How to Add Music to Google Slides (An Updated, Practical Guide)

When you hear “music in a presentation,” you might picture a clunky PowerPoint from 2005 with a jarring, low-quality MIDI file playing on a loop. It’s a fair association, but one that overlooks the strategic power of audio in a modern business presentation.

Used correctly, audio isn’t a gimmick. It’s a tool to control the room’s energy, add emotional weight to a story, or create a professional, self-running experience at a trade show. It’s about elevating the message, not just adding noise. This guide moves beyond the basics to show you how to use audio effectively and avoid the common pitfalls we’ve seen over thousands of client projects.

Why Bother With Audio in a Business Deck?

In a world of shrinking attention spans, a purely visual presentation has to work incredibly hard to keep an audience locked in. Audio provides a second sensory channel to engage your viewers, making your message more memorable and your delivery more dynamic. It’s not about blasting background music during your quarterly review; it’s about thoughtful application.

Consider these professional scenarios where audio is a genuine asset:

• Pre-Presentation Ambiance: As attendees file into a conference room or join a webinar, a subtle, on-brand instrumental track creates a polished, professional atmosphere instead of awkward silence.
• Emotional Storytelling: A powerful case study or a brand story can be amplified with a cinematic score, creating a much deeper connection with the audience.
• Trade Show Kiosks: A self-running presentation loop playing on a screen needs a background track to attract attention and engage passersby without requiring a staff member to be present at all times.
• Emphasis and Pacing: A very short, clean sound effect can signal a transition or highlight a critical data point, helping to guide audience focus.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Adding Music in Google Slides

Google Slides makes adding audio straightforward, but a few key steps—especially regarding file permissions—are often missed. Follow this process exactly to ensure smooth playback for your entire audience.

Step 1: Prepare and Source Your Audio File

Before you even open Google Slides, you need an audio file. Google supports .MP3 and .WAV formats. For business use, you absolutely cannot just download a popular song. You must use audio that you have the rights to.

• Royalty-Free Music Libraries: Websites like Artlist, Epidemic Sound, or even YouTube’s Audio Library offer vast collections of music you can license for commercial use.
• Custom Composition: For major brand presentations, commissioning a short piece of music ensures it is perfectly aligned with your brand identity.

Once you have your file, give it a clear, descriptive name (e.g., “Q3-Sales-Kickoff-Intro-Music.mp3”).

Step 2: Upload the File to Google Drive

Google Slides doesn’t store audio files directly. Instead, it streams them from your Google Drive.

1. Go to drive.google.com.
2. Click the + New button and select “File upload.”
3. Locate your MP3 or WAV file and upload it.

Step 3: Adjust Sharing Permissions (The Critical Step)

This is the number one reason audio fails to play. If the file isn’t shared correctly, Google Slides can’t access it, and your audience will hear silence.

1. In Google Drive, find your uploaded audio file.
2. Right-click on the file and select Share.
3. In the “General access” section, change the setting from “Restricted” to “Anyone with the link.”
4. Click Done. This ensures that anyone viewing the presentation has permission to stream the audio file.

Step 4: Insert the Audio into Your Slide

Now, head back to your presentation.

1. Select the slide where you want the music to begin.
2. Go to the main menu and click Insert > Audio.
3. A window will open showing the audio files in your Google Drive. Select the file you just uploaded and click the Select button.
4. A small speaker icon will appear on your slide. You can drag this icon to any position, even off to the side of the slide canvas so it’s not visible during the presentation.

Customizing Your Audio Playback Settings

Once you insert the audio, a “Format options” sidebar appears on the right. If it disappears, just click the speaker icon on your slide to bring it back. These settings give you full control over the playback experience.

• Start playing: You have two choices. “On click” means the audio will only begin when you (or the viewer) click the speaker icon. “Automatically” means the audio will start as soon as the slide loads. For background music, you almost always want “Automatically.”
• Audio volume: A simple slider to control the playback volume within the presentation itself.
• Stop on slide change: This is a crucial setting. If you want the music to play across multiple slides, you must uncheck this box. If the audio is specific to one slide (like a sound effect), leave it checked.
• Loop audio: Ideal for a short background track that you want to play continuously while you speak or while the presentation is in a self-running loop.
• Hide icon when presenting: Checking this makes the speaker icon invisible during the presentation, which is essential for a clean, professional look when audio is set to play automatically.

From Our Experience: Tips for Using Audio Effectively

Getting the tech right is only half the battle. After designing over 150,000 slides, we’ve learned that *how* you use audio matters more than *that* you use it.

• Prioritize Subtlety: Background audio should be just that—in the background. It should complement your message, not compete with it. Keep volumes low and choose instrumental tracks without distracting vocals.
• Test in the Real Environment: The audio that sounds perfect on your laptop speakers might be inaudible or overpowering when played through a large conference room sound system. Always test your levels in the actual presentation space if possible.
• Match the Tone to the Goal: A high-energy, upbeat track might be perfect for a sales kickoff, but it will feel completely out of place in a presentation about sobering market trends. The music must align with the emotional core of your content.
• Never Forget the Off Switch: Always be prepared to present without the audio. Technical glitches happen. Ensure your presentation is just as strong without the music, and know how to quickly mute the volume if something goes wrong.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I add music from Spotify or Apple Music to Google Slides?

No, you cannot directly link to streaming services. These platforms use protected files that you don’t own. You must use an actual .MP3 or .WAV file that you have uploaded to your own Google Drive and for which you have the appropriate usage rights.

2. What is the best audio format for Google Slides?

For most use cases, MP3 is the ideal format. It provides a great balance of solid audio quality and relatively small file size, which ensures quicker loading and smoother streaming during your presentation.

3. How do I make one song play across my entire presentation?

Insert the audio file on the very first slide where you want the music to begin. In the “Format options,” set it to “Start playing: Automatically” and, most importantly, uncheck the box for “Stop on slide change.” The music will then continue to play as you advance through your slides.

4. My audio isn’t playing for other people. What did I do wrong?

This is almost always a Google Drive permissions issue. Go back to your audio file in Google Drive, right-click, select “Share,” and make sure “General access” is set to “Anyone with the link.” If it’s set to “Restricted,” only you will be able to hear it.

5. Is there a way to use audio from a YouTube video?

Yes, this is a common workaround. You can insert a YouTube video onto your slide via Insert > Video. In the “Format options” for the video, set it to “Autoplay when presenting.” You can then resize the video to be extremely small (e.g., 1×1 pixel) and hide it behind another object or move it off the slide canvas. The audio will play automatically when the slide loads, but the video won’t be visible.