Why You Still Can‘t Search for Songs on Instagram: Examining the Licensing Hurdles and Future Potential
Instagram has evolved into a social media juggernaut since its launch in 2010, with over 1 billion monthly active users sharing photos, videos, and Stories. However, one glaring absence persists in the app‘s feature set: the ability to search for music. While you can add songs to your Stories, the tracks you can choose from are confined to a limited library. Directly looking up a song to add to your post remains impossible. So what‘s preventing Instagram from letting you search for music? The answer lies in the complex world of music licensing.
Understanding Music Licensing
Before diving into Instagram‘s specific situation, it‘s important to grasp the basics of music licensing. Record labels and artists own the copyrights to their music, meaning they control where and how their songs are used. Platforms like Instagram that want to offer music functionality must secure proper licenses from rightsholders to avoid copyright infringement.
Music licensing is a tangled web involving various types of rights and stakeholders. There are copyrights for the sound recording (usually owned by the record label) and for the musical composition itself (typically owned by songwriters and music publishers). A platform needs licenses for both to fully use a song. Further complicating matters are performance rights organizations (PROs) like ASCAP and BMI which collect royalties on behalf of songwriters and publishers when their music is played publicly.
For a massive platform like Instagram, securing all the necessary rights to allow users to search for and add any song would be a monumental undertaking. It‘s not just a matter of striking deals with the three major labels – Universal, Sony, and Warner. Instagram would need agreements with many smaller labels, independent artists, publishers, and PROs to cover all the music in existence.
Even tech giants aren‘t immune to the music licensing maze. Twitch, the popular livestreaming platform owned by Amazon, has repeatedly come under fire for not properly licensing music. In 2020, Twitch received thousands of takedown notices from record labels for unauthorized music use in streams. The company ended up purging videos with unlicensed music and advising streamers to only use tracks from Twitch‘s own limited library of fully-licensed songs.
The Cost Barrier
Beyond the logistical complexity, the other major obstacle for Instagram offering music search is cost. Music licensing is expensive, especially at the scale a platform of Instagram‘s size would require.
Record labels and publishers don‘t give out music rights for free. They expect significant upfront payments and a cut of revenue generated from the licensed music. The costs can quickly add up when you‘re talking about a library spanning millions of songs. Industry insiders estimate that securing comprehensive music rights could cost Instagram hundreds of millions to over a billion dollars annually.
To put the costs in perspective, Spotify, the largest subscription music streaming service, paid out over $7 billion in royalties to music rightsholders in 2021. While Instagram wouldn‘t need quite as extensive a catalog as Spotify, it still gives a sense of how pricey music licensing can get. Deals with just the major labels can reach nine figures.
For Instagram, investing that heavily in music search functionality is hard to justify when the app‘s core focus is on photo and video sharing. Legally licensing music is essential, but the costs are steep for a feature that isn‘t central to Instagram‘s product vision. A more prudent approach is to gradually expand the app‘s music library through targeted deals with select labels and indies, which is what Instagram has done so far.
In 2018, Instagram struck licensing partnerships with the top labels and Merlin (which represents many independent labels) to launch Music Stickers, letting users add licensed songs to their Stories. That allowed Instagram to offer some popular music functionality while keeping costs contained and avoiding the legal risks of unlicensed music.
But those deals still only cover a fraction of all recorded music. A 2019 Bloomberg report revealed that Facebook (which owns Instagram) had licensed about 40 million tracks across its platforms at the time. While that might sound like a lot, Spotify has over 80 million tracks. And new music is constantly being released, making it challenging to maintain a truly comprehensive, up-to-date catalog.
Instagram‘s Music Priorities
Given the substantial costs and complexities involved, it‘s understandable why Instagram hasn‘t prioritized building out a full music search feature. The company‘s resources are better spent on improving core aspects of the app that drive user growth and engagement.
In recent years, Instagram has focused heavily on expanding its e-commerce tools, messaging features, and short-form video offerings to compete with TikTok. Those areas are more integral to Instagram‘s business than music search. While adding licensed songs to Stories is a nice creative touch, most users aren‘t coming to Instagram primarily for music consumption.
Data shows that music-related features see relatively modest usage on Instagram compared to the app‘s other functions. A 2021 study by Facebook found that just 17% of Instagram users had added music to their Stories in the past month. In contrast, nearly 50% had used Instagram to shop or browse products. Instagram‘s ad business also continues to grow rapidly, with the app generating about $47 billion in ad revenue in 2021. So while music can enhance the Instagram experience, it‘s not the main event.
Instagram‘s approach seems to be gradually expanding music features as it makes sense for the product roadmap and licensing budget. The app has continued signing new artist partnerships and label deals to bulk up its music library. In 2021, Instagram started letting users add music to feed posts, not just Stories, and launched a suite of music-driven Reels features.
Rather than aiming to replicate Spotify, Instagram‘s music strategy revolves around viral music moments and exclusive artist content that complement its core photo and video sharing functions. Adding full search would be a huge technical lift on top of the licensing costs. The app would need a robust search index and audio recognition system to let users look up music by song title, artist, lyrics, or sound snippet. Building that out is likely not worth the development resources for a secondary feature with limited revenue potential.
The Future of Music on Instagram
Looking ahead, it seems unlikely that Instagram will implement a full-fledged music search option anytime soon, if ever. The closest the app might get is an expanded library of popular tracks you can browse and add to posts. But searching for specific songs and getting full-length streaming within Instagram will probably remain out of reach due to the licensing hurdles involved.
That said, there are some potential scenarios where music search could become more viable for Instagram. If music licensing becomes more streamlined through regulatory changes or industry partnerships, the costs of securing comprehensive rights could come down. There have been some moves on this front, like the Music Modernization Act in the US which aims to simplify digital licensing. But an overhaul of the music licensing framework is likely still a long way off.
Instagram could also explore alternative monetization models to offset music licensing costs. For instance, the app could offer a premium music feature that lets users pay to search for and add tracks. But gating music search behind a paywall would likely be unpopular and limit usage. Ads or sponsored music content are more plausible revenue streams Instagram is already tapping.
Another path is for Instagram to focus on surfacing music in more organic ways, leaning into its strength as a place for music discovery. The app could double down on exclusive music launches, branded artist content, and viral challenges that introduce songs to massive audiences. While users might not be able to directly search for tracks, they could still encounter trending music through their feeds and Stories.
Instagram also has the advantage of access to data from its parent company Meta‘s other apps. If a song is going viral on Facebook or WhatsApp, Instagram could quickly move to feature that music more prominently. The app already uses data signals to personalize which songs appear in users‘ music sticker options. Expanding those recommendation models could help users find relevant music even without type-in search.
Tips for Finding Music on Instagram Today
While you can‘t search for songs directly on Instagram, there are still some ways to track down music you encounter on the app:
- Use Shazam or a similar music recognition app to identify songs playing in other users‘ Stories or Reels.
- Check post captions and comments to see if the creator has listed the song info.
- Browse Instagram‘s music sticker library to find songs you like and save them.
- Follow your favorite artists on Instagram – they often share new music and promote songs used in viral trends.
- Use a third-party app like Instories or Story Saver to download Instagram Stories with music you enjoy.
For now, Instagram remains a place to share and discover music rather than a full-fledged music search service. Users should temper expectations around music features on the app while still enjoying the songs available in the current library. By understanding the licensing limitations at play, it becomes clearer why Instagram hasn‘t pursued an exhaustive search option. Though music will likely remain a key part of the Instagram experience, the app‘s core focus is still on visual storytelling. As long as the music licensing landscape remains complex and costly, a Spotify-style search feature within Instagram is probably a pipedream. But for music discovery and sharing, Instagram still offers plenty of potential through creative partnerships and viral trends. The app will surely keep expanding its music capabilities over time – just don‘t expect a full-scale search engine baked in.
