How to Edit Premiere Pro Videos to Instagram Reel Music

Premiere Pro can't pull a track straight from Instagram, so you need a local file to use as a timing guide. The fastest way is to save a Reel with the song, import it, and keep only the audio.

Import Instagram Reel Music Into Premiere Pro

1. In Instagram, make a new Reel, add the song from the music library, and post it. You only need the file, so you can delete the Reel later.
2. Save the Reel video to your computer.
3. In Premiere Pro, choose File > Import, select the Reel file, and click Open.
4. Drag the clip from the Project panel onto your timeline.
5. Right-click the clip on the timeline and choose Unlink. Click the video part of the clip and press Delete. The audio stays on the timeline.

Now add markers on the beats in the Timeline panel and cut your footage to them.

If you want a standalone audio file instead, choose File > Export > Media. Set the format to Waveform Audio and turn off video export. Then import the WAV file the same way.

This method probably breaks Instagram's terms of use. Use the file only as a timing guide inside your project, and don't publish it.

If the Reel Method Doesn't Work: Pull the Audio With yt-dlp

If the track is on YouTube, you can use yt-dlp, a free command line tool, to download just the audio. It works on the track's YouTube page, so you can skip the Instagram step.

1. Install yt-dlp from its official website, or install it with Python's pip tool.
2. Open a terminal and run yt-dlp -x --audio-format wav followed by the YouTube link. Put the link in quotes.
3. Wait for the download to finish. yt-dlp saves the WAV file in the folder you ran the command from.
4. In Premiere Pro, choose File > Import, select the WAV file, and drag it onto a new audio track in your timeline.

Downloading from YouTube also goes against YouTube's terms. Treat the file as a reference track for your cuts only.

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