How to Add Music to CapCut: Mobile, PC & Web

To add music to CapCut, choose a song through Audio on your phone, import a file through Media on Desktop, or upload it in the Web editor. Put the music below the video, trim it to fit, then lower it until speech is easy to hear.

For a talking video, finish the main cuts first. For a montage, you can choose the song first and cut around its rhythm. Either way, use a track you have permission to publish.

Choose a track you can keep using

If you already have an original recording or a licensed music file, keep a copy outside CapCut and save its license or permission with the project. That matters most for client work. With a library song, read the track label before you build an edit around it. The publishing limits below matter if you'll post outside TikTok.

Add music on iPhone or Android

1. Open your edit, or tap New project and add the video clips.
2. Return to the main editing toolbar and tap Audio → Sounds. Some layouts also show Add audio directly under the video track.
3. For library music, search or browse, preview a song, then use the add control beside that song. For a local recording, open the device-audio source if your version offers it; do not use the plus button at the end of the video track.
4. Select the added audio waveform. Move the whole clip to change when the music starts; pull an edge inward to shorten it.
5. Open Volume for the selected music clip. Lower it while speech plays, then use the audio fade controls if the start or ending is abrupt.
6. Play the edit from the beginning and check the ending. Export a sample before relying on the mix for the full video.

CapCut documents Audio, Sounds and the selected-track volume controls. The local-file picker is less consistent across releases. If you can't find it, use the next checks.

Your own music is in Files, but CapCut cannot see it?

Play the file in your phone's file manager first and let any cloud download finish. If CapCut opens a file picker, select the audio there. A photo-album picker won't necessarily list an MP3. For a video that contains the sound, check access to that video in Photos instead.

If your build has no device-audio entry, don't keep changing photo permissions or reinstalling the app to hunt for a missing folder icon. One iPad user reported exactly that missing import route, though a single report doesn't show that all iPads behave the same way. Keep your project and try an available Desktop or Web import route with a copy of the source file. That test doesn't move your existing edit.

If you have to finish on an iPhone or iPad and the picture edit is done, you can export it and add your local music in iMovie, but only if you have permission to edit every included asset outside CapCut. The linked general Materials License Agreement restricts editing CapCut-supplied materials outside the platform; US users need to check the separate US agreement. So use your own or separately cleared assets for this fallback, and check the terms for your region. Apple documents Add Media → Files for stored audio. Keep the CapCut project. The exported video flattens the edit, so its original clips, captions and layers won't become separately editable in iMovie.

Import music on PC or Mac

1. Open the project and choose Media → Import. Select the audio file saved on your computer.
2. Preview the imported file so you don't add a silent or wrong version.
3. Drag it to an empty audio track below the video timeline.
4. Move the waveform until its first useful beat or phrase meets the intended cut.
5. Trim the start and end. Split only when you need to remove a middle passage or build a deliberate edit.
6. With the music selected, set Volume, Fade in and Fade out in the right-hand Basic panel. Listen through the dialogue, then export and check the saved video outside CapCut.

The official Desktop audio instructions use Media → Import. For the catalog, go to Audio → Music instead. If the media bin and timeline are new to you, start with our walkthrough of CapCut for Windows and Mac.

Add music in the Web editor

1. Open the browser editor and your project. For your own file, use the Media/Upload area and wait for the upload to finish. For a catalog song, browse Audio or its Music tab.
2. Add the music to the timeline under the video, then select its waveform.
3. Set the start and end. Open the selected clip’s audio controls to adjust volume and fade durations.
4. Save the edit, export it and play the downloaded result outside the browser editor.

Keep the original music file outside the browser. With private recordings or client footage, confirm you're allowed to upload the material before you send it to a cloud editor. If an upload or preview stalls, use the Web editor checks, and don't rebuild a long timeline until you've tested one small, permitted file.

Import your own MP3, WAV or recording

Give the file a name you'll recognize later, such as recipe-instrumental-v2.mp3, and preview it before you import it. CapCut's audio-format guidance lists MP3, WAV and AAC among supported inputs. That's no guarantee that a damaged file, a protected download or every codec variant will work.

If the file won't import, check whether it plays in another app. Export a fresh copy from the recording app, or convert a copy with a trusted tool. Renaming a file from .m4a to .mp3 doesn't convert what's inside it. Keep the original, and avoid sending confidential recordings to an unknown online converter.

Leave spoken audio separate from the music when possible. For generated narration, use the text-to-speech guide; add and correct spoken subtitles with the auto-captions workflow.

Trim, Split and Position the Song

Select the audio waveform before you edit it. Drag the left or right edge inward to remove unwanted material, or move the whole clip when the right passage starts at the wrong time. Split at the playhead to remove a middle section. For a smooth change in volume, use the keyframes described below instead of cutting the song into many pieces.

The clip-cutting and split workflow covers the selection logic in detail. With music, listen on both sides of every split. An edit can look clean and still click or jump to the wrong part of a phrase. Put the cut near a natural pause, beat or sustained sound, then add a short fade if the transition still feels sharp.

When the song is shorter than the video, don't loop it blindly. Find a phrase with a compatible beginning and ending, copy that section to the next position on the timeline, and listen across the join without watching the screen. If the repetition calls attention to itself, choose a longer track or let part of the edit breathe without music.

Mix Music Under Voice Without Losing Words

Set speech at a comfortable listening level first. Bring the music up from silence until it adds pace or mood, then pull it down until every word stays easy to understand. No single volume percentage can guarantee that balance, because source recordings, arrangements and devices differ. For a fuller voice, music and effects workflow, follow the audio-mixing guide.

For a simple ending, select the music and increase its Fade out duration until the stop feels deliberate. A video transition called Fade doesn't fade the soundtrack. To lower music only during speech, use four volume keyframes:

1. Before the first word: set a keyframe at the music level you want between spoken passages.
2. At the start of speech: set a second keyframe at a lower level. Play the approach to check that the dip finishes before it masks the first word.
3. Just after the last word: set a third keyframe at that same lower level.
4. A little later: set a fourth keyframe back at the original level. Move it farther right if the return feels rushed.

On Desktop, use the diamond beside Volume in the Basic panel shown above. If your Mobile or Web build has no volume keyframes, keep the whole music clip quiet enough for speech, and don't swap in a video-opacity keyframe. The keyframe guide explains how to pick the right property.

Listen once on headphones and once through a phone speaker. Headphones expose clicks and stereo problems; a small speaker quickly shows whether the voice disappears behind bass, drums or a dense chorus. Keep sound effects on their own track so one volume adjustment doesn't disturb the music bed.

Sync Cuts to the Beat Without Making Every Cut Obvious

Expand the audio track until individual waveform peaks are easier to see, then play it and mark the beats that matter. Line up a visual cut, title change or movement with the accents you've picked instead of every peak. Cutting on every beat can make a tutorial or story feel mechanical.

Automatic beat or rhythm tools can help you find candidate moments, but which ones you get and what they're called vary by platform and plan. Treat markers as suggestions and listen to the phrase. A drum transient, a vocal entrance and a musical downbeat can sit close together and still produce very different cuts.

When speech carries the story, I'd build the picture edit first. For a montage, picking the music first can save time. Whichever comes first, leave enough handle length around the audio so a later trim doesn't knock the whole sequence out of sync.

Extract Music or Audio From a Video

CapCut's extraction instructions describe selecting a video clip and using Extract audio on Desktop or Mobile. The Web example uses Separate audio from the timeline clip's context menu. The separated audio becomes its own editable clip. Check the wording in your build, and make sure you don't end up with a second copy playing over the first.

A PC user reported extraction asking for Pro. That's one account's report, and it isn't evidence that every version has the same price. Check the badge or export message in your own account before you build a workflow around extraction.

Extraction changes the project's structure. It doesn't change who owns the audio. Use audio from your own footage or from material you're permitted to reuse. Screen-recording or extracting a commercial song isn't a licensing workaround.

Can you use the song on YouTube or in client work?

The linked CapCut Materials License Agreement, dated January 22, 2026, limits ordinary Sounds to personal, non-commercial use unless you get the necessary rights. Its Commercial Sounds provision names CapCut, TikTok and TikTok for Business; anywhere else, you need separate permission. The linked text directs US users to a separate US agreement. Go by the agreement for your region, and check the exact track's terms.

Before you post, save the track name, license, intended platform and any client-use permission. If YouTube, advertising or your planned use isn't covered, pick a track that's licensed for that use. Paying for an editing subscription doesn't replace checking the song.

CapCut's missing-music guidance lists rights-holder removal, region and account differences among possible reasons a track disappears. Keep a permitted replacement on hand. With shared templates, copyright restrictions can also explain a muted published result, so check the destination after you publish.

Why Music Is Missing, Unavailable or Silent

1. Confirm timing: put the playhead inside the audio clip, not before or after it.
2. Check mute states: inspect the clip, track and device output. Raise a percentage slider if it is at 0%, but do not confuse that with a gain control at 0 dB: zero gain means no amplification or attenuation, not mute.
3. Verify the source: play the original file outside CapCut and import a properly converted copy if needed.
4. Check availability: a streamed library track may have been removed, restricted or tied to another account or platform.
5. Separate preview from export: save the project, confirm it has finished saving, then restart or refresh if needed. Render a short test and play it in another app.

CapCut's official audio-not-playing checklist names muted tracks, low volume, missing source audio, unsupported formats and device conditions as common causes. If the whole project is silent, work through the deeper CapCut no-sound guide. Protect your local projects before you clear app data or reinstall.

A gain setting of 0 dB isn't the same as a level meter hitting its maximum. Audacity's export troubleshooting describes 0 dB gain as neutral. Don't boost a track just because that number shows up in the Volume field.

Run an Audio Export Check

If you're unsure about the mix, test a copy of the project first. Include speech, a music edit and an ending fade, and use separate samples if those moments are far apart. A short sample checks only those moments, so it won't tell you about the rest of the video. Play it outside CapCut at a normal listening volume and listen for buried words, clicks, missing music or a chopped-off ending.

Export the full project, listen all the way through, then check the upload at its destination. Our guide to CapCut export settings covers resolution and frame rate. Keep the editable project, the original audio and the license record, because a finished video doesn't preserve the source timeline.

CapCut Music FAQ

How do I add music to CapCut Mobile?

Open the project, tap Audio, choose Sounds or the local-audio option available in your version, preview the exact track, and add it. Select the waveform to trim it and set volume or fades.

How do I add my own music to CapCut on PC?

Import the audio file through Media or Import, then drag it from the media bin to an audio track below the video. MP3 and WAV are practical starting formats, but the file still needs to contain valid, supported audio.

How do I add music in CapCut Web?

Upload your own file through Media/Upload, or browse Audio/Music for a catalog track. Place the music below the video, select it and set timing, volume and fades. Wait for uploads and saving to finish, then export and check the downloaded file.

Can I use CapCut music on YouTube or for a business?

Not automatically. Check the exact track’s license for your region, account and destination. The linked Commercial Sounds terms name specific platforms and direct US users to a separate US agreement; they are not blanket permission for YouTube or every kind of business use.

Why did a CapCut song disappear?

Library tracks can become unavailable because of licensing, region, account or platform differences. Keep a rights-cleared replacement ready and don't rely on one streamed track as the only copy of an unfinished edit.

Why is my music not playing in CapCut?

Check the clip and track mute states, volume, playhead position, file format and device output. Save the project, restart or refresh, then export a short test to learn whether the issue affects preview only or the rendered file.

How do I lower music under talking in CapCut?

Lower the music while listening to the voice. Where volume keyframes are available, use four points: normal level before speech, lower level by the first word, the same lower level after the last word, then a return to the normal level. Listen to both transitions.

How do I make music fade out in CapCut?

Select the audio clip and use the fade-out control shown in your build. Preview the last cut, then lengthen the fade if the ending still sounds abrupt. If your build offers volume keyframes, you can also use those to bring the track down gradually.

Can I add Spotify or Apple Music songs to CapCut?

A streaming download is not the same as a music file supplied for editing. Spotify’s download instructions cover offline playback in Spotify, not exporting songs to CapCut. Apple says protected Music-library files cannot be used in iMovie. Use an accessible, supported file you have permission to publish; do not bypass protection.

For the next editing task, the CapCut tutorials hub links to cutting, overlays and other editing guides.