Instagram just announced their first steps towards helping creators get paid when they use Instagram Live. The new features are in early tests and focus on two main ways to make money.
Instagram Live is one the most popular ways musicians and other creators choose to livestream. A lot of creators focus on growing their Instagram accounts — so it's already where they engage with fans most. Combine that with the fact that it's really simple to go live on Instagram, and you've got a recipe for a popular platform.
How popular? Well, there was a 70% increase in views on Instagram Live from February to March. For a company as big as Instagram, that's huge growth.
But for all its ease, Instagram Live is actually a really flawed platform for livestreaming. Especially if your goal is to use livestreams as another potential revenue stream. Simply put, Instagram Live is harder to make money from than just about every other popular alternative.
But that's starting to change, at least for some people.
Instagram recently announced two new ways to make money. The first is "Badges," a feature that allows users to stand out on a Live feed. They'll also get to appear on a special list and get access to a special heart to use during the live feed.
These perks mostly mimic some of the gamified perks platforms like Twitch and Mixer rely on.
Though Instagram didn't say this in their announcement, Variety later confirmed that the Badges will be available for $.99, $1.99, and $4.99. This feature will only roll out to some select beta users for the time being. They'll keep all the money from Badge purchases, but Instagram will likely take a revenue split as the feature expands.
The second form of monetization is happening on IGTV. Though this doesn't apply only to Live, it does encompass it, since you can add your Live stream to IGTV. Instagram will start allowing ads to run on IGTV videos, giving the creators a 55% revenue split of the advertising fees it brings in.
The companies that are allowed to run ads on IGTV videos mostly include high profile consumer brands right now. But it's not hard to see Instagram opening up IGTV placements as another option when it comes to musicians running their own ads on the platform.
Though these announcements might not affect many of you right now, they're a step in the right direction. Take a look at our free RootNote Blueprint that contains WAY more information on your livestreaming options.