How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?

Marion Dubois

Nov 07, 2023• Proven solutions

Adding background music to videos makes the video more unique and interesting to see. iMovie is a professional video editing tool that lets you pimp your videos the way you want it with your desired music and other sound effects. With the introduction of background music, your video would become unique and stand out.

Though it is not easy to find the right music for your background music, YouTube is a good place to search for good sounds. That's why in this article, we'll see how to add music to iMovie from YouTube.

Part 1. Is It Possible to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?

iMovie is a tool developed by Apple for video editing designed to help users create unique, fun videos quickly. This outstanding video editor works only on Apple devices which includes macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. It embodies excellent tools for a media organization, color grading, soundtracks, and green-screen effects for your videos. To crown it all, it supports a few media formats.

If your media source is unavailable on your device, it could be since iMovie doesn't support the format, or it may be under the protection of Digital Rights Management.

Now, even though you've downloaded the songs from YouTube to listen to them offline, you are allowed to stream them within the music player only and not apply them to other media forms.

So, if you want to add YouTube music to iMovie, you must remove the DRM restrictions first before converting the YouTube song to a format supported by iMovie. A professional YouTube music downloader can help you with all of this.

Part 2. Add YouTube Music to iMovie from iPhone & Mac

Here is an all-in-one method that to add a YouTube song to iMovie whether through iPhone or Mac. First, record the YouTube music, then add extracted audio files to iMovie.

Step 1: First download and install Filmora Video Editor from the button below and use the built-in 'Screen Recorder' tool to record the YouTube video/music that you want to rip the audio from.

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Step 2: Import the recorded video to Filmora, right click on the video track and select 'Detach Audio' to seperate the audio track and the video track. Select the audio track and click the 'Export' button to save ripped audio files.

Step 3: And now, you can use the extracted YouTube audio files to iMovie for forther editing. Plus, Filmora Video Editor provides with a music library, where you can choose background music or sound effect for your project according to your needs. It is also an expert in creating videos, worth to have a try!

Tips You May Not Want to Miss

Filmora is the best iMovie alternative on the market, which provides the best methods, tools, and techniques to add music to videos, video cutting easily, joining, inversion, and editing. It allows you to easily make movies, edit audio, apply effects and share your new movies on YouTube, Vimeo, DVD, TV, iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.

Therefore, if you are using Filmora, adding music to videos is just a piece of cake. Just select the audio clip in the timeline, click the "Video and Audio Effects" button, and go to the "Audio Effects" option. Now you can freely choose any audio effect.

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Part 3. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on iPhone?

In this part, let us read the most straightforward tutorial on how to add music from YouTube to iMovie on iPhone.

First Download Music from YouTube on iPhone

Downloading YouTube videos on your iPhone is confusing since Apple provides the apps available in the App store. If you jailbreak your phone, there are various other options, but here's the simplest way if you don't want to go that route.

Step 1: Download the app Documents by Readdle.

Step 2: Select the compass icon and go to https://www.videosolo.com/online-video-downloader/

Step 3: Paste a YouTube video link in the text box and select "Download". After some seconds, the video will decode and produce a list of different output quality and format options.

Step 4: Hit the "Download" on the preferred output option.

Step 5: Enter a name and download location for the video.

Step 6: Hit the Downloads tab in the bottom navigation bar to view your downloaded videos within the Documents app.

Step 7: Go back to the Documents app home screen to save your downloaded video and open your Downloads folder.

Step 8: Look for the video you wish to edit and tap the three dots icon on it.

Step 9: Hit the Share button and then Save Video.

Step 10: You can search the downloaded YouTube videos in the Photos app.

Add Downloaded Music to iMovie

Step 1: Launch iMovie and Create a Project

Open the iMovie app and pick the "+" icon to create a project. Then, select a movie file from the media to which you want to add the music and add it to the created project.

Step2: Create Movie

Immediately the movie is added to the project, click on the "Create Movie", enhance the quality of your video using any of iMovie's many themes, and add the correct ambiance. Click on the icon like a gear and toggle "Theme Music". Now you have to choose the theme you desire for your video.

Step 3: Select My Music

Now, it's time to add audio of your choice, and if you don't want to select from your existing collection, tap on the "+" icon below on the left side of your screen. Next, choose "Audio" and then select "My Music".

Step 4: Select Audio from Playlist

Select from the playlist, artist, individual songs, or select from the albums you already have on your device and click on the "+" icon to add to your video. It is important to note that you cannot add multiple songs at once. Just add and adjust the sound as desired.

Finally, after the song has been added to the video successfully, export it to your gallery using the "Export" button and save it on your phone.

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Part 4. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on Mac?

It is elementary to use YouTube songs in iMovie on Mac. You can easily drag the YouTube music file into your project from the Finder and the desktop. The YouTube music added into the project timeline behaves differently depending on the place you added them.

Download Music from YouTube on Mac

Various programs and tools can assist you in downloading YouTube videos on a Mac.

A straightforward way is to use the inbuilt screen capture tool of macOS. Hit the Command + Shift + 5 tabs to bring up the screen recording options.

You can either record an entire screen or choose a window and alter the options to add audio from your Mac's internal microphone.

The ideal tool or app for downloading YouTube videos on Mac in high-tech quality is a 4K Video Downloader.

It's free for a max of 30 downloads per day, or you can upgrade to one of its premium plans. The software can also download videos in around 8K quality and various other high-tech formats. And 4K Video Downloader can also grab whole playlists of YouTube.

Here's how to use it:

Step 1: Launch the 4K Video Downloader and open the program.

Step 2: Find a YouTube video and copy the link.

Step 3: Hit the Paste Link button in the menu.

Step 4: Select the Download button after choosing from the list of quality and format options.

Step 5: Download the video and then click the three-dot icon, so you can play.

How to Add Music to iMovie

Step 1: Add YouTube Music to the Clip

To add a YouTube music file to a particular video clip, drag the YouTube music file under the video clip so that a bar appears. Next, release the button when you see the green "Add" symbol to set the music as a background song in your iMovie project.

To add a YouTube music file to the iMovie project: drag and drop the YouTube music file to your project, release the mouse button once you see the green color. Add a symbol to add a YouTube song to the iMovie project as background music.

Step 2: Add YouTube Music File to the iMovie Project

Just drag and drop the YouTube video file to your project. Then, release the button once you see the green "Add" sign to add background music from the YouTube file to your project.

Conclusion

So, guys, now, can you add music from YouTube to iMovie? I'm pretty sure you have a positive answer as you saw how to add music to iMovie from YouTube using a simple step method. Moreover, have fun and create magic with your discovery of Filmora Video Editor, as it allows you to explore its numerous features to make a movie.

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Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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