Snapchat and Instagram have been on the grind for years to allow users to place music into their visual media posts. In the beginning of May, some looked into the Instagram‘s’ app coding. It seems that Instagram has the edge in this audio race.
Inside the coding of Instagram Stories, is an unreleased “Search Music” feature. The feature would appear next to the location and friend-mention sticker search options. Users could then search for music stickers by looking under “Genre,” “Moods,” and “Trending.” A sticker appears to contain just a clip of a song. Whether the stickers are intended for videos, photos, or both, is unclear.
Since the end of 2017, Facebook signed deals with Universal, Sony/ATV, and Warner Bros record labels. Part of Facebook’s intentions apparently were to give Instagram plenty of material to use for these new music stickers. The deals would also prevent the removal of users’ videos due to copyright.
What Could This Mean For Artists?
While stickers will probably contain music from already popular artists, the feature could evolve into an effective music sharing tool. With Instagram’s interesting visuals and ease of use, a person could become interested enough in a video to take the time to listen to the included song. If the stickers are successful, Facebook could sign more deals with smaller labels, giving their artists more opportunities to be heard.
In the beginning of May, the platform announced that artists could include Spotify links in their Stories. Maybe this will tie into the music stickers somehow. Spotify links could perhaps roll out to all users.
Instagram Stories, much like reading a story in a book, is all visual. So naturally, the focus of social media videos are placed on their visual effects. Instagram, however, may have found the solution to filling the lack of interesting sounds in users’ videos and photos. Consumers can use their ears, along with their eyes, to better enjoy their content.