What you need to know
- Instagram is offering creators up to $10,000 for posting Reels.
- Creators are worried about a lack of transparency regarding the offer.
- Server problems have already hindered creators from trying to make money.
Photo and video-sharing service Instagram is offering creators up to $10,000 when they post Reels, but the offer is already proving problematic.
As reported by TechCrunch, the Monthly Reels Play bonus program gives creators a payout based on how many people watch their reels. But it isn't all plain sailing with a lack of transparency surrounding the whole thing causing some people to be confused.
But creators are confused about what factors determine how big a bonus they're eligible for from Instagram, and the platform isn't helping clear up their concerns. Instagram told TechCrunch that the program is experimental and still in its early stages. But the lack of transparency can be troubling for creators who use these platforms to make a living. The bonus program even experienced a glitch this week, causing eligible creators to be told that they were actually ineligible for the payout. Instagram told TechCrunch that this glitch has been fixed.
That lack of transparency also means that some creators are being offered different deals, with one Instagrammer — Maddy Corbin — with 52,000 followers being offered up to $1,000 for her Reels in a month. But they say that others who have more followers are actually being offered even less — around $600.
A creator with about 24,000 Instagram followers — less than half as many as Corbin — told TechCrunch that last month, they were offered a bonus of up to $800 if they got 1.7 million views on all reels posted that month. The bonus isn't all-or-nothing — the creator intentionally posted one reel per day during the bonus period and managed to get 1.49 million plays on their reels, earning a $689.90 payout.
Instagram is perhaps the best iPhone app for sharing photos, but Meta wants it to be the best place to share videos, too. Faced with stiff competition from TikTok, that's going to be a hard win for the company.
Creators keen to learn more about the bonus program can do so over on the Instagram Help Center.
