How to Add Music to a Video on iPhone

You’ve got a video and it needs music under it — a slideshow, a recap, a clip that just feels flat with only the room tone playing. The Photos app has no option for this at all; there’s no “add audio” button hiding in its editor. The tool that actually does it is iMovie, and once you know where to look it’s a two-minute job.

Start a project

Open iMovie (free from the App Store if you don’t already have it), tap +, choose Movie, and add the video you want to score. It lands in the timeline at the bottom of the screen.

Two different sources for music

Tap the Add Media button, then Audio. From here you have two real options:

• Soundtracks — a library Apple built into iMovie itself, made of instrumental tracks that automatically stretch or loop to match your video’s length. Some need a one-time download over Wi-Fi or cellular before you can use them; tap one to preview it, then Add Audio to drop it in.
• My Music — songs already synced to your iPhone. Tap to preview, then Add Audio the same way.

A quick note on that second option: a song you bought and are the rights holder for, or have permission to use, is fine for a personal project. If the plan is to post the finished video publicly with someone else’s commercial track under it, check the platform’s own music-licensing rules first — that’s a separate question from what iMovie technically lets you do.

Getting the timing right

If you’re building something where the beat needs to line up with a cut — a highlight reel, a montage — add the music to the project before you drop in your video clips, so you can align cuts to specific points in the track. iMovie loops background music automatically to fill the length of your movie, and if you add more than one song, it plays them one after another rather than layering them on top of each other.

You can also drag the audio clip’s edges in the timeline to manually trim how much of it plays.

Balancing music against your video’s own sound

If your video clip has its own audio (someone talking, ambient sound) and you don’t want the music drowning it out, iMovie automatically “ducks” the background music — quietly lowering its volume whenever your video’s own sound is playing, then bringing it back up in the gaps.

You don’t have to set this up manually; it only stops happening if you’ve muted the video clip’s sound entirely.

Exporting

Once it sounds right, tap Done, then the share icon, then Save Video to export the finished file with the music mixed in, straight to your camera roll.

If you’re after the opposite problem

If a video already has audio you don’t want at all rather than music you want to add, that’s a different tool and a different move — see how to remove the sound from a video on iPhone instead.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a song from Apple Music if I don’t own it?

Only music actually downloaded to your device shows up as available in iMovie’s My Music list. Streaming-only tracks that aren’t downloaded, or protected files, appear dimmed and can’t be added.

Does the music automatically match the length of my video?

Apple’s built-in Soundtracks are designed to dynamically stretch or loop to your project’s length. A song from your own library instead loops as a whole track until your video ends, or you trim it manually.

Will the music drown out the talking in my video?

No, by default iMovie automatically lowers the music’s volume whenever your clip’s own audio is playing, then raises it again in the quiet parts.

Do I need an internet connection to add music?

Only the first time you use a built-in Soundtrack that hasn’t been downloaded yet. Music already on your device, and the editing itself, work offline.

Can I layer two songs at once?

Not as background music tracks — iMovie plays multiple added songs one after another rather than mixing them together at the same time.

Is iMovie free?

Yes, it’s Apple’s own app and free to download and use, with no in-app purchases required for any of this.