Instagram is rolling out a new feature for Stories that will let you add licensed music to any videos or photos you want to share.

To add music to a Story, head to the stickers tab where you can already find other features such as adding location information, polls and sliders. A new 'Music' option will be available, which then brings up a list of tunes. You can search for a specific song or artist, although the library isn't huge so don't be surprised if a song isn't there. 

Instagram says new songs are added daily, as Facebook has secured deals with all the major record labels, as well as many independents. Artists will get royalty payments, according to TechCrunch, although exactly how much hasn't been revealed. Once you find a song you want to add in as background music, you can trim it to the point you want, rather than having to have it start at the beginning.

Instagram now lets you add popular songs to your Stories image 2
Instagram

iOS users get the ability to choose a song before recording a Story, offering up the chance for lip sync videos. This feature will eventually make its way to Android. To choose a song before recording, select 'Music' in the sliding menu of recording options where you can already find Superzoom and Boomerang. 

The new Music feature is currently available in the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany and Sweden (presumably where Facebook has rights to play music). It also arrives shortly after Instagram has announced it has 1 billion active monthly users and 400 million daily users of Stories, up from 300 million in November 2017.