Instagram is the king of “borrowing” features from other platforms. Stories might be associated with Meta’s social media platform, but Snapchat really started them. Reels might be a staple of the app today, but they were only added as a response to the popularity of TikTok. Now, Instagram is borrowing a feature from a social media platform long since retired: Myspace.
No, Instagram isn’t bringing back friend spaces, nor are you able to set a fantastically tacky wallpaper on your page. What Meta is doing, however, is bringing back a key Myspace feature: profile music. Instagram announced the change on the company’s “creators” Threads account on Thursday, dubbing the feature “Music on Profile.” It’s a simple feature: You choose a song from Instagram’s library, select your favorite 30-second snippet from the track, and you’re set. People visiting your profile will see your song of choice in your bio, and will be able to sample your selection from a play button.
It’d be nice if Instagram would let you choose to autoplay your track, like Myspace used to do. But hey, Instagram doesn’t have to steal everything they do.
How to set a song on your Instagram page
While it isn’t totally obvious how to set a song on your profile, it isn’t hard. To start, head to your profile, then choose Edit profile. Tap Add music to your profile next to “Music,” then hit Pick a song for your profile. Instagram will suggest songs for you to choose based on previous activity, but you can also search for any song you want. If Instagram has it, tap the song to select it.
From here, you can choose your 30-second sample that will play on your profile. Use the slider to move through the song, and Instagram will automatically play the selection so you can preview it. Depending on the track, there may be suggested moments throughout the song where Instagram thinks the best 30-second selections start from. For my choice, “3D Country” by Geese, there are three moments Instagram suggests I use. But at the end of the day, you can choose any segment you want.
When you’re happy with your choice, hit Done.
Credit: Jake Peterson
You can repeat the process to remove the track: Head to your profile, tap Edit profile, then tap Music to find your song choice. Just tap Remove, and Instagram will delete the track from your page.
You can also delete the track from your profile itself. Go to your profile, tap the song, then choose Remove profile song. You’ll also see an option to Change profile song if you want to swap it for something else, or View audio page to see the full song in Instagram’s library.
