WhatsApp Adds Music for Status Updates

WhatsApp has officially launched its new music option for Status updates, which will enable users to share popular music clips to accompany their Stories-like updates.

As you can see in this example, now, you’ll be able to add a soundtrack to your personal updates via Status posts.

As explained by WhatsApp:

“When creating a Status, you’ll now see a music note icon at the top of your screen. Tap it, and you’ll unlock a library of songs to pick from - whether it’s today’s top hits, something new, or the earworm that’s stuck in your head. Choose the exact part of the song that fits your moment - up to 15 seconds for a photo and up to 60 seconds for a video.”

So it’s basically the same as the music sharing capacity within Instagram or Facebook Stories, providing another way to engage with music in the app.

WhatsApp’s been developing its own music sharing options for the past few months, with some reverse engineering folk extracting the code for this functionality a few weeks back.

So it’s not a big surprise that it’s now advancing to an official launch, though the incorporation of Meta’s full music library will give you a lot more sound options to choose from for your updates.

Meta’s been looking to add more music elements overall, and on Instagram in particular, in order to tap into the engagement that music drives on TikTok, which remains under threat in the U.S.

With TikTok’s future still up in the air, Meta’s been looking to build more music-related tools, like songs on IG profiles, “Add Yours” music stickers, music in Notes, song lyric displays in Reels, a music sharing sticker for DMs, and more. That could make IG a more viable replacement for music engagement if TikTok does go away, and building similar on WhatsApp could also have similar value, in many more regions.

WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the world, and has been gaining momentum in the U.S. With that in mind, this is another way for Meta to tap into the engagement and interaction around music in its apps, which could help it fend off competition from TikTok, and/or act as a replacement, in case TikTok does disappear.

Either way, another consideration for your WhatsApp Stories… I mean, Status updates.

WhatsApp says that it's rolling out its new music options over the next few weeks.