Instagram Offers $50K-$500K for Long-Form Video, But No Revenue Model

Instagram will pay a select group of creators between $50,000 and $500,000 to post long-form video, but the platform says it is "too early to share a long-form monetization model" for everyone else. That gap between cash up front and no long-term revenue plan now defines the debate across the creator economy, seven experts told Digiday after the platform announced last week that users can post videos up to 90 minutes long.

The move targets YouTube, the platform widely considered the best for creator earnings. Instagram has offered its new "Features" payments to only a handful of creators, with no concrete ad revenue structure for long-form content beyond that.

Why creators are skeptical

Digital strategist and creator Gabriella Zutrau called Instagram's discoverability strong for building awareness, but said she was "disgusted" that the platform appears to be "offering discoverability as a form of payment."

"Exposure as a form of payment and with the intention of cutting into YouTube's market share and cutting into the amount of views people are getting on YouTube — it's just gross," Zutrau said. "Instagram has never valued creators."

The engagement math explains the concern. Marketing software platform Cropink reports Reels get 36% more reach than carousels and 125% more than single-photo posts, but engagement lags behind. Creators question how that engagement converts to income.

Jo Wong, chief revenue officer at POP.STORE, an agentic AI creator commerce platform, agreed that Instagram has never built a strong monetization program. "Frankly, I think they thought they could get away with [not having a long-form monetization model]," Wong said.

Samantha Walters, vp of talent experience at Shine Talent Group, said she was "surprised" Instagram had not offered a comparable monetization infrastructure. "That's why YouTube is so successful, and why creators give so much of their time and effort to it," she said.

YouTube's own bar is rising, which complicates the comparison. It is increasingly difficult to get monetized there because of required thresholds, and the requirements will change again next year.

What could change the calculus

Not everyone is pessimistic. Nick Jacklin, president of Shorthand Studios, advocated a revenue-share model similar to YouTube's, where a share of each dollar per view goes to the creator. He warned that if Instagram runs ads on long-form content without paying creators, it will break creator trust. "If Instagram can show with the creators that do [Features] work early on that you can drive awareness, I think the monetization will follow," Jacklin said.

An Instagram representative told Digiday the platform is "exploring ways for creators to earn from brands, fans and Instagram, including performance-based incentives."

Alexandra Mathieu, vp of creative and strategy at Open Influence, sees leverage for talent. "Instagram putting money behind creator acquisition gives managers more leverage in conversations with YouTube," she said. "It also opens the door to negotiating beyond fees, including exclusivity, distribution, production support, and creative control."

How agencies plan to respond

Strategies split by content genre. Mustafa Aijaz, vp of media company SoaR, which works with gamers and streamers, will use Instagram purely as distribution. "We'll post our content there, why not? But I'm not making content for Instagram at this moment in time," he said.

Zack Evans, vp of creative strategy at Shorthand Studios, sees opportunity in interview-style shows and scripted comedy, especially through the revamped Instagram TV app, which he said promotes scrolling and discoverability more than YouTube does. "Comedy is inherently surprising, so I think with Reels and Features now, being able to just scroll and see a scripted thing playing out, you don't yet know what it is, and you're going to be intrigued," Evans said.

He also flagged the funnel advantage of keeping viewers on one platform: using Reels and Shorts to grab attention and route it to longer content is "really hard" when platforms are not "the best of friends."

Both Wong and Mathieu suggested recycling older content on Features to test reach before investing in originals. "Most of the views on your YouTube come within the first month, for example, or three weeks, then put your older catalog on Features and test into it," Wong said. Mathieu recommends using "existing programming as a springboard for new, Instagram-native series such as creator-led shows, movie-length content, longer-running series and video."

The audience data shows where the decision sits. In a survey of 50 Shine Talent Group creators, 100 percent already post on Instagram, but 93 percent said the platform would have to change its revenue policies before they would post long-form content there. Instagram's performance-based incentives, still undefined, will determine whether that 93 percent moves.