How to Save an Instagram Story with Music

Did you post an Instagram story with music recently and you want to save it? There may be a way!

Instagram Stories are a great way to engage your audience with more in-the-moment, behind-the-scenes content, rather than having to create polished images and videos for your feed.

And adding music can make your stories even more fun to view. But if you’re wanting to save it for later, you might need to use a workaround.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how you can add music to your Instagram Stories—plus how to save them to your camera roll to share across platforms.

How do you add music to an Instagram Story?

Instagram makes it super easy to add music to accompany your Instagram Story right inside the app.

There are two different ways to access this. First, when you upload your Story, you’ll see a music note icon along the right side of the screen. You can tap this to access available music.

You can also tap the Stickers icon (the second from the top) and tap the Music sticker if you’re already browsing around available stickers.

Both of those options open the same menu, which is a list of trending songs with the ability to search for a specific one.

Choose the song you want by browsing through the tabs or searching for a specific one. Tap on a song to listen to a snippet of it, then tap the arrow at the bottom to add it to your Story.

From there, you’ll be taken to the music editing interface. You can choose which part of the song you want to play as well as what you want the visual element to look like.

You can choose from a couple of different styles of lyrics, or you can simply have an image of the album appear alongside the name of the song and the artist. Or, scroll to the X for music only and no accompanying visual.

Tap Done once you’re satisfied with the music you’ve added to your Instagram Story.

How to save an Instagram Story to your camera roll

To save an Instagram Story, open the Story using the Instagram app, and tap More in the bottom right corner.

Tap Save… to start the process. You’ll have two different options: Save video (note that even if you had uploaded an image, adding music turns it into a video) or Save story.

• Choose Save video if you want to save the individual Story
• Choose Save story if you want to save your entire Story (i.e., if you have multiple, it’ll combine them)

Now here’s the bad news—when you save a Story to your device gallery using this option, Instagram removes any music you added via the music sticker.

This is because music sticker audio is licensed for in-app playback only. The saved file will contain your video or photo content, but without the music track.

But there’s still hope. Let’s go over a couple of ways you can save your Instagram Story with the music intact.

How to save an Instagram Story with music

There are a few different ways you can save an Instagram Story with music to your device. Let’s walk through them now.

Add music to your Story using a video-editing tool

One easy way to have a local copy of your Story with music is to add audio to your photo or video in a third-party editor like CapCut or InShot before uploading it to Instagram.

Grab a screen recording of your Story

Another way to save an Insta Story video with music is by screen recording it.  The process is pretty similar for iPhone and Android devices.

Follow these steps to save Instagram Stories with your phone’s screen recorder.

First, open the Instagram mobile app on your device and head to your profile. 

Next, start screen recording.

• For Android devices: Swipe down to display the Quick Settings menu and select the Screen recording icon. If the feature isn’t there, add the screen recording option from your device’s Settings to your Quick Settings menu.
• For iOS devices: Swipe down to access your control center and tap the Screen Recording icon. If the screen recording option isn’t visible, you may need to customize your control center from the device settings.

After starting your screen recording, play the Instagram Story with the music you wish to save. Make sure the screen recording captures the video and audio.

Once the Story ends, stop your screen recording. It’ll save your recorded video and its background music to your device’s gallery. 

Head to your camera roll and crop the video down until it’s just your Story recording.

You can use this method to screen record your own Stories as well as other users’ Stories.

Note that while Instagram does not notify users when you screenshot or screen record a Story on someone’s profile, it does send a notification if you screenshot or screen record a disappearing photo or video sent to you via Direct Message in Vanish Mode. These are two different things. The notification rule applies only to Vanish Mode DMs, not to regular Stories.

Save your Story before you publish it

Listen, I know this doesn’t make sense, but you can actually download your drafted Story before you post it and your music will accompany it.

When you’re editing your Story, you can tap on the down arrow in the right side of the screen to access more options, then tap Download to save your Story draft to your camera roll.

Your Story will save as a video to your camera roll with the music attached.

How to save an Instagram Story with music to your Highlights

You can save your Instagram Stories to your Highlights.  This way, viewers can still see your Stories after the initial 24 hours are up.

Adding your Stories to Highlights technically saves them to the app since the Stories automatically move to the Archives. The background music stays with the Story once it is stored there. 

Follow these steps to save Instagram Stories with music to Highlights:

• Open the Story you want to add to Highlights
• Tap the More button at the bottom of your screen
• Tap Highlight from the menu that appears
• You can add the Story as a new Highlight or add it to an existing one
• You should now see the Story in the Highlights section on your Instagram profile, displayed as circular icons above the post grid

How to save music for future Instagram Stories

If you come across a song you want to use in a future Story, you can always save it to easily access later.

Use these steps to save music via the Instagram app for future Stories:

• Step 1: Launch the Instagram app and create a new Story
• Step 2: Select a photo or video (from your gallery or via the Instagram camera tool)
• Step 3: Tap the Music sticker icon in the right side of the screen
• Step 4: Look for the song you want to save and tap the bookmark icon on the right
• Step 5: Double check the Saved tab to make sure all your new favorite songs have been added

This method saves music to your Instagram music “collection.” Now, you don’t have to search for the same songs over and over again whenever you want to use them.

How to use music in Instagram Stories to boost engagement

Music can turn your Instagram Stories from zero to hero. Check out these tried and tested tips to leverage music in Instagram Stories to boost audience engagement.

• Add music to interactive Instagram Stories to make them more engaging: For example, you can create polls and use fun music as background to encourage followers to participate. You can even make your poll about music, like using an instrumental version of a song and asking viewers to guess the title in the poll. 
• Make behind-the-scenes Stories more exciting and vibrant with a piece of cool or trendy background music. 
• Use music to highlight specific product benefits and features: You can even create a catchy jingle with short product demo Stories to capture the viewers’ attention (and get the tune stuck in their heads). That will surely help your brand stay top of mind with their followers. Consider sharing the Story on other parts of your profile, like your Instagram broadcast channel. 
• Take your storytelling up a notch by adding music to enhance your Insta Stories: The right background music can evoke emotions and captivate your audience, turning your Stories into short storytelling masterpieces. 
• Sharing an Ask Me Anything (AMA) series? Spice it up with some low-key background music: For instance, you could use background music to signal the move to the next topic or question. It’s a subtle way to keep viewers entertained and on the edge of their seats. 
• Run contests or challenges centered around music and share them in your Instagram Stories: For example, you could ask followers to post a dance challenge using a specific song in their Stories. It’s a fun and effective way to encourage followers to share user-generated content (UGC) while fostering community engagement. 
• Leverage music to build hype around your special offers and events: Create teaser videos with catchy or trendy music and share them in your Stories to spark interest and entice viewers to learn more. You can also include music to draw attention to special announcements in Stories, such as your rebranding initiatives and name change on Instagram.

Note that unlike feed posts, Instagram Stories don’t have a public comments section. When followers respond to a Story, their message is sent as a Direct Message to the creator and is only visible to that person and not to other viewers. If you want public engagement and comments, consider sharing Story content as a feed post or Reel instead.

Keep your Stories aligned with Instagram Community Guidelines to avoid issues that could affect their visibility or account health.

Best practices when adding music to your Instagram Stories

Here are some quick tips when including music in your Instagram Stories:

• Use the Instagram music library: Instagram has a vast library of licensed music you can choose from. The library includes various genres and popular songs and ensures you can use music in your content without getting flagged for copyright violations.
• Consider the mood and tone: Choose a song that fits the mood and tone of your Story. If it’s a fun and lighthearted moment, pick a song that matches that vibe. If the Story shares a serious moment, choose a more somber or reflective song.
• Keep the music volume in check: Ensure the music volume is not too loud, overpowering, or distracting. It should be loud enough to complement the visuals and create the desired atmosphere but not so loud that it overshadows your content.
• Add lyrics and subtitles: If the song has meaningful lyrics that relate to your story, consider adding subtitles or lyrics to the content to help audiences understand the meaning behind your choice.
• Use stickers and GIFs: Instagram provides a range of stickers and GIFs to add to your Stories, including music-themed stickers, which can help enhance the visual appeal of your Story.
• Preview before publishing: Before publishing each Story, preview them to ensure that the music and visuals work well together and convey the desired message.

When you add music via the sticker to a static photo Story, the default duration is 15 seconds. For video Stories, the music plays for the length of the video clip, up to a maximum of 60 seconds per Story frame. You can manually adjust the music clip length by tapping the duration indicator after selecting your song.

Learn from these best practices to help you create engaging and visually appealing Instagram Stories that effectively use music to enhance the overall viewing experience.

Keep your Instagram Story live via Vista Social

Let Vista Social help you keep your audience engaged with your Story by creating and scheduling new Story content each day. You can auto-publish your Stories directly through Vista Social’s publishing interface.

Create your Vista Social account today to learn even more about how we can help you elevate your Instagram presence.

Saving Instagram stories FAQs

How can we save an Instagram Story with music in a gallery?

Ways to save an Instagram Story with music: 

• Add the music before publishing rather than using a music sticker
• Screen record your Story
• Save your Instagram Story draft to your device before posting

How can I save my Instagram Story with music on iPhone?

Use the built-in screen recorder tool to capture Instagram Stories instantly. Or remember to save it as a draft before you publish.

Can you add music to an Instagram Story after posting it?

You can’t add music to already published Stories since Instagram doesn’t offer options to edit a Story.  You will need to download the Story, delete the original post, then upload it again to Instagram Stories with music added.