One of the most popular features of Snapchat is the ability to add music to your snaps and stories. Snapchat has licensing agreements with major record labels, publishers, and societies to provide access to an extensive library of songs to use in your snaps. However, you cannot add just any song to a snap – the song must be available in Snapchat’s music library.
Snapchat’s Music Library
Snapchat has agreements with these major music companies and organizations to provide access to their catalogs of songs:
- Sony Music Entertainment
- Universal Music Group
- Warner Music Group
- Merlin Network
- Downtown Music Publishing
- CD Baby
- Distrokid
- EMPIRE
- TuneCORE
This gives Snapchat access to a huge library of music from popular artists across many genres including pop, hip hop, country, electronic, and more. Snapchat says their music catalog contains “millions of tracks” from these providers.
Some notable artists you can find on Snapchat include:
- Taylor Swift
- Ariana Grande
- Billie Eilish
- Drake
- The Weeknd
- Post Malone
- Ed Sheeran
- Cardi B
- Maroon 5
- Kanye West
So Snapchat has licenses to use songs from the most popular artists and bands across genres. However, there are still some limits to Snapchat’s music catalog.
Limits to Snapchat’s Music Library
While Snapchat has an extensive music library, there are some limits on which songs you can access:
- No user-uploaded music – You cannot upload your own music files to use in Snaps. The song must already exist in Snapchat’s catalog.
- Independent or lesser-known artists may not be available – Snapchat seems to favor music from major labels and well-known artists in their catalog.
- Song selection can vary by region – The music catalog may differ slightly in different countries due to licensing restrictions.
- Some songs may not be available due to licensing issues – Even some songs from major artists could be restricted due to licensing limitations.
So while you have access to millions of tracks, there’s no guarantee that every single song is available on Snapchat, especially from lesser-known independent artists or smaller record labels. The music library privileges popular songs from major labels and top artists.
How to Add Music to Snaps
Adding music to your Snaps is easy if the song is available in Snapchat’s catalog:
- Record your snap as usual either tapping the circular shutter button or holding it down for video.
- After recording, tap the Music note icon at the top of the screen.
- Search for a song or browse Snapchat’s categories like Genre, Moods, and New Music.
- Tap the song you want to add – you’ll get a preview to make sure it’s the right one.
- Adjust the portion of song you want by dragging the sliders below the waveform.
- Tap the check mark to add the song to your Snap and send away!
So it’s very quick and easy to add music if Snapchat has the song in their licensed catalog.
Workarounds to Add Any Song
While Snapchat limits you to their music library, there are some tricks to add other songs:
Use Shazam to Identify the Song
Shazam is an app that can identify songs by listening to a short sample. You can use Shazam to figure out the title and artist of songs not on Snapchat:
- Open Shazam and tap the button to listen and identify the song.
- Once it identifies the song, Shazam will show you the artist, title, album, etc.
- Make a note of the song details and check if Snapchat has a similar song by that artist.
- If they do, use the similar song from Snapchat’s catalog.
While you can’t use the exact song, finding a comparable track from the same artist is a good workaround.
Use Self-Recorded Audio
You can record yourself singing or playing a snippet of the desired song. Then add that short audio clip to your Snap instead of the full song.
This allows you to capture the part of the song you want without restrictions from Snapchat’s music library. However, quality won’t be as high as using the actual song file.
Convert to Video First
Try converting the song to a low-quality video file first using a separate app or software. Then import that video containing the song into Snapchat. The quality likely won’t be great, but it will allow you to use the exact song you want.
This takes some extra work compared to Snapchat’s built-in music features. But it can let you attach songs that aren’t available in Snapchat’s library.
Why Can’t You Add Any Song?
Snapchat places some reasonable limits on songs due to music licensing restrictions:
- Copyright – Songs are intellectual property of artists and labels, who must grant usage rights.
- Royalties – Snapchat must pay royalties to rights holders for song usage.
- Label and publisher agreements – Snapchat can only use songs they have agreements for.
- Regional restrictions – Song rights often vary by country due to publishing laws.
Without proper licenses and royalty payments, Snapchat could face hefty lawsuits for unauthorized usage of songs. That is why they restrict songs to only those they have publishing rights for based on label agreements.
Table of Major Music Companies
| Company | Market Share | Notable Artists |
|---|---|---|
| Sony Music | 21% | Beyonce, Lil Nas X, Doja Cat |
| Universal Music | 18% | Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd |
| Warner Music | 14% | Ed Sheeran, Cardi B, Coldplay |
This table shows the market share and top artists for the “big three” major record labels who license music to Snapchat.
Conclusion
In summary, you can only add songs to Snapchat from their licensed music library, generally favoring major label artists. While limitations exist, Snapchat does offer an extensive catalog of popular music spanning genres. If you want to use a song outside their library, workarounds like recording yourself singing or converting to video can help. But ultimately Snapchat restricts songs to only those approved through publisher agreements in order to satisfy copyright and royalty requirements.