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Knowing how to add music to a video can be the key to revolutionizing your content creation process. Why is it so important?
With the rise of visual social media trends like TikTok and Instagram Reels, video content is taking the world by storm. Increasingly, content creators are relying on video communication to share ideas and engage their audiences, and the trend is set to continue. Video is here to stay in 2024, so creators need to learn how to make the most of it.
Adding music to videos can be a great way of improving content quality. Music is a quick, easy addition, but it has an influential role in setting the tone of your content and making videos richer and more engaging.
If you’re not sure how to add music to video, this guide is for you. Step by step, we’ll provide you with the skills you need to bring music into your content and reach broader online audiences. Best of all, these music-adding methods are quick, easy, and affordable!
Why add music to videos?
Music has the potential to influence the way that we communicate concepts and ideas. The right soundtrack can help you establish brand tone or foster specific audience responses to your content.
For many videos, music is a tool to boost engagement and interest. Adding music to videos helps to make dry content more captivating and may play a role in improving viewer retention.
Many content creators add music to video content, regardless of topic or niche. You can add music to just your intro and outro, play it in the background of a speech-based video, or even rely on it as the only audio content in an otherwise silent video.
How to add music to a video online
Using online tools, it’s possible to add music to video quickly and easily, often without any software fees. Popular online tools that allow you to do this include FlexClip, Kapwing, and Flixier. You can also use well-known tools like Adobe Creative Cloud Express. Even Riverside comes with a virtual soundboard ideal for adding sound effects and music to any video you are recording.
Many video creators choose online methods to add music to video because these tools are simple and intuitive. Many online video editors are available for free, so do your research, and find the tool that works for you.
If you’re trying to figure out how to add music to video, the process differs depending on the software you’re using or the platform you’re on. In general though, these are the steps you’d roughly follow if you want to add music to a video already recorded.
Step 1: Open the video you want to add music to in the editing tool of your choice.
Step 2: Download the music you want to add, and import it to your online editing tool’s media library. (Some tools also come with a selection of music and audio effects already.)
Step 3: Drag or add your music from the media library to the editing timeline.
Step 4: Adjust the volume and timing of your audio to sync to align it with your video content.
Step 5: Playback your content to check that it sounds like you intended it to.
Step 6: Once you’re happy with your video and music, you can download your finished project.
If you’re looking to add music to a video live while you’re recording, you can follow these steps using the Riverside Media board:
Step 1: Open your Riverside recording studio.
Step 2: Import the music you want to add to your video to the Media Board. You can either press the + button, or you can drag and drop your files.
Step 3: Start recording, and feel free to preview your music clips.
Step 4: Play the music clips you’d like to include in your video recording. Riverside automatically captures and saves anything you play in your live recording.
How to add music to a video on iPhone
If you’re working on an iPhone, you might want to add music to your video directly without having to import content to a desktop. Fortunately, there are plenty of iPhone-native tools to help add music to your videos.
One of the most commonly used platforms is iMovie, which is a built-in Apple product with advanced video editing features. Using iMovie, you can create a new movie project, upload your video media, then upload audio directly from your phone.
Using iMovie on your phone is easy!
Step 1: Open the iMovie app, and create a new project or open an existing one.
Step 2: Next you need to import your audio. Tap on the Add Media + button and then select Audio.
Step 4: Select My Music to see your selection of songs. Tap on a song to preview it and press the + button to add a song to your project.
You can also select other audio files saved on your device or to your iCloud if you choose Files after selecting the Add Media + button.
Step 5: Adjust your audio timing and volume so that it aligns well with your video content.
Step 6: When you’re happy with your project, download it to save to your phone.
If you’d prefer to use another video-editing platform, there are a range of iPhone-compatible options. You can also add music to video using apps downloaded from the Apple App Store, such as InShot, VideoShop, and PicsArt.
How to add music to a video on Android
It’s also possible to add music to a video using an Android device without ever having to send your content to a computer. Most of the best options rely on app-based video-editing systems and some phones come with their own native editing tools.
For example you can use Google Photos and follow these steps to add music:
Step 1: In your Google Photos App select Utilities at the top of your Library home page.
Step 2: Under Create New select Movie and the select New film in order to choose the video footage (or photos) you’d like to include.
Step 3: When your video project opens, click on the music note icon.
Step 4: Choose My Music to import music from your device, or select Theme Music to use one of Google’s pre-loaded songs.
Step 5: Add your choice of music and when you are done with final touches download you video.
On Android, you can also choose from a wide range of downloadable apps that allow for video and audio integrations. Magisto is one of the most popular options, with in-built camera and audio library features. You can either import video and music media or create content in the app! Other Android apps that can help include VivaVideo, VidTrim, and KineMaster. Different software applications offer unique features and capabilities, so look for the platform that best suits your specific needs.
How to add music to videos on Windows
In some cases, it can be easier to add music to videos using a desktop, allowing you more space and higher processing power to handle complex files. There are several tools that can help you add music to videos on Windows.
Windows Video Editor is built into modern Windows systems. It’s perfect for simple video editing tasks, including adding background music.
Step 1: Open the Windows Photos app, and navigate to the Video Editor tab.
Step 2: Choose an existing project or select New video project from the three-dotted drop-down menu to create something new.
Step 3: Use the Add button to import video media. Drag and drop media to the storyboard section.
Step 4: Click on Background Music on the top right corner to add a song from Window’s selection of tracks.
Choose your song and it should appear in your video timeline.
To add your own music, select Custom audio instead of Background Music. Here you can drag or add your own audio files to import into your project.
Step 5: Adjust audio in line with your video until you’re happy with the result. Then edit your video as you please and download the completed project to your device.
On Windows, you also have other music-adding options. Windows computers are compatible software, including VideoProc Vlogger, and ShotCut.
How to add music to video on Mac OS
Mac OS devices are well suited to video and audio editing tasks. These systems offer plenty of options for adding music to video! Both in-built and downloadable files can help you create high-quality content.
Apple iMovie is one of the most popular Mac OS editing tools.
Step 1: Using the in-built software, import your video.
Step 2: Navigate to Audio and select Music.
Step 3: Choose music from iTunes or your desktop locations.
Step 4: Drag, crop, and adjust your audio and video until they line up correctly.
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Step 5: Once complete, download your finalized video to save it to your computer.
Other commonly used music-adding tools on Mac OS include Filmora Video Editor, Final Cut Pro, and other app-based systems available for download from the Apple App Store.
How to add music to a TikTok video
Increasingly, video creators are turning to social media platforms like TikTok to share their content. What’s great is that you can add music to your videos directly in the app!
Step 1: Visit the TikTok app, and navigate to the video creation tool.
Step 2: Here, you can either film new content or upload a video up to 3 minutes in length.
Step 3: At the top of the screen, choose Add sound to browse available audio options.
Step 4: Once you’ve chosen your music, you can adjust its volume and alignment.
Step 5: Either save your video to your device or share it directly to your TikTok audience.
While editing videos in the TikTok app is practical, there are other ways to add music to TikTok videos. This is helpful if you want to create unwatermarked videos to share across a range of platforms. You can add music to TikTok-style videos using external apps, such as InShot, Clipchamp, or Lomotif.
How to add music to Instagram videos
Like TikTok, Instagram is fast becoming a popular video-sharing platform, with musical backing tracks making a big difference in video quality and user engagement. You can add music to Instagram videos, or Reels, using the Instagram app.
Step 1: Navigate to the Reels creation tab.
Step 2: Either film or upload a video up to 60 seconds in length.
Step 3: Click the music note icon to search trending music or obtain saved audio.
Step 4: Adjust audio timing and alignment with your video using Instagram Reels editing tools.
Step 5: Either save your video to your device or share it as an Instagram Reel.
For users who prefer to edit videos outside of social media, there are other tools that allow you to add music to Instagram videos. You can use apps like Wondershare, PicsArt, or InShot. You can also export files from other video-editing software.
How to add music to a video on YouTube
YouTube has long been the king of video content. Adding music to the background of your YouTube videos can help your content stand out from the crowd!
YouTube has its own music-adding tools that you can use when you post a video to the site.
Step 1: Select Your Videos on the menu on the left side of your home page.
Step 2: Select a pre-existing video or upload a new video through the Create button on the top right.
Step 3: After selecting a video, navigate to the Editor tool on the left side and locate the Audio button. Here, you’ll find an extensive stock library of royalty-free music tracks.
Step 3: Add the track you like best, and edit volume and timing as needed.
Step 4: When you’re happy with the result, publish your video to YouTube.
If you don’t want to add music to video on the YouTube site or would prefer to add a custom audio track, you can use another video-editing tool. Edit your video content using your iPhone, Android, Windows system, or Mac OS before exporting and uploading to YouTube.
How to pick the right music for a video
When it comes to adding music to a video, not all musical tracks are created equally. Choosing the right music can make a big difference to the final result and the overall quality of your content.
First, consider the topic and tone of your video. What is your video about, and who is likely to watch it? Happy, uplifting videos can benefit from upbeat music tracks, while a sad, somber topic might need a slower backing track. If you’re creating an instructional video, you may want to choose simple music that won’t detract from your content.
Depending on your style of video content, you’ll need to choose between lyrical or instrumental music. In simple videos with no talking, a song with lyrics can be a great tool for engagement, especially if the lyrics align well with your message. If your video contains a lot of speech or other sound, instrumental tracks can be less distracting.
Where to find music for a video
When choosing music for your video content, remember to consider royalty obligations. If your video will be used or shared commercially, you need to follow all relevant copyright rules. In these instances, it’s usually safest to use royalty-free music.
Using royalty-free music means that you can share your video commercially without having to pay for the music playing. This is important because it can help you avoid having to take your video down or deal with expensive copyright breaches.
Some video-editing tools and uploading platforms provide their own stock libraries of royalty-free music. You can find royalty-free music from sites such as Soundcloud, Purple Planet, and TeknoAxe. You can also subscribe to a paid audio licensing service like PremiumBeat, providing you with access to thousands of royalty-free tracks.
Read more: Where To Find The Best Royalty-Free Music for Podcasts
FAQs
Still unsure of how to add music to video? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions.
How do you add background music to a video?
There are many ways to add background music to a video, with the best tools varying depending on your content and the device you’re using. Whatever platform or software tool you use to add music, make sure that your video audio is the top-layer file. This will ensure that your music plays in the background of any speech or other audio information.
How do I add music to a video for free?
Many of the tools and applications listed in this guide are free to use online or to download to your device. You can use these tools to add music to your video content quickly, easily, and affordably.
What app can I use to put music over a video?
There are a number of apps listed in this guide that will allow you to add music to video content. These apps include:
- iMovie
- InShot
- VideoShop
- PicsArt
- VivaVideo
- VidTrim
- KineMaster
- Filmora Video Editor
- Final Cut Pro
- Clipchamp
- Lomotif
- Wondershare
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