6 min read · Updated June 22, 2026
How to Find Trending Audio Before It Peaks
The signal that a sound is going to blow up — and how to spot it 3–5 days before everyone else.
The 'rising arrow' on the Reels audio page
When you tap into any audio on Reels, Instagram now shows a tiny up-arrow if the sound has crossed a usage-velocity threshold in the last 48 hours. This is the single highest-signal indicator you can get inside the app.
Sounds with the rising arrow but fewer than 5,000 uses are the sweet spot — they're confirmed trending but not saturated.
Cross-reference with TikTok
Trends migrate from TikTok to Reels with a ~5–10 day lag. If a sound is at 100k+ uses on TikTok but under 5k on Reels, you're looking at the next two weeks of Reels trends.
We curate this list every Monday on our Trending Audio page so you don't have to do it manually.
What to do once you find one
Use our Reels to MP3 tool to pull the sound at clean quality, drop it into your editor, and post within 48 hours. Speed matters more than polish on trending sounds.
FAQ
Should I always use trending audio?
No. Trending audio helps brand-new accounts get reach, but established creators often do better with their own original audio because it builds a recognizable sonic identity. Mix both.