Instagram is currently testing a paid subscription feature for creators

Instagram is currently testing a paid subscription feature for creators and influencers on the platform with a small group. The feature gives access to exclusive content that has been made available to some creators in the US with Instagram saying that more creators will be added to this list in the coming weeks.

Essentially the paid subscription feature has fans and followers paying a monthly fee to access some exclusive subscriber-only content from the creators and influencers they follow. This content includes exclusive Lives and Stories that will be available only to paid subscribers.

Subscribers will also get a purple badge by their name that will show their exclusive status to the creator they are subscribing to.

Price tiers for this subscription model will range from $0.99 (Rs 73 approx) to $99.99 (Rs 7,443 approx) per month and creators can pick the price point for the subscriptions.

Instagram is not going to take a cut out of the creators’ subscription earnings till at least 2023, Co-head of Product at Instagram told TechCrunch.

Currently, only 10 creators are a part of the early test that the platform is running, including Olympian Jordan Chiles, basketball player Sedona Prince, and astrologer Aliza Kelly.

“I’m excited to keep building tools for creators to make a living doing creative work and to put these tools in more creators’ hands soon,” Mark Zuckerberg, wrote in a Facebook post. Facebook/Meta has its own version of a subscription program for creators on its platform.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in a video that subscriptions are “one of the best ways” for creators and influencers on the platform to bring in a “predictable income”.

This is Instagram streamlining the monetisation process on the platform since some creators have already started monestising some of Instagram’s features like Close Friends. These creators charge fans a fee off-platfrom to give them access to Stories.

A subscription model is not a very new concept on social media. Twitter recently introduced the Super Follows feature on its platform and, besides this, many creators also offer additional content off-platfrom on sites like Patreon and Substack.

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