Social media platform Instagram has rolled out Subscriptions, a feature which lets creators charge a monthly fee for exclusive content. The feature is currently in the testing phase, and will only include 10 creators in the US initially before eventually being expanded to a bigger base.
Behind the paywall, subscribers will get access to three features that allows more interaction amongst creators and their more loyal audience members. Creators can make exclusive Stories, marked with a purple ring, and live broadcasts that are only accessible to subscribers. On top of that, Subscribers will get a purple badge that will be displayed next to their comments and messages when they are interacting with their favourite creators.
According to TechCrunch, Instagram subscriptions will have eight price points for creators to choose from, ranging from US$0.99 (~RM4) per month all the way up to a whopping US$99.99 (~RM418). Just like with Facebook’s Subscriptions program, Meta won’t be taking any fees from Instagram creators until 2023 at the earliest.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, added that they are also working on a way for creators to be able to take their Instagram subscriber list and export it to other platforms. While Facebook launched direct payment links to enable creators to get around Apple’s fees for subscriptions, it is unclear if this feature will be included in Instagram’s version.
(Sources: Instagram, TechCrunch)
