Why Does Instagram Not Pay Creators? CEO Adam Mosseri Explains

Instagram is among the best platforms for creators to drive engagement. Its 2 billion monthly active users include top celebrities, politicians, sportspeople, and billionaires, so making short-form videos, called reels, is viewed as a full-time job for creators — though it often yields no direct income. Unlike YouTube where videos are monetisable if they meet the eligibility criteria, Instagram’s videos can rack up millions of views without earnings. The lack of monetisation on Instagram is a concern that the creator community did not hesitate to raise with Instagram’s chief, Adam Mosseri, during his India visit.

Mosseri, who visited India to meet Instagram’s largest creator community for the WAVES Summit, took up the question during an in-person AMA (Ask Me Anything) session. Replying to “Why is Instagram not paying us?” Mosseri said the company has been working towards a programme to incentivise engagement for over two years. However, Instagram has failed to come up with a plan where both creators and the platform benefit despite spending “tens of millions” of dollars every year.

“For a platform [like Instagram] to pay you, it has to meet three criteria,” explained Mosseri. “One, we can’t be losing money. Two, the payments should not be embarrassing. And third, the eligibility criteria need to be transparent. You should know what you need to reach to be eligible. It can’t just be a lottery, who gets in and who doesn’t,” he added while addressing the creator community that asked the question in unison.

Mosseri then said that when Instagram tried to pay creators to create their content, their subsequent content did not have the same quality, resulting in less engagement — a concern for Instagram that relies on interactions more than views. This stalemate between the platform and creators shows Instagram has not even met the first criterion, resulting in underwhelming payouts for the company.

“Every single time, we found that for every dollar we pay out, we just burn the vast majority of it,” he said. With regards to the community of up to 100 million creators, that investment could surge over billions of dollars. “We can’t just burn that kind of money,” Mosseri admitted, saying, “I don’t need to make money off that programme. I just need to break even and ideally, not write embarrassing cheques.”

While Instagram appears to be figuring out a mechanism that pays creators without hurting its revenues, creators have relied on brand collaborations, endorsements, and subscriptions for earnings. Many creators also share their content on YouTube to earn after it has gained popularity on Instagram.

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