Instagram, the social media platform owned by Meta, is reportedly experimenting with a new feature that allows users to showcase a featured song on their profile pages, reminiscent of the trend that gained popularity during the Myspace era (2005-2008). The song is expected to be displayed beneath the user’s bio on the profile page. Although early screenshots shared by a tipster suggest that visitors cannot currently play the featured song directly on the profile, this aspect may evolve as the feature undergoes further development. An Instagram spokesperson acknowledged that the feature is currently an “internal prototype.”
The prototype feature allowing users to add a featured song to their Instagram profiles was initially discovered by developer and tipster Alessandro Paluzzi, who shared screenshots of the feature in action on Twitter. Despite being in internal testing, the feature is not yet available for external testing, as confirmed by an Instagram spokesperson.
Paluzzi explained that, during internal testing, the feature appears on the Instagram profile, following the link in the bio section. Users can add the featured profile song through the edit profile section on their user profiles.
The concept of featuring songs on user profiles harks back to a similar trend popularized by Myspace in 2006, during its peak years as the largest social networking site globally. Myspace introduced this feature in June 2006 when it surpassed Google and Yahoo! as the most visited website in the United States. While Myspace’s dominance dwindled after 2009, and the platform faced challenges from competitors like Twitter and Facebook, the idea of adding songs to profiles persisted. Dating apps like Hinge continued to offer this feature.
If Instagram eventually releases the prototype feature to the public, it would mark the return of this music-centric trend to mainstream social media after the conclusion of the Myspace era. However, as the feature is currently in internal testing, there is no assurance that Instagram will make it available to all users. Nevertheless, the demonstration by Paluzzi, featuring Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” added to a profile, provides a glimpse of the potential feature’s functionality.
