In a major development for content creators, Meta, the parent company of Instagram, announced today the global expansion of Instagram subscriptions. This exciting feature, initially launched in the United States in January 2022, will now be available to eligible creators in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and the United Kingdom over the next few weeks. Meta has further plans for a wider global rollout in the coming months.
Instagram subscriptions open up new avenues for creators with a following of over 10,000 to monetize their content by offering paid access to exclusive posts, Live videos, Stories, reels, highlights, and more. In return, subscribers will receive a special badge that sets them apart in the comments section and in creators’ inboxes, enhancing their sense of belonging and engagement within their favorite creator’s community.
Eligibility for Instagram subscriptions requires creators to be at least 18 years old and meet the follower threshold of 10,000 or more. The feature offers creators the flexibility to set a monthly price of their choice for exclusive content, with eight price points available, ranging from $0.99 per month to as much as $99.99 per month, depending on the perceived value of the content.
The primary aim behind the introduction of Instagram subscriptions is to provide creators with a consistent, recurring monthly income based on the support and patronage of their loyal fans. This allows creators to establish deeper connections with their most engaged followers while generating sustainable revenue within the platform where they already interact with their audience.
In a recent blog post, Meta expressed its commitment to creators and announced further investments in tools that help creators monetize their content. Meta stated, “With Instagram subscriptions, you can develop deeper connections with your most engaged followers and grow your recurring monthly income by giving subscribers access to exclusive content and benefits, all within the same platform where you interact with them already. We will continue to invest in tools that help creators earn money and will have more updates to share in the coming months.”
The expansion of Instagram subscriptions follows Meta’s previous rollout of subscriptions on Facebook in 2020, which were then extended to Instagram. Presently, Facebook subscriptions are available to Pages in various countries, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Instagram is not the only social media platform to offer creators the ability to charge fans for exclusive content. Earlier this year, TikTok introduced the “Series” feature, which allows eligible creators to post collections of premium content behind a paywall. Each “Series” can include up to 80 videos, each up to 20 minutes long. Additionally, Twitter offers a subscription feature that enables users to access exclusive tweets from creators, with the creators setting the monthly subscription price, similar to Instagram and TikTok’s offerings.
The global expansion of Instagram subscriptions signifies a significant step in Meta’s dedication to supporting content creators and providing them with more opportunities to monetize their content. As the company continues to roll out this feature worldwide, it aims to empower creators from all corners of the globe, fostering a thriving community of content creators on its platforms.
