Instagram to enable creators to earn money

California [US]: Instagram on Wednesday announced that creators will now be able to make money through Instagram Live and IGTV.

The platform is introducing badges in Instagram Live through which creators can generate income from the content they’re already creating.

“During the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve seen people supporting their favourite creators in Live with comments, likes and donations. To give fans another way to participate and show their love, we’re introducing badges that viewers can purchase during a live video,” Instagram said in a statement.

“In recent months, we’ve seen creators embrace Live in new ways, leading to a 70 per cent increase in views from February to March,” added Instagram.

Badges will appear next to a person’s name throughout the live video and fans, who have purchased badges in Live will stand out in the comments and unlock additional features including placement on a creator’s list of badge holders and access to a special heart.

Badges will begin testing next month with a small group of creators and businesses. Over the coming months, it will expand across the US, Brazil, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, Spain, and Mexico.

On the other hand, IGTV ads will start from next week and the platform said, “we want to support creators’ investment in IGTV by sharing advertising revenue with them.”

IGTV ads will initially appear when people click to watch IGTV videos from previews in their feed. The video ads will be built for mobile and up to 15 seconds long.

“We’ll begin testing IGTV ads with a small group of creators and advertisers in the US, and will expand slowly over time as we improve the experience,” the statement read. (ANI)