Instagram Music rolled out to users in the US last year and was not available in India. After more than a year of rolling out the feature in the US, now, Facebook-owned Instagram has started rolling out ‘Instagram Music’ feature in India joining hands with the Indian music community.
Instagram Music is available to use in Stories through a dedicated ‘Music’ sticker and this does not work with posts. There are three sections in the music library – ‘Popular’, ‘Moods’, and ‘Genres’ with a wide range of Indian songs along with some popular International songs. The different genres available include Hindi, Indian Pop, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Hip Hop, Rock, Pop, Latin, Electronic, Classical, Reggae, Ambient, and Cinematic. The various ‘Moods’ include Love Songs, Party Hits, Fun, Upbeat, Dreamy, Romantic, Bold, Mellow, Inspirational, and Suspenseful. Users can also search for their favourite songs from the Instagram Music library apart from the popular ones.
How to use Instagram Music in India?
- Update the Instagram app to the latest version (v111.0.0.24.152 is the latest version as of writing this article)
- In the ‘Stories’ section, click the dedicated ‘Music’ tab or choose the dedicated ‘Music’ sticker to use this feature.
- Select your choice of music from the plethora of songs available
- Once the song is selected, you can select the segment of the song that you want to use in the story using a slider. You can choose from 5 seconds to 15 seconds.
- You can also choose the option to display real-time lyrics, change its font/colour, or display an image with the song details. You can also resize the lyrics and place them in the area of your choice.
- Once the selection is made, click ‘Done’ and add it to your Story.
The Music feature is not restricted to Instagram, but it is also now available on Facebook. Instagram Music feature is gradually rolling out to users, so you might not be able to see the option right away.
Manish Chopra, Director and Head of Partnerships, Facebook India, in a statement said:
Facebook and music share something special — they both bring people together and enable personal expression. And that’s why music is important for us. With India’s strong music ecosystem, we’re thrilled to open up the ability for people in the country to include music in the moments they share on our platforms.
Paresh Rajawat, Head of Video and Music Products, Facebook said:
We continue to see fast adoption of Stories across our family of apps. Today, with the launch of music stickers on Stories, we are excited about giving new ways for people to express and connect with their friends.