Watch out, YouTube — Instagram goes from short-form to 90-minute videos

After years in which every social platform (even LinkedIn!) aggressively pursued short-form video, this is a notable shift in strategy for Instagram. If you could have 1 million followers on any social media platform, which would you choose? There is a correct answer, and it’s YouTube, assuming you’d like to get paid for your work. But Instagram’s latest update could upend YouTube’s long-held position as the most lucrative platform for creators, if only Instagram plays its cards right. Instagram announced on Monday that it’s testing a new type of video upload that will allow creators to share “Features,” videos up to 90 minutes long. After years in which every social platform (even LinkedIn!) aggressively pursued short-form video, this is a notable shift in strategy for Instagram.

Short-form, vertical video content has defined the internet of the 2020s, but the creators behind these clips don’t actually make much money directly from platforms like Instagram — the Meta-owned platform has some monetization tools like subscriptions, but it doesn’t typically pay creators on a per-view basis. “You can get paid by the platform directly, you can get paid by a fan, and you can get paid by a brand,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri explained on the Colin and Samir Show, an interview show about the creator economy. “And right now, the way that