Instagram revealed this week that it will let users add lyrics to their Stories in addition to music clips. The lyrics feature is now available everywhere Instagram Music has launched.
TikTok has become an epicenter for teen culture as well as viral music scouting, and the new feature seems geared to help Instagram better compete. To sweeten the deal, Instagram enlisted the help of viral Gen-Z star Billie Eilish in an ad that visualizes the lyrics to “my strange addiction.”
“Music can be a big part of expression on Instagram–between adding music to Stories, connecting with artists, sending song recs back-and-forth, there are lots of ways to connect with music on IG,” an Instagram spokesperson told Tech Crunch. “Now, we’re building on our music features and introducing the ability to add lyrics when you add a song to your story.”
To add lyrics to your Story, select the Music block in the Stories section of Instagram. A music library will pop up, prompting you to search for your desired track. The search bar is populated by tabs for popular songs, moods, and genres. Once you select a song, you can choose a short snippet, and lyrics will automatically generate on screen. Users can customize the font and animations.
Eilish’s “bad guy,” Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road (Remix),” and Pinkfong’s “Baby Shark” are listed among the most popular tracks on the new lyric feature.
As Billboard notes, Facebook has been embedding music features in several of its online platforms, including Oculus, Whatsapp, and Messenger. The company’s app Lip Sync Live is a direct competitor to TikTok.
Back in January, Instagram added a feature that let users share what they’re watching on Netflix on their Stories. Last year, the app introduced music in Stories, allowing users to select songs from a gradually expanding library.
Catch up on all the lyrics to Billie Eilish’s “my strange addiction” on Genius now.
