Sonilo publishes this guide and appears as an option for generating original music for an edit. No third party sponsored or reviewed the instructions, and the page contains no affiliate links. Apple owns iMovie and can change its interface. Rights information is general production guidance, not legal advice.
Last verified: August 21, 2026. Apple currently documents separate Mac and iPhone/iPad workflows, Finder import for M4A, MP4, MP3, WAV, and AIFF audio, background music placement, ducking, fades, and protected-file limitations.
The controls differ, but the editorial decision is the same
Browse, drag, and place
Choose Audio & Video, browse Music or Sound Effects, then drag audio into the background music well or beneath a specific clip.
Tap Add Media, then Audio
Choose Soundtracks, My Music, or iCloud Drive. Add the item, then position and adjust it in the timeline.
Do not start by asking only, “Where is the music button?” First decide whether the track is continuous background score, a cue tied to one scene, a sound effect, or audio extracted from a video clip. Placement determines what moves when you rearrange the edit.
01
How to add music to iMovie on Mac
Open the movie in the timeline
Arrange the main video structure first. Music can guide pacing, but a soundtrack added to an unstable cut creates extra trimming and misplaced musical changes.
Open Audio & Video
Select Audio & Video above the browser. In the sidebar, choose Music, Apple TV, or Sound Effects. The labels visible to you may depend on the available libraries and current app version.
Preview the useful range
Preview the whole item or select a range in the waveform. A short selected range is useful when only one phrase fits the scene.
Drag to the correct area
For independent background score, drag the audio to the music well below the timeline. To attach it to a particular video clip, drag it beneath that clip until the connection appears.
Position and trim
Move the start to a motivated picture event, then trim on phrase boundaries. If Trim background music is enabled in project settings, iMovie can match background audio to the movie duration, but you still need to hear the result.
Set volume and fades
Select the audio, adjust its level, and drag the fade handles at the beginning or end. Listen through speech, transitions, and the final frame rather than checking only the loudest section.
Apple describes audio in that area as independent from edits to individual video clips. That makes it suitable for continuous score. Audio attached beneath a clip follows that clip when it moves, which is better for localized cues and effects.
02
How to add music in iMovie on iPhone or iPad
On a Movie project, tap Add Media, then Audio. Choose Soundtracks for Apple's included options, My Music for available synced songs, or iCloud Drive for an imported original or licensed track. Tap an item to preview it, then tap Add Audio. Apple's current mobile guide states that background music normally appears green, while an imported item shorter than one minute behaves like a sound effect and appears blue.
- Open or create a Movie project and add the video clips.
- Move the playhead near the intended music start.
- Tap Add Media, then Audio.
- Choose Soundtracks, My Music, or iCloud Drive.
- Preview and add the selected item.
- Move, trim, set volume, and add fades where needed.
iMovie can loop background music to fit the movie and applies ducking so audible video-clip sound can be heard over the bed. Both behaviors are convenient, not final editorial decisions. Check every loop point and every dialogue entrance. For a phone-only walkthrough with screenshots and export checks, use the related iPhone music guide.
03
How to add an MP3, WAV, M4A, AIFF, or your own music
On Mac: drag from Finder
Apple's current support page names M4A, MP4, MP3, WAV, and AIFF as examples that can be dragged directly from Finder into an iMovie timeline. Drag a file to the music well for background music or place it under a particular video clip to attach it. You can also import media into an event by dragging it from Finder to the Libraries list, then use it from the browser.
On iPhone or iPad: use Files or iCloud Drive
Save the audio in Files or iCloud Drive. In the project, use Add Media and choose Files or the Audio route documented for iCloud Drive. Place the playhead first when importing a short item whose start position matters. If the item is dimmed, download it; if it remains unavailable, it may be protected or unsupported.
04
Choose the right relationship between sound and picture
Background score
Put continuous music in the Mac music well or use a mobile background track. It can span cuts without following one clip.
Scene-specific cue
Attach audio beneath a clip when it should move with that visual, such as a reveal sting or location-specific effect.
Dialogue or voiceover
Treat speech as the intelligibility anchor. Lower competing music rather than trying to make every element equally loud.
Music often works best when it enters for a reason: after a cold open, on a change of location, under a montage, or at a closing message. A track does not need to fill every second. Leaving the first or last moment unscored can give dialogue, natural sound, or the final image more weight.
05
Generate music for the edit, then import it into iMovie
When the cut has a specific duration or several visual turns, searching a library can become a compromise. Sonilo's Video-to-Music workflow starts from the video so the musical direction can be judged against picture. Use Text-to-Music when you have a brief but the edit is not locked. Sonilo is not presented as an iMovie plug-in: download the selected track, then use Finder on Mac or Files/iCloud Drive on mobile.
Stabilize duration and key moments
Note where speech begins, the main reveal occurs, energy must change, and the video ends.
Write a functional music brief
Include duration, mood, instrumentation, energy curve, dialogue space, exact cue points, and exclusions.
Compare against picture
A track that sounds impressive alone may be wrong under the scene. Check timing, tone, repetition, and dialogue competition.
Export and name the file
Save project, version, duration, and date in the filename so the correct track reaches iMovie and the final rights record.
Understated warm documentary underscore for a 42-second interview opener; felt piano, soft texture, minimal pulse; nearly empty under the first line, small lift at 14 seconds, warmer development at 28 seconds, resolved ending at 41.5 seconds; no vocals, no dramatic hits, no dense midrange.
Clean modern electronic instrumental for an 18-second product montage; restrained percussive pulse, tactile clicks, light bass; precise accent at 4.2 seconds, energy step at 9 seconds, clear closing hit at 17.6 seconds; no voice, no riser, no heavy sub.
06
Mix music around dialogue, effects, and useful production sound
Set the foreground first
Make dialogue or the key natural sound intelligible before raising music. If words are hard to follow, a denser track is rarely fixed by only turning everything up.
Use ducking deliberately
On Mac, select the clip that should remain foreground, open Volume, enable Lower volume of other clips, and set the reduction. Mobile iMovie applies ducking around active video-clip audio.
Shape entrances and exits
Mac fade handles and mobile audio fades prevent arbitrary starts and endings. A short fade can remove a click; a longer fade changes the scene's emotional handoff.
Check more than one speaker
Headphones reveal edits; laptop and phone speakers reveal translation. Test quietly as well as at a normal comfortable level.
On Mac, iMovie also exposes automatic enhancement, background-noise reduction, and equalizer presets. Use them as reversible starting points and play the result after every change. Excessive noise reduction can make production sound unnatural; an EQ preset cannot rescue a soundtrack that occupies the same space as the speaker.
07
Export and delivery checks
Timeline
- Music begins for a visual reason
- No exposed or accidental loop boundary
- Dialogue remains clear
- Ending lands on a phrase
Playback
- Headphones and built-in speakers checked
- No mute state or unexpected reset
- Fades survive export
- Saved file watched end to end
Rights
- Source and license retained
- Plan or purchase status recorded
- Client, channel, and territory named
- Final version archived
Platform
- Upload preview reviewed
- Speech remains clear after encoding
- Captions and titles still readable
- Editable project kept through approval
08
Troubleshooting, music rights, and verified sources
| Problem | Check first | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Song is missing | Download state and DRM | Use a downloaded, supported, unprotected file you are authorized to use |
| No sound on Mac | Output, mute, and clip volume | Reset the selected clip volume, reopen iMovie, and reimport if needed |
| Audio moves unexpectedly | Attached clip versus music well | Place it according to whether it should follow one clip |
| Music overwhelms speech | Foreground selection and arrangement density | Lower competing clips or choose a sparser cue |
| Export ends abruptly | Trim and fade point | Move the end to a phrase boundary and re-export |
| Public use is uncertain | Actual license and release channel | Pause publication and obtain a qualified rights review |
Apple states that an iTunes Store purchase requires the user to be the copyright holder or have express permission for use in a project, and protected Music-library files are unavailable. Technical access is not synchronization permission. For Sonilo output, the current Commercial Use page describes commercial-use rights for output covered by an eligible plan or written API agreement under current terms, while Do not infer commercial permission from a plan name alone; verify the current Terms and the plan-specific or written agreement that applied when the output was generated. Recheck the live terms for the exact project.
Sources
Sources
- Apple: Add music and sound clips in iMovie on Mac
- Apple: Add songs and other audio files to an iMovie project
- Apple: Fade audio in iMovie on Mac
- Apple: Lower the volume of other clips on Mac
- Apple: Add music and soundtracks in iMovie on iPhone
- Sonilo: Video-to-Music, Text-to-Music, Audio Ducking, and Commercial Use
Human review needed for publication: a named editor with current iMovie experience on Mac and iPhone/iPad should re-run the procedures, while a qualified music-rights reviewer verifies synchronization and commercial-use language for the target markets and channels.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Music shaped around the cut
Create a soundtrack, then place it precisely in iMovie.
Start from the finished video or a detailed brief, compare original directions, and import the selected file on Mac, iPhone, or iPad.