Instagram is testing a new long-form video format called Features, but the platform has not settled on how or whether it will pay the creators it hopes to attract from YouTube. Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced Features on Monday, and creators quickly raised concerns on Threads and Reddit about the absence of monetization comparable to YouTube's ad share and performance-based incentives.
Mosseri responded to the criticism in a Threads post on Tuesday, saying the company recognizes that the economics matter greatly and is exploring several ways to help long-form creators get paid. The specific options under consideration have not been disclosed.
Creator Sidney Raskind, known on Threads as Sidneyraz, said in a post that it feels as though Mosseri and Meta are mocking creators by not offering a way to insert long-form monetization ads into Features videos. Raskind said long-form creators need ad revenue to survive and that asking them to upload long-form content for free is unreasonable.
Features is being tested with a small group of creators in the United States and Brazil. Videos in the format can run up to 90 minutes, compared with a 20-minute maximum for Reels, and appear to emphasize landscape content over vertical video, which suits Instagram's TV apps as the company pursues attention across more screens. Meta offers some limited monetization tools for Reels, but those do not pay creators directly per view the way YouTube does.
Meta previously operated an ad revenue-sharing payout model for longer-form video on Facebook, and some creators reported good earnings under it, but the company retired that system in 2024 in favor of a performance-based approach. The main draw for posting a Features video is Instagram's reach, though Meta will use the content to train its AI models. Google also treats YouTube videos as available for AI training, but creators are paid by that platform.
Speaking on a podcast with Samir Chaudry and Colin Rosenblum, Mosseri said pre-roll or mid-roll ads would be problematic for the user experience. He also said expanding the small existing performance-based program does not make sense because Meta spends more on it than it earns back. Mosseri described three broad ways creators can be paid: directly by the platform, by fans, or by brands, and said that on Instagram the primary route is brands, with some creators paid by fans. He added that creators do not produce much more when the company pays them compared with what they already create.
More technology news from TechManNews.
