How to Add Music to PowerPoint

Music sets the mood for your presentation

What to Know

  • Go to a slide and select Insert Audio Audio on My PC.
  • Start music automatically under Audio Tools Playback.
  • Play a song across all slides by inserting the audio file on the first slide, then Playback > Play in Background > Loop Until Stopped.

This article explains how to play music automatically at a certain point in the slideshow, play after a delay, or play the music throughout multiple slides on both Windows and Mac. Instructions in this article apply to PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010; and PowerPoint for Mac.

How to Insert a Music File on A Slide

It's easy to insert a music file on a slide. Go to a slide and select Insert > Audio > Audio on My PC. In the dialog box, choose the file and select Insert. An icon for the music file appears in the center of the slide.

How to Play Music When a Slide Appears

You can start music automatically when a specific slide appears or after a delay.

To start playing music automatically:

  1. Insert the music file on the PowerPoint slide where you want the music to play.

  2. Select the music icon on the PowerPoint slide.

  3. Go to Audio Tools Playback.

    Start music automatically
  4. Select the Start down arrow and choose either In Click Sequence or Automatically.

    In PowerPoint 2010, PowerPoint 2013, and PowerPoint for Mac 2011, In Click Sequence is not available.

  5. Go to Slideshow and select From Beginning to test the music.

How to Play Music After a Delay

Set music to play after the amount of time you choose.

  1. Insert the music file on the PowerPoint slide where you want the music to play.

  2. Go to View and select Normal view.

  3. Select the audio icon on the slide.

  4. Go to Animations, select Add Animation, and choose Play.

    Screenshot showing how to add a Play animation to music in PowerPoint
  5. Select Animation Pane and make sure the audio clip is the first item listed. If you have no other animations in place, it will be the only item.

  6. Select the arrow next to the sound clip and select Effect Options.

    Screenshot showing how to add an effect to a PowerPoint music animation
  7. Go to the Effect tab.

  8. Select From Beginning under Start Playing.

    Screenshot showing how to set options to play music on a single slide in PowerPoint
  9. Select After Current Slide under Stop Playing.

  10. Go to the Timing tab.

    Play music after delay
  11. Select the Start down arrow and choose With Previous.

  12. Press the Up Arrow in the Delay box to choose how many seconds you want to wait before the music begins.

  13. Select OK when you're finished.

How to Play a Song Across All Slides

You can play a single song or a collection of music throughout an entire presentation, as well.

To play music during the entire presentation in PowerPoint 2019, PowerPoint 2016, PowerPoint 2013, and PowerPoint 2010:

  1. Insert the music file on the first slide of your PowerPoint presentation.

  2. Select the audio icon on the slide, go to Playback, and select Play in Background. In PowerPoint 2010, choose Play Across Slides.

  3. Place a check next to Loop Until Stopped.

Play Music in PowerPoint for Mac

Play music during an entire presentation in PowerPoint for Mac.

  1. Open the PowerPoint presentation in which you want to play music throughout the slideshow and display the first slide.

  2. Go to Home, select Media, and choose Audio Browser.

  3. Locate the audio file you wish to add to the PowerPoint presentation and drag it to the slide.

  4. Go to Format Audio.

  5. Select the arrow next to Start in the Audio Options group and choose Play Across Slides.

    Play music across title
  6. Go to Playback Options and select Loop Until Stopped.

Hide the Audio Icon

You may not want the audio icon to be visible on the slide where you inserted music. Fortunately, hiding it is a simple task.

  1. Select the audio clip icon.

  2. Go to Playback and select the Hide During Show checkbox.

    In PowerPoint for Mac, select the Playback Options down arrow and choose Hide Icon During Show

    Hide audio icon

Audio File Formats Supported by PowerPoint

Before you add music to your PowerPoint presentations, understand which audio file formats are supported. If it's not listed below, you can't use it.

Windows

  • AIFF Audio file (.aiff)
  • AU Audio file (.au)
  • MIDI file (.mid or .midi)
  • MP3 Audio file (.mp3)
  • Advanced Audio Coding - MPEG-4 Audio file (.m4a, .mp4)
  • Windows Audio file (.wav)
  • Windows Media Audio file (.wma) 

Mac

  • AIFF Audio file (.aiff or .aif) 
  • AU Audio file (.au or .snd)
  • MP3 Audio file (.mp3 or .mpga)
  • MP2 audio (.mp2)
  • MPEG-4 Audio file (mp4 or .mpg4)
  • Waveform Audio file (.wav, .wave, .bwf)
  • Audible.com audio (.aa or .aax)
  • Apple MPEG-4 audio (.m4a)
  • Advanced Audio Coding - MPEG-2 Audio file (.aac or .adts)
  • Apple CoreAudio format (.caf)
  • Adaptive Multi-rate Audio (.amr)
  • Ringtone (.m4r) 
  • AC-3 audio (.ac3) 
  • Enhanced AC-3 audio (.eac3, .ec3)
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