Instagram is offering YouTubers up to $500K, Business Insider reports
Instagram is paying some YouTubers to bring their long videos across. It has offered select creators $50,000 to $500,000 to post long-form work to Features, its new 90-minute format. Sydney Bradley and Lucia Moses reported for Business Insider, citing people familiar with the deals. The deals are not exclusive. Instagram wants creators to post their […] This story continues at The Next Web
Instagram is paying some YouTubers to bring their long videos across. It has offered select creators $50,000 to $500,000 to post long-form work to Features, its new 90-minute format. Sydney Bradley and Lucia Moses reported for Business Insider , citing people familiar with the deals.
The deals are not exclusive. Instagram wants creators to post their long YouTube videos there the same day, one person familiar with the offers told Business Insider. TNW has not independently verified the figures.
“The details of those deals are confidential, but we’re excited to see the content going live.” Meta spokesperson, to Business Insider
Instagram announced Features on 26 October. As TNW reported, it tests 90-minute videos with no plan to share ad revenue for now. YouTube’s Partner Program gives creators 55% of the ad revenue on long videos. YouTube has also doubled its entry requirements for 2027.
Creators complained about the gap on Threads and Reddit within hours, The Verge reported . Creator Sidney Raskind wrote on Threads that long-form creators “need ad rev to survive”. Asking them to upload for free was “insane”, he wrote.
Adam Mosseri, who runs Instagram, answered the complaints on Threads . Features is not fully launched yet, he wrote, and Instagram is ramping up access slowly.
“We understand the economics matter a ton, and are exploring multiple options to help long-form creators get paid.” Adam Mosseri
Mosseri also spoke about pay on The Colin & Samir Show, Press Publish reported . Instagram still runs a small performance-based programme, he said. For video, he called it “ROI negative”.
Talent agents see a different payoff. Reza Izad, co-CEO of the agency that represents Noah Beck, called the deals an “exciting opportunity” for creators.
“Every time there’s a new feature in these apps that the company’s promoting, people will have more opportunity to be seen.” Reza Izad, to Business Insider
Instagram has tried this before. It paid creators to make shows for IGTV, its earlier long-video format, which it shut down in 2022. YouTube is also spending to keep its stars, having started funding shows directly in August.
