above then you will soon be able to. Sadly, if the reasons are geographical then there is very little that you can do