If you could have 1 million followers on any social media platform, which one would you choose? There is one good answer, and it’s YouTube, assuming you want to get paid for your work. But Instagram’s latest update could upend YouTube’s long-standing position as the most lucrative platform for creators, if only Instagram plays its cards right.
Instagram announced Monday that it is testing a new type of video upload that will allow creators to share “features,” videos up to 90 minutes long. After years of every social platform (even LinkedIn!) actively pursuing short-form video, this is a notable shift in strategy for Instagram.
Short-form vertical video content has defined the internet of the 2020s, but the creators behind these clips don’t make a lot of money directly from platforms like Instagram — the Meta-owned platform has monetization tools like subscriptions, but it generally doesn’t pay creators per view.
“You can get paid directly by the platform, you can get paid by a fan and you can get paid by a brand,” Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, explained on the Colin and Samir Show, an interview show about the creator economy. “And right now the way it works on Instagram is that you’re mostly paid by brands. Some people are paid by fans. We still have a little performance-based program, but…we’re spending more money than we’re making in the long run, and so it doesn’t really make sense to scale because we’re just burning through capital.”
YouTube’s payment model is simpler: ads are served on videos, and creators enrolled in YouTube’s partner program receive 55% of the ad revenue YouTube generates from their videos. It adds up. The platform said last year it had paid out more than $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies over the previous four years.
Instagram and TikTok have not been able to replicate YouTube’s model with short-form content, which is inherently harder to monetize than longer videos because there is less room to place ads. Many creators view these accounts more as promotional weapons for their YouTube channels than as meaningful revenue drivers.
Instagram is encouraging creators to upload longer videos, as it already did eight years ago with the now-defunct IGTV. It’s possible that its parent company, Meta, which makes billions from advertising, also places ads in these long-form videos.
If Meta adds ads, could Instagram meaningfully compete with the YouTube Partner Program for the first time?
“It’s too early to share a long-term monetization model, but we’re exploring ways for creators to earn money from brands, fans and Instagram, including performance-based incentives,” a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch. “Over time, we believe creators will benefit cumulatively by telling new stories, reaching new audiences, and finding new partners, which should lead to numerous monetization opportunities.”
That’s not a particularly promising answer, but it’s not a no either.
Mosseri explained in a video announcement why the platform is suddenly embracing long-form content after abandoning its previous video product, IGTV.
“For a long time, I opposed creating long-form videos on Instagram,” Mosseri said, noting that shorter content like Reels generates more shares and DMs among users. Instagram VP of Product Tessa Lyons, who advocated for the change, ultimately convinced Mosseri to give long form another chance.
“Reels will always be a staple of Instagram. But when you want to dig deeper with the creators you love and the content they create, you should be able to do that on Instagram,” Lyons said in the video.
In other words, Instagram would rather keep fans on its own platform to enjoy a creator’s short and long-form content than lose them to YouTube. Instagram is testing a feature called “Clips as Reels,” which allows creators to create Reels from their long-form content. Reels connect viewers to the longest video. Viewers can also record the longer video to send to the Instagram app on their TV.
Instagram is currently testing “Features” and “Reel Clips” in Brazil and will now expand to the United States in a small test. The platform is also working on enhanced discovery features for live video and a creator profile hub for Episodic Reels, which are a series of connected Reels similar to TikTok’s playlist feature.
“What the team has been working on that we’re excited to share with you is trying to make sure that short-form video and long-form video can be symbiotic,” Mosseri said. “We’re going to try to support these different types of formats, both in the mobile app, but also on the TV app, which I think is going to take a while to get there. But I’m actually very excited about it and we’re very committed to it for the long term.”
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