Instagram has added the capacity to add music to still image posts, providing another way to integrate music into the IG experience.

As explained by Instagram:

“Music is a huge part of expression on Instagram, and we’re excited to provide the ability to add music to Feed photo posts, like you can with Reels and Stories. No matter which format works best to tell your story, you can now add a soundtrack to your favorite photo moments to bring them to life.”

As you can see in the above image, you’ll now see a new ‘Add Music’ option in the post composer flow, where you can search for a track to add to your photo post. You can choose a segment of between 5 and 90 seconds of the song to use, providing additional context and/or atmospheric elements to your post.

Which seems a little… unnecessary, maybe?

I mean, I get it, TikTok has seen huge success by integrating music, which is a key element in trend engagement, while it will also provide more creative options for your IG posts.

But, like, it’s a still image. Does it need a soundtrack? Will that enhance your post?

I imagine that there will be some creative and interesting use cases, it just seems like a smaller consideration amid the various other Instagram posting processes and tools that are in development. But as Instagram notes, it already has music tracks for Reels and Stories, so adding the same for image posts is likely not a huge developmental leap.

Though for brand use, it’s going to be limited. Just as you’re restricted with the music that you can use in Reels and Stories, brands will only be able to use licensed tracks from Meta’s Sound Collection for their image audio accompaniments.  

Which might not be so bad, and again, there may well be ways to use these sounds to create more engaging posts, that align with evolving usage behaviors (i.e. sound on).

Instagram has added a range of music options over the past year, including music sharing in your DMs and music-based AR effects. It’s also experimenting with songs on user profiles – just like MySpace – but there’s no official word on this as yet.

Again, music is a key element of the TikTok experience, and as such, it’s little surprise to see Instagram developing more music elements.

Could be worth trying out with your next post.