A shift away from short-form
Instagram announced on Monday that it is testing a new upload type that lets creators post videos running as long as 90 minutes. The format is called Features. The company said the test begins in Brazil and will then extend to a limited trial in the United States. The move marks a change in direction for a platform that, like most social networks in recent years, had concentrated on short vertical clips.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5]
The announcement was made by Instagram head Adam Mosseri, who said in a video that he had long opposed long-form video on the service. He credited Tessa Lyons, Instagram's vice president of product, with persuading him to try again. Lyons said in the same video that Reels would remain central to Instagram, while viewers who want to go deeper with creators should be able to do so on the app.[S1]
Why creators earn more on YouTube
Short vertical video has shaped the internet in the 2020s, but the people who make those clips generally do not collect much money directly from Instagram. The Meta-owned platform offers tools such as subscriptions, yet it does not usually pay creators for each view. Mosseri described three routes to creator income on the Colin and Samir Show, an interview program about the creator economy: payment from the platform, from a fan, or from a brand. On Instagram, he said, brands are currently the main source.[S1]
He also said the platform's performance-based program spends considerably more than it earns and that expanding it would mean burning capital. YouTube's approach is simpler: ads run on videos, and creators in its Partner Program receive 55% of the ad revenue those videos generate. The company said last year that it had paid over $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies across the preceding four years.[S1]
Ads, Reels and the road ahead
Instagram and TikTok have not managed to copy YouTube's model for short clips, which are harder to monetize because there is less space for advertising. Many creators treat those accounts as promotional channels for their YouTube work rather than as significant revenue sources. Instagram previously tried long video eight years ago with IGTV, a product it has since discontinued. Meta, whose business rests on advertising, could place ads in the new long videos.[S1]
A Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch that it is too early to describe a long-term monetization model, but that the company is looking at ways for creators to earn from brands, fans and Instagram itself, including performance-based incentives. The spokesperson said compounding benefits could emerge over time as creators tell new stories, reach new audiences and find new partners.[S1]
Instagram is also testing a feature called Clips as Reels, which lets creators cut Reels from their long-form videos, with the short clips linking viewers to the full video. Viewers can save a longer video to send to the Instagram app on a television. The company is additionally developing better discovery for Live video and a profile hub for episodic Reels, a connected series resembling TikTok's playlist tool. Mosseri said the team aims to make short and long formats work together across the mobile and TV apps, though he acknowledged that getting it right will take time.[S1]
