diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 02f2cfaf8..55d383c8a 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -8,20 +8,6 @@
 /.vs/
 yarn-error.log*
 
-/static/packs
-/static/packs-test
-/static/emoji
-/static/index.html
-/static/index.html.gz
-/static/404.html
-/static/404.html.gz
-/static/manifest.json
-/static/manifest.json.gz
-/static/report.html
-/static/sw.js
-/static/instance/**
-!/static/instance/**.example
-!/static/instance/**.example.*
-!/static/instance/**.example/**
-/static-test
-/public
+/static/
+/static-test/
+/public/
diff --git a/static/instance/about.example/dmca.html b/app/instance/about.example/dmca.html
similarity index 100%
rename from static/instance/about.example/dmca.html
rename to app/instance/about.example/dmca.html
diff --git a/static/instance/about.example/index.html b/app/instance/about.example/index.html
similarity index 100%
rename from static/instance/about.example/index.html
rename to app/instance/about.example/index.html
diff --git a/static/instance/about.example/privacy.html b/app/instance/about.example/privacy.html
similarity index 100%
rename from static/instance/about.example/privacy.html
rename to app/instance/about.example/privacy.html
diff --git a/static/instance/about.example/tos.html b/app/instance/about.example/tos.html
similarity index 100%
rename from static/instance/about.example/tos.html
rename to app/instance/about.example/tos.html
diff --git a/static/instance/soapbox.example.json b/app/instance/soapbox.example.json
similarity index 100%
rename from static/instance/soapbox.example.json
rename to app/instance/soapbox.example.json
diff --git a/static/sounds/boop.mp3 b/app/sounds/boop.mp3
similarity index 100%
rename from static/sounds/boop.mp3
rename to app/sounds/boop.mp3
diff --git a/static/sounds/boop.ogg b/app/sounds/boop.ogg
similarity index 100%
rename from static/sounds/boop.ogg
rename to app/sounds/boop.ogg
diff --git a/static/sounds/chat.mp3 b/app/sounds/chat.mp3
similarity index 100%
rename from static/sounds/chat.mp3
rename to app/sounds/chat.mp3
diff --git a/static/sounds/chat.oga b/app/sounds/chat.oga
similarity index 100%
rename from static/sounds/chat.oga
rename to app/sounds/chat.oga
diff --git a/static/instance/about.example/.gitkeep b/static/instance/about.example/.gitkeep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29bb..000000000
diff --git a/webpack/configuration.js b/webpack/configuration.js
index 1e80b65a6..3cd09e2ae 100644
--- a/webpack/configuration.js
+++ b/webpack/configuration.js
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ const settings = {
   test_root_path: 'static-test',
   cache_path: 'tmp/cache/webpacker',
   resolved_paths: [],
-  static_assets_extensions: [ '.jpg', '.jpeg', '.png', '.tiff', '.ico', '.svg', '.gif', '.eot', '.otf', '.ttf', '.woff', '.woff2' ],
+  static_assets_extensions: [ '.jpg', '.jpeg', '.png', '.tiff', '.ico', '.svg', '.gif', '.eot', '.otf', '.ttf', '.woff', '.woff2', '.mp3', '.ogg', '.oga' ],
   extensions: [ '.mjs', '.js', '.sass', '.scss', '.css', '.module.sass', '.module.scss', '.module.css', '.png', '.svg', '.gif', '.jpeg', '.jpg' ],
 };
 
diff --git a/webpack/production.js b/webpack/production.js
index 1398d35c8..01ba2d76b 100644
--- a/webpack/production.js
+++ b/webpack/production.js
@@ -36,7 +36,10 @@ module.exports = merge(sharedConfig, {
 
   plugins: [
     new CompressionPlugin({
-      test: /\.(js|css|html|json|ico|svg|eot|otf|ttf|map)$/,
+      test: /\.(js|css|html|json|ico|svg|eot|otf|ttf|map|mp3|ogg|oga)$/,
+      exclude: [
+        'instance',
+      ],
     }),
     new BundleAnalyzerPlugin({ // generates report.html
       analyzerMode: 'static',
diff --git a/webpack/shared.js b/webpack/shared.js
index df3861563..f8aca4794 100644
--- a/webpack/shared.js
+++ b/webpack/shared.js
@@ -101,6 +101,12 @@ module.exports = {
       }, {
         from: join(__dirname, '../node_modules/emoji-datasource/img/twitter/sheets/32.png'),
         to: join(output.path, 'emoji/sheet_13.png'),
+      }, {
+        from: join(__dirname, '../app/sounds'),
+        to: join(output.path, 'sounds'),
+      }, {
+        from: join(__dirname, '../app/instance'),
+        to: join(output.path, 'instance'),
       }],
       options: {
         concurrency: 100,