Instagram 'Paid Subscriptions' is official: testing begins in the US

Instagram is now introducing a helpful feature for content creators and it is paid subscriptions, which will now begin testing in the US, reports MySmartPrice. The announcement has been published in a blog post detailing the changes that will now come to help creators on Instagram earn money from their content.

Instagram launches Paid Subscriptions for 10 creators in the US, more creators to be added

The new subscription features will allow users to subscribe to their favorite content creators on Instagram. This way, creators will be able to generate revenue from the content they publish. For now, the feature is currently limited to the US only, but we expect a global expansion to follow as well.

The change will help creators get support from their audience, as well as partner with brands, and earn money from advertising (as well as bonuses directly from Instagram).

Currently, the company is testing the subscription-based model with 10 popular content creators on Instagram. Here's who they are:
@alanchikinchow, @sedona._, @alizakelly, @kelseylynncook, @elliottnorris, @jordanchiles, @jackjerry, @bunnymichael, @donalleniii and @lonnieiiv.


Then, what is the pricing? The subscriptions will range from $0.99 to $99.99 per month, and creators will be able to select the price point for their subscriptions.

Once you are a subscriber of one of the accounts listed above, you will be able to see three new exclusive features: Subscriber lives, Subscriber Stories, and Subscriber Badges. This pretty much means that creators could broadcast special live sessions for their subscribers, as well as exclusive Stories that only subscribers could see.

Additionally, subscribers will be getting a special purple badge (which will appear when they post a comment in the comment section) which will distinguish them from the content creator's regular following. This way, creators can identify who are their paying subscribers.

Meta won't be taking a cut from creators' earnings until 2023

Earlier this year, Meta announced in order to support creators, it will not collect any fees from creators on Facebook Subscriptions until 2023 at the earliest, and this new blog post announces this applies to Instagram Subscriptions.

Additionally, the company states it hopes to build even more tools for creators to connect with their audience even "off platform" (does this mean in the metaverse, for example?). Of course, the tools Meta is hoping to build for creators are not yet announced, so we have to wait and see.

This move will help distinguish Instagram from various short videos platform rivals, such as, for example, TikTok. So far, the creator economy is growing, estimated to be a little over $100 billion so far.

Instagram has been evolving quite a lot in the recent months

Recently, there have been a lot of announcements from the company, on new features and services aiming to improve the experience on the social media platform.

For example, we recently reported on the fact that Instagram will introduce three new feed options, one of which will be a version of the chronological feed that Instagram abandoned a few years ago. You will be able to choose from three feed options: Favorites, Following, and Home, with the latter being the current way Instagram posts appear on your feed (with a bit more recommendations. "Following" will showcase the creators' posts in chronological order. This change will come in the first half of this year.

Another quite useful feature Instagram is working on is the possibility to modify the way posts appear in your own account, a feature dubbed "Edit Grid".