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Creators go where the money is.<\/p>\n
YouTube figured that out early. It shares ad revenue with the people who make its videos, and that deal turned it into the biggest video platform in the world.<\/p>\n
Plenty of apps have tried to catch up. Few have matched that check.<\/p>\n
If you make videos for a living, that difference shows up in your bank account. A view on one app can be worth real money, while the same view on another is worth nothing but exposure.<\/p>\n
Now one of the biggest apps on the planet wants long videos too. It just isn’t offering the same deal.<\/p>\n
Instagram is now testing 90-minute videos with no ad revenue share.<\/p>\n
Oscar Wong \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
Instagram is testing 90-minute videos<\/p>\n
Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms (META), is testing a format called Features that lets creators post horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long, Tubefilter reported.<\/p>\n
The test started with some long-form creators in Brazil. Instagram plans to expand it to “tens of thousands of creators” in the U.S. “over the coming months.”<\/p>\n
The videos are built for podcasters, comedians and other long-form creators. They’re also headed to Instagram’s TV app, which now runs on Apple TV.<\/p>\n
Short clips point viewers to the full episode<\/p>\n
Creators can cut short clips from a Features video and post them as Reels. Each clip links back to the full video.<\/p>\n
Up to eight clips can point to one long video, Convergence reported. “You see a clip of a podcast that you love, you can just click and continue watching,” said Tessa Lyons, Instagram’s vice president of product, according to Tubefilter.<\/p>\n
It’s a big reversal for Instagram head Adam Mosseri. “For a long time, I have been against doing long-form video on Instagram,” he said, Tubefilter reported.<\/p>\n
Instagram’s boss says paying creators loses money<\/p>\n
Here’s the catch. Instagram isn’t sharing ad revenue on these videos.<\/p>\n
A Meta spokesperson said it’s “too early to share a long-term monetization model,” according to Tubefilter. The company said it’s exploring ways for creators to earn “from brands, fans, and Instagram.”<\/p>\n
Mosseri was blunter about Instagram’s existing payment program. “We spend more money than we make back by a long shot,” he said on The Colin and Samir Show, Net Influencer reported.<\/p>\n
He added that creators “don’t produce a lot more when we pay.” In other words, paying them mostly shifts views around instead of creating new ones.<\/p>\n
Instagram is directly funding some creators in the test, Variety reported, according to Net Influencer.<\/p>\n
YouTube still sets the bar<\/p>\n
That’s where YouTube pulls ahead.<\/p>\n
YouTube gives creators in its Partner Program 55% of net ad revenue on long-form videos, according to its help center. For Shorts, creators get 45% of a shared revenue pool.<\/p>\n
The totals are huge. YouTube said it paid out more than $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies over four years, Shacknews reported in September 2025.<\/p>\n
By my math, that’s about $25 billion a year on average.<\/p>\n
Here’s how the two offers compare for long videos:<\/p>\n
YouTube long-form ad share: 55% of net ad revenue<\/p>\n
YouTube Shorts: 45% of a shared creator pool<\/p>\n
Instagram Features: No ad revenue share yet<\/p>\n
Instagram’s pitch: Reach, brand deals and possible future incentives<\/p>\n
Some video makers are skeptical<\/p>\n
Not everyone is sold.<\/p>\n
“If people can watch my long-form on Instagram instead of YouTube, am I cannibalizing my AdSense?” creator Vanessa Lau asked, according to The Publish Press.<\/p>\n
“I can see it disincentivizing a lot of creators from posting their full long-form there,” she added.<\/p>\n
More Creator Economy:<\/p>\n
Facebook (Meta) makes bold move to challenge Disney, Netflix<\/p>\n
Netflix is losing ground to YouTube<\/p>\n
Meta found a new way to pay for its AI boom<\/p>\n
Others see value in the audience. “Attention and discovery are forms of currency,” Samir of The Colin and Samir Show said, The Publish Press reported.<\/p>\n
Mosseri seemed to hear the complaints. “We understand the economics matter a ton, and are exploring multiple options to help long-form creators get paid,” he wrote on X.<\/p>\n
Where to post your full-length work<\/p>\n
If you make videos, the math is simple. Every full-length view you move from YouTube to Instagram could be a view that no longer earns ad money.<\/p>\n
That doesn’t mean Instagram is a bad bet. It means you should use it for what it pays in, which today is reach.<\/p>\n
Here’s a practical approach:<\/p>\n
Keep full episodes on YouTube. That’s where the ad share lives<\/p>\n
Use Instagram clips as a funnel. Post Reels that point fans to your full video<\/p>\n
Sell sponsorship across both. Brand deals can pay for Instagram views even without an ad share<\/p>\n
Track where income actually comes from. Compare earnings per view on each app every month<\/p>\n
Meta has a bigger bill to cover<\/p>\n
There’s a bigger reason Meta is careful with cash right now.<\/p>\n
The company plans to spend $135 billion to $145 billion on capital projects this year, mostly for AI, according to its third-quarter earnings release. It’s also selling up to about $100 billion of stock to help pay for that buildout.<\/p>\n
I’d expect Meta to keep testing cheaper ways to reward creators before it commits to a YouTube-style revenue split.<\/p>\n
For now, Instagram is asking creators for their longest work while paying mostly in attention. Whether that’s enough will decide if Features becomes a real YouTube rival or another IGTV.<\/p>\n
Related: Zuckerberg says Meta’s AI bet only fails if all AI fails<\/p>\n
#Instagram #90minute #videos #isn039t #sharing #money<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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