YouTube Testing Photo Posts With Music in YouTube Shorts
- Michele
- 06 July 2026, Monday
YouTube is testing a new feature in YouTube Shorts that allows users to share photos instead of videos. The feature gives creators another format to reach audiences and could offer artists a simple way to promote new music without having to rely on videos
YouTube Brings Photo Posts to Shorts
YouTube is testing a new photo feature in YouTube Shorts. As part of the test, users can share one or multiple images that appear directly in the Shorts feed. They can also add up to 15 seconds of audio from YouTube’s licensed music catalogue, royalty-free tracks, or AI-generated Dream Track soundtracks.
As Music Ally reports, YouTube announced the feature in a help forum post, explaining that it is "experimenting with showing image posts in the Shorts feed to help creators reach their audience with posts in a new place." Users can include up to 10 images in their posts, which they can set up through the “Create” button.
Music Ally explains that music can be added from multiple sources: YouTube’s library of licensed tracks and popular music, its royalty-free tracks in its Audio Library, and in some markets through its AI-powered tool Dream Track that allows people to generate custom soundtracks. Creators cannot upload custom audio files. However, artists may be able to use their own music if it is already available in YouTube's licensed music catalogue.
“We know audio is an important tool to help you express yourself and tell your story, so we’ll keep everyone updated as we explore testing music with this experience,” YouTube explains in the help forum post.
The feature can be useful for creators who want to share content without producing a full video every time. Photo posts can be used for various purposes, such as quick updates, behind-the-scenes moments, announcements, or visual storytelling. Since they appear in the Shorts feed, they reach viewers in the same place where they already discover new content.
How Artists Can Use YouTube Short's Photo Feature
For independent artists, the new feature offers another way to stay active on YouTube without constantly feeling pressured to produce new videos. Album artwork, studio sessions, tour photos, lyric graphics, vinyl releases, or merchandise announcements can now be turned into Shorts-style posts with music attached.
It also gives artists a way to reuse existing promotional assets instead of creating entirely new video content for every release, while giving them another platform to help grow their audience. A series of images paired with a new single, for example, could help keep a release visible in the Shorts feed while directing listeners to the full track.
Although video is still likely to drive the strongest engagement on Shorts, photo posts make it easier for creators who are new to video or simply don't want to prioritize it. For artists with limited time or production resources, this could make YouTube Shorts a more practical marketing channel while expanding the ways fans discover new music.
That said, the feature is currently being tested, and YouTube has not yet announced whether it will become a permanent part of Shorts.
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Michele is a Berlin-based writer passionate about music in its many forms, from soulful house, groovy techno, and breaky jungle/drum & bass to alternative rock, dark wave, and beyond. With experience in production, journalism, and DJing, they engage with the culture of sound from multiple perspectives. Their current topics of interest include club culture, music discovery & curation, dance, and the ways music affects perception & feeling. Michele writes in English.
