90-Minute Instagram Videos Lack Pay Plan

Meta is currently testing long-form videos that last up to 90 minutes, a duration that far exceeds the 20-minute limit for standard Reels. The new format, called Features, is being piloted by a small group of creators in the United States and Brazil. The clips are designed for landscape viewing, a shift intended to make the content compatible with television apps.

The launch has drawn immediate criticism from creators who note that Instagram has not established a clear method to pay for this new content. On Monday, Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced the Features format. By the next day, complaints were spreading across Threads and Reddit regarding the lack of monetization options.

Critics point out that YouTube offers ad revenue sharing and performance-based incentives, while Instagram currently relies on limited tools for Reels that do not pay creators directly per view. Sidney Raskind, a creator known as Sidneyraz, said on Threads that Meta appears to be ignoring how the industry functions. He noted that long-form creators depend on ad revenue to survive, yet Instagram is asking them to upload content for free.

“You’re ask[ing] them all to upload long form content for free just to live on your platform,” Raskind wrote. “That’s insane.” He argued that the platform knows how ad calls work but is withholding the ability to place monetization ads within Features videos.

M. Brandon Lee, a tech creator, also voiced his frustration on Threads. He questioned the benefit of posting long-form content on Instagram without a direct monetization path. Lee noted that creators cannot post affiliate links in their content unless they pay for a limited number of link slots, and they cannot access ad share revenue.

Mosseri addressed the concerns in a Threads post, stating that the company understands economics are a major factor. He said the team is exploring multiple options to help long-form creators get paid, though he did not specify what those solutions might look like.

In a recent podcast interview with Samir Chaudry and Colin Rosenblum, Mosseri explained why pre-roll or mid-roll ads might be difficult to implement. He described the addition of such ads as problematic from a user experience perspective. He also noted that scaling up the existing performance-based program is not efficient because Meta spends more money on it than it recoups.

Mosseri outlined three primary ways creators can earn income: through direct platform payments, fan support, or brand deals. He stated that Instagram currently focuses on brand and fan payments. “Creators don’t produce a lot more when we pay, compared to what they already create,” he said. Meta previously had an ad revenue-sharing model for Facebook videos, but it retired that system in 2024 in favor of a performance-based approach.