Adding music to your instagram stories was possible in other parts of the world but not in the Middle East. That changes today as support for officially adding music to your Facebook or Instagram stories is now enabled for users in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle Eastern and North African regions.
If you’re wondering how to use this feature, we’ve whipped up a quick and easy guide that might be exactly what you’re looking for. Starting today, Instagram offers a wide selection of top-quality tunes from its own library to choose from for users in the Middle East and North Africa.
1. Open the Instagram app and head to 'Your Story'
Open up the Instagram mobile app, and tap on ‘Your Story’ in the top left corner. You can either take a photo or video or choose from media saved in your library. Once you’re happy with the content you’d like to share, click on the sticker icon at the top of the screen (it should be the third one from the right).
2. Select the Music sticker
Once you’ve tapped on the sticker icon, a menu will appear with a variety of options to choose from. You’ll want to tap on ‘Music’, which should be in the middle of the second row. From here, you’ll have a couple of choices: search for music, ‘browse’ and ‘for you’. ‘For You’ provides a list of recommended songs, while browse lets you search through different genres and moods.
3. Choose the length of the song
After you’ve picked an appropriate song, you can scroll to specific parts using the slider at the bottom of the screen. You can play a track for a maximum of 15 seconds and a minimum of five, but if you’re sharing a video or Boomerang clip, the track will be limited to the length of the video.
4. Customize how your Instagram Story looks
Now it’s time to customize how the music overlay looks. Simply tap on the available options above the slider at the bottom of the screen, and pick between either a selection of scrolling lyrics to the album art. You can also change the color of the text that appears on screen and resize/move the text or image.
And that’s all there is to it! You can now share your Instagram Story with the world, your close friends or send it to someone specific.
