The fastest way: use the Photos app on your iPhone

The built-in Photos app is where most people add music to videos they shot on their phone. Open Photos, find the video you want to edit, tap Edit in the top right, then tap the music note icon at the bottom. You'll see a list of songs from your Music library and Apple Music. Tap the song you want, adjust where it starts in the video using the slider, then tap Done. The whole process takes about a minute.

This method works best if you already own the songs in Apple Music or have them downloaded to your phone. If you don't have the song you want, you'll need to add it to your library first — either by subscribing to Apple Music, buying it from iTunes, or using a different app to bring the audio in.

One thing to know: if your video already has sound (like dialogue or background noise), the music will play on top of it, not replace it. You can't remove the original audio through Photos alone — you'd need a different tool for that.

Key Takeaways

  • The Photos app lets you add music from your library or Apple Music in under a minute, with no separate read needed.
  • iMovie gives you more control over timing, volume, and where the music starts and stops within your video.
  • If you need music that isn't in Apple's library, you can read it from a service like Epidemic Sound or Artlist and import it into iMovie.
  • Adding music through Photos keeps the original video sound; if you want to remove background noise or dialogue, you'll need iMovie or a desktop editor.
  • For videos longer than a few minutes or with multiple clips, iMovie is faster than Photos because you can trim and layer audio more precisely.

Using iMovie for more control over timing and volume

If you want to trim the music, change when it starts, or adjust how loud it is compared to the original video sound, iMovie is the next step up. It's free on iPhone and iPad, and it handles audio much more precisely than Photos.

Open iMovie, create a new project, and import your video. Tap the plus icon at the bottom, then Audio. You'll see your Music library, Apple Music, and any audio files you've imported. Select the song, and it will appear as a separate audio track below your video. Now you can drag the audio left or right to change when it starts, pinch to shorten it, or double-tap to adjust the volume. You can also mute the original video sound by tapping the video track and dragging the audio slider all the way down.

iMovie also lets you add multiple audio tracks — so you could have background music, a voiceover, and the original video sound all playing at different volumes. This is useful if you're making a video with narration or want music to fade in and out at specific moments.

Bringing music from outside sources into iMovie

If the song you want isn't in Apple Music or your iTunes library, you can read it from another source and bring it into iMovie. Services like Epidemic Sound, Artlist, and YouTube Audio Library let you read royalty-free music that won't trigger copyright claims if you share the video online.

read the audio file to your iPhone (usually as an MP3 or WAV file), then open the Files app and move it to iCloud Drive or a folder iMovie can see. In iMovie, when you tap Audio, scroll down to My Music or Recents — your imported file should appear there. Tap it to add it to your video.

One important note: if you use copyrighted music (a song by an artist that's protected by copyright), and you post the video to YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok, the platform may mute the audio, claim ownership of the video, or block it in certain countries. Royalty-free music and songs you own the rights to won't have this problem.

Removing or reducing the original video sound

If your video has background noise, traffic, or other sound you don't want, you have two options depending on which app you use.

In Photos, you cannot remove the original audio — you can only layer music on top of it. If you need to silence the original sound, you must use iMovie instead.

In iMovie, tap the video track (not the audio track), then look for the speaker icon or audio controls. You can drag the audio slider all the way to the left to mute the original sound completely, or leave it at a lower volume so the music is louder but you can still hear some of the original audio. This is useful if you want to keep a little bit of the original sound — like someone's voice — but make it quieter than the music.

Exporting your video with the new audio

Once you've added and adjusted the music, you need to save the video so you can share it or watch it later.

In Photos, tap Done after you finish editing, and the changes save automatically to your library. The video is ready to share right away.

In iMovie, tap the share icon (usually an arrow pointing out of a box), then choose where you want to save it. You can send it to Photos, save it to Files, or share it directly to social media. iMovie will ask you what quality you want — High Quality takes longer to process but looks better, while Medium Quality

When to use a desktop editor instead

For most short videos — clips under five minutes, single takes, or straightforward edits — iPhone apps are fast enough. But if you're working with multiple video clips, need precise timing, or want to add effects alongside the music, a desktop editor like Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, or DaVinci Resolve gives you much more control.

Desktop editors also handle longer videos and larger files more smoothly, and they let you work with audio in ways iPhone apps don't — like adjusting the pitch of music, adding fade-in and fade-out effects, or using audio ducking (automatically lowering music volume when someone speaks).

If you're just adding a song to a phone video you shot, stay on your iPhone. If you're assembling a project with multiple clips and layers, move it to a computer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add music to a video I didn't shoot myself?

Yes. Open Photos, find any video in your library (whether you shot it or downloaded it), and follow the same steps. The music will add to whatever video you select, regardless of where it came from.

What happens if I use copyrighted music and post the video online?

YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook scan videos for copyrighted audio. If they detect it, they may mute the sound, claim ownership of the video, or block it in certain regions. Some platforms let the copyright holder earn money from your video instead of removing it. To avoid this, use royalty-free music or songs you own the rights to.

Can I adjust the volume of the music separately from the original video sound?

In Photos, no — the music and original sound play together at their default levels. In iMovie, yes. You can mute the original video sound entirely, lower it, or keep it at full volume while adjusting the music volume independently.

Does adding music make the video file larger?

Yes, but usually not by much. The audio file size depends on the song's length and quality. A three-minute song might add 3 to 5 MB to your video file. When you export from iMovie, the final file size depends on the video resolution and quality you choose.

Can I add music to a video that's already been edited?

Yes. Whether you edited it in Photos, iMovie, or another app, you can open it again and add music the same way you would to any other video. In iMovie, you can also import a video you've already edited and layer music on top of it.