To add background music to a screen recording on a Mac, open the recording in an editor, put a song under it, and turn the music down so it sits well below your voice. iMovie is free and does this, including lowering the music while you talk. QuickTime Player can't mix music into a recording. Smooth Recorder's Studio adds a song that dips under your voice and fades in and out, plus click and typing sounds, and exports the mix in one file.
When background music helps, and when it doesn't
Music makes a short video feel finished. It also fills silence, which matters when a recording has no narration at all.
Good fits:
- Product demos, launch clips and feature announcements.
- Silent walkthroughs, where the picture and captions carry the message.
- Social posts, where music sets the pace.
Usually better without:
- Detailed tutorials, where every word matters.
- Bug reports and support videos, where the viewer is trying to follow steps.
- Long recordings, where the same loop starts to grate.
Your options at a glance
| Tool | Adds music | Lowers music while you talk | Fades | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QuickTime Player | No | No | No | Free |
| iMovie | Yes | Yes, Lower volume of other clips | Yes | Free |
| Smooth Recorder | Yes, in Studio | Yes, Quieter while you talk | Yes | $19 once in early access |
Why QuickTime Player can't do it
QuickTime Player records your screen, trims and joins clips, and exports them. It has no way to place a song under a video or mix two sound tracks. If you record with ⇧⌘5 or QuickTime, you'll need to move the file into an editor to add music. Our guide to screen recording on Mac with audio covers getting clean sound in the first place.
How to add background music in iMovie (free)
iMovie is free from Apple and handles music, fades and volume well. Apple covers the details in its iMovie guide.
Add the song
- Open iMovie, click Create New and choose Movie.
- Drag your screen recording into the timeline.
- Drag your song into the timeline below the video. Drop it in the background music well, the area marked with a music note at the bottom of the timeline, to have it play under the whole movie, or attach it below a clip so it moves with that clip.
- No song of your own? Click Audio & Video above the browser and look under Soundtracks, which are made for iMovie projects.
Set the volume and fades
- Find the horizontal line across the song's waveform in the timeline. Drag it down to lower the music.
- Drag the small fade handle at the start of the song to the right for a fade-in, and the one at the end to the left for a fade-out.
Lower the music while you talk
- Select your screen recording in the timeline, the clip with your voice.
- Click the Volume button above the viewer.
- Turn on Lower volume of other clips, and drag its slider to set how far the music drops.
iMovie now lowers the music under that clip. Play it through with headphones and adjust. When it sounds right, choose File > Share > File to export.
How to add background music in Smooth Recorder
Smooth Recorder's Studio has music and sound effects in its Sound section, so you can add them in the same place you edit zooms, captions and the cursor.
- Press ⌥1, pick an area, a window or the screen, and press R to record. Pick your mic on the Microphone chip first if you're narrating.
- Stop from the pill in the notch, then open the recording in Studio.
- Open Sound and, under Music, click Add Music. Choose a song: MP3, WAV, M4A and AIFF files work.
- Set the Music volume. If the song has a quiet intro, use Starts at to pick which part plays.
- Turn on Quieter while you talk. The music dips whenever you speak and comes back up in the pauses, so you don't draw volume curves by hand.
- Turn on Fade in and out, so the music fades in at the start and out at the end.
- Export an MP4 or MOV. The music is mixed in with your voice and your Mac's sound.
Add sound effects
Under Sound Effects, Studio can add small sounds that follow what you did on screen:
- Clicks: a click sound wherever you clicked, soft, crisp or mechanical.
- Typing: a key sound for each key you pressed.
- Zooms: a soft whoosh as the view zooms in and out.
Effects volume sets how loud they play. Effects work best in silent demos, where they give the viewer something to hear. Under narration, keep them low or leave them off.
The same Studio turns your clicks into automatic zooms, smooths the cursor, makes captions on your Mac, and adds a background. It's a native app for macOS 15 Sequoia and later, $19 once during early access ($49 regular), with no subscription (pricing).
How loud should background music be?
Quiet. Background music should sit under your voice, never next to it. A few rules of thumb:
- Set the voice first. Get your narration to a comfortable level, then bring the music up until you can just hear it, and stop there.
- Aim well below the voice. The music should feel like a backdrop. If you catch yourself listening to the song instead of the words, turn it down.
- Let it dip under speech. Ducking keeps the words clear and lets the music fill the pauses.
- Check on small speakers. Play it on your laptop speakers and on headphones. Music that sounds fine on headphones can drown out a voice on a laptop.
- Fade in and out. A two-second fade at each end beats a song that starts or stops mid-bar.
- Pick calm music for talking. Songs with vocals or busy melodies fight with your words. Instrumental tracks with a steady, simple beat work best under narration.
Where to find music you're allowed to use
Music in a video needs a license, even on a free, unlisted video. Songs you stream or bought on iTunes are licensed for listening, not for videos, and YouTube and social sites can mute your audio or block the video when they detect one.
Safer sources:
- YouTube Audio Library. Free music and sound effects in YouTube Studio. Each track says whether you need to credit the artist.
- iMovie's soundtracks. Apple's built-in music for iMovie projects.
- Royalty-free libraries. Paid music libraries and subscription services license tracks for videos, often for commercial use too.
- Music you made. GarageBand is free on the Mac and can export a song as an audio file.
Troubleshooting
I can't hear my voice over the music. Lower the music volume, and turn on ducking: Lower volume of other clips in iMovie, or Quieter while you talk in Smooth Recorder.
The music cuts off at the end. Add a fade-out, or trim the song so it ends on a natural break. In Smooth Recorder, Fade in and out handles the ending for you.
The music doesn't dip in Smooth Recorder. Quieter while you talk only appears when the recording has your voice on it. Record with your microphone on, and check its level meter moves before you start.
YouTube muted my video's sound. The song was likely detected by Content ID as copyrighted. Swap it for a track from the YouTube Audio Library or another licensed source and upload again.
The exported file has no music. Check the music volume isn't at zero, and that you exported a video format with sound, such as MP4 or MOV, rather than a GIF, which has no sound.
For the rest of a polished video, see how to make a product demo video. No recording yet? You can also turn a screenshot into a video with music under it.