Premiere Pro how-to
How to add music in Premiere Pro (import, fit, duck under voice)
Short answer
Import the song (File > Import, or drag it from Finder or Explorer into the Project panel), then drag it from the Project panel onto an empty audio track below your video in the Timeline. Trim it like a video clip, set the level in the Audio Track Mixer or with the clip's volume line, and use the Remix tool if the song is longer than your edit: Premiere rebuilds the track to the length you drag it to.
Checked against: Adobe Premiere (formerly Premiere Pro), 2026 releases, Windows and Mac.
Method 1: Add a song to your edit
Import the music file
Choose File > Import, or open the Media Browser (Window > Media Browser), find the file, right-click it and choose Import. Dragging the file from Finder or Explorer straight into the Project panel also works. Turn on Ingest in the Media Browser if you want Premiere to copy the file into the project folder.
FileImport
Put it on an audio track
Drag the song from the Project panel onto any audio track below the video tracks in the Timeline. Double-click it first if you want to hear it in the Source Monitor and set an In point so only the part you need is added.
Trim and place it
Drag the start or end of the music clip to shorten it, exactly as you trim video, and slide the clip so a beat or the chorus lands on the cut you want.
Set the level
Open Window > Audio Track Mixer and pull the music track's fader down while the sequence plays. Adobe suggests keeping overall levels around -6 to -3 dB; under speech, music usually sits well below the voice.
WindowAudio Track Mixer
Method 2: Fit the song to the length of your video
When the track is longer than your edit, Remix shortens it at musically sensible points instead of cutting it off.
Use the Remix tool
Select the Remix tool in the Tools panel and drag the end of the music clip to the length you need. Premiere analyzes the beats, cuts and crossfades the middle of the song, and keeps the start and the ending recognisable; zigzag lines on the clip mark each edit.
Check the joins
Play across each zigzag marker. Remix does not understand lyrics, so on vocal tracks it can join lines from different verses; raise or lower Segments in the Remix settings, or split the song at a moment that must stay put and remix each part separately.
Where music for a Premiere edit can come from
| Source | How it gets in | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Your own files (MP3, WAV, AAC) | File > Import or drag in | You need the rights to use the song where you post |
| Adobe Stock audio | Search inside Premiere, preview, then license | Re-check timing if you remixed the preview version |
| Music licensed for social platforms | Download, then import | Platform libraries such as TikTok's are not available inside Premiere |
If it doesn't work
| What you see | Fix |
|---|---|
| The song doesn't play in the Timeline | Check the track isn't muted (M button) and that the clip sits on an audio track, not a video track. Unsupported or DRM-protected files (for example streaming downloads) won't import. |
| Music drowns out the voice | Lower the music track in the Audio Track Mixer, or tag the clips in the Essential Sound panel (Dialogue and Music) and use the Music ducking option so the music dips whenever someone speaks. |
| The song ends abruptly | Use the Remix tool to fit it, or add an audio fade (Constant Power crossfade) at the end of the clip. |
| The posted video is muted or claimed | Commercial songs are often muted or claimed after upload. Use music you have a licence for, or add the track inside the platform's app instead. |
Questions people ask
How do I add music to only part of my video?
Set In and Out points on the song in the Source Monitor and drag only that part to the Timeline, or trim the clip on the Timeline to the section you want.
How do I make music quieter when people talk?
Assign Dialogue to the voice clips and Music to the song in the Essential Sound panel, then turn on ducking for the music. You can also draw volume keyframes on the music clip.
Can I shorten a song without hearing the cut?
Yes. The Remix tool retimes the song to the length you drag to, adding crossfades at beat-matched points. It usually lands within a second of the target length.
More Premiere Pro guides
Sources and how we checked
- Adobe Help: Add audio and music to a video project (checked 2026-10-05; Adobe blocks automated readers; text read from the Internet Archive copy of 23 Jun 2023)
- Adobe Help: Remix in Premiere (checked 2026-10-05; Adobe blocks automated readers; text read from the Internet Archive copy of 23 Aug 2026)
- Adobe Help: Trim a clip (checked 2026-10-05; Adobe blocks automated readers; text read from the Internet Archive copy of 23 Sep 2026)
- Adobe Help: Use Adobe Stock audio in Premiere (checked 2026-10-05; Adobe blocks automated readers; text read from the Internet Archive copy of 22 Sep 2026)
- Adobe Help: Audio editing with Essential Sound panel (checked 2026-10-05; Adobe blocks automated readers; text read from the Internet Archive copy of 22 Sep 2026)
Adobe's step-by-step article on adding music dates from 2023 and still matches the current import and Timeline steps; the Essential Sound ducking option follows the panel's current labels as described by several current guides.
Reviewed October 5, 2026 by the Koldflux team. Each step is compared with Premiere Pro's own documentation (linked above) and with the top search results for this task; where they disagree, the maker's documentation wins. Steps without a source link follow the menu names that several current guides agree on.