How do I add or upload an audio track in the video editor?

When adding music or an audio track to your video, you can either select a track from the royalty-free stock music library or upload your audio file, such as a voiceover or background music. 

💡Tip: If your uploaded footage contains music or background sounds that you would like to adjust the volume of (or mute), you can do so by using the media inspector toolbar. 

In this article:

• Supported File Types
• Uploading Custom Audio Tracks
• Adding Music from the Stock Library
• Volume Adjustment
• Fade In/Fade Out Effects
• Audio Duration Adjustment

Supported File Types

Supported audio file types include: MP3, M4P, WMA, ADTS, OGG, and WAV. 

When you upload your own music or audio track, you are confirming that you own the music or have obtained the necessary licenses to incorporate it into a video as required by Vimeo's Terms of Service.

Subscription services such as Apple Music, Google Play Music, and Spotify do not allow their music from their platform to be uploaded and or/used in the video editor.

Uploading Custom Audio Tracks

You can also upload an audio track from your local device if you own the music or have obtained all necessary licenses to incorporate it into a video. This is required by Vimeo’s Terms of Service. 

To upload your audio track to your video:

1. Select Audio in the left-side panel of the video editor.
2. Select the plus sign at the top of the expanded menu. 
3. Confirm that you agree to Vimeo's music submission terms, as required by Vimeo's Terms of Service in the popup window.
4. Upload your audio file from your local device to add it to your video. Uploaded audio files will appear in the Uploads section of the audio menu. 

Adding Audio from the Stock Library

The audio library contains royalty-free stock music that can be added to your video.

To add music from the stock library: 

1. Select Audio from the left-side panel.
2. Select the Explore tab. 
3. Browse through the selection of music tracks. 
   • Use filters to search for songs by categories, mood type, genre, or whether it’s an instrumental or vocal track. 
4. Preview tracks by hovering over the thumbnail for that track. 
5. Select the thumbnail for the track to add it to your video. 
6. Replace a previously added track by selecting another or select None if you would like no music.

Audio tracks are added to the Timeline as separate element boxes on their designated layer. 

Volume Adjustment

Balancing audio levels is important when working with multiple tracks, such as voiceovers and background music, or when footage has audio. 

To adjust the volume of your audio track: 

1. Select the audio track that you would like to adjust in the Timeline. 
2. Select the Audio volume button in the inspector toolbar.
3. Use the slider to increase or decrease the volume of the audio track.

💡Tip: To adjust the volume at different points within a single track, use the Split button above the Timeline to divide the track into multiple segments. This is useful for scenarios like lowering music volume during dialogue and raising it during silent sections.

Fade In/Fade Out Effects

You have control over the fade-in and fade-out effects of audio tracks in your video, regardless of whether the track is from the library or uploaded by you. This tool is found in the inspector toolbar when selecting an audio track. 

To adjust the audio fade in/fade out of an audio track

1. Select the audio track's element box in the Timeline.
2. Select the "Audio volume" menu in the media inspector toolbar above the video.
3. Drag the sliders under "Fade In/Fade Out" to set the fade-in and fade-out duration in seconds, or enter the desired duration manually.

Audio Duration Adjustment

The duration of the audio track can be adjusted in the Timeline, similar to other elements in your video.

To trim or extend your audio track: 

1. Select the audio element box in the Timeline. This will highlight the clip and display its adjustment handles. 
2. Drag the adjustment handles based on how you want to adjust the duration of the audio clip. 
   • Shortening the Clip: Select and drag the edge towards the center of the clip to reduce its duration.
   • Lengthening the Clip: Select and drag the edge away from the center of the clip to increase its duration. This will reveal more of the clip's content in the Timeline.

If you've previously shortened a clip, you can always lengthen it again up to its original duration.

💡Tip: If there is an unwanted gap between your audio tracks, you can hover over the gap and select the Delete gap button to join your audio tracks. You may need to trim or extend your tracks to adjust for the gap deletion.