New Delhi: In a bid to help content creators monetise their content within the photo-sharing platform itself, Meta-owned (formerly Facebook) Instagram has begun testing Instagram Subscriptions feature where creators can grow their recurring monthly income by giving their subscribers paid access to exclusive content and benefits such as subscriber-only Lives and badges among others. The feature is currently available for a small batch of only 10 creators in the US as part of an "alpha" test.
While the feature will only be available to a limited number of US creators during this initial test, the company said it has plans to expand access to more creators in the next few months.
"In 2020, Facebook launched Subscriptions, which has helped creators build sustainable businesses powered by the support of their communities. Based on strong creator feedback, we’re ready to now bring this business model to creators on Instagram. With Instagram Subscriptions, creators can develop deeper connections with their most engaged followers and grow their recurring monthly income by giving subscribers access to exclusive content and benefits, all within the same platform where they interact with them already," Instagram Business Team said in a statement late on Wednesday.
The testing of this feature has begun with a handful of creators in the US who will be able to set a monthly price of their choice, unlock a “subscribe” button on their profile and offer a range of benefits to their subscribers. For those who want to see Instagram Subscriptions in action, they can follow and subscribe to the following creators: @alanchikinchow, @sedona._, @alizakelly, @kelseylynncook, @elliottnorris, @jordanchiles, @jackjerry, @bunnymichael, @donalleniii and @lonnieiiv.
According to Meta, Instagram parent, it would not collect any fees from creators on Facebook Subscriptions purchases until 2023 at the earliest, and this will also apply to Instagram Subscriptions. "Additionally, we believe that creators should know their audience and have more control over their business. We hope to build the tools to allow them to also directly connect with their audience off platform in the future," Instagram Business Team added.