Instagram is introducing a premium subscription trial in Australia, so does that mean we Kiwis need to start getting ready to spend a shit load of money to access our fave influencer’s content?
Early in 2022, Instagram began offering the subscription trial to a small group of creators in the US. This saw a monthly subscription fee charged to access extra features within the Instagram app and restricted certain content from the influencers chosen to take part.
It’s giving OnlyFans without the, ahem, you know..!
SOURCE: Instagram
In June, they increased the size of that initial trial to include 1000 creators, including ‘Riverdale’ star Cole Sprouse and Disney’s Skai Jackson.
Meta said to SkyNews: “In July, we rolled out phase two of subscriptions by adding subscriber chats, home, posts and reels to the existing subscription features.”
“Now, we’re announcing open access in the US, and expanding via invite-only to more countries including Australia, UK and Canada.”
In essence, producers are allowed to set a specific monthly subscription fee. After that, their subscribers can access special content like Insta Lives, Reels, badges, and other things.
From what I can see the sub fees can range from NZD $0.99 - $99.99 a month, depending on what the creator sets the price.
SOURCE: Instagram
According to Meta, the subscriptions will let artists build a reliable monthly income and create "meaningful connections" with followers.
According to SkyNews, having a specific badge next to your handle as a subscriber of a certain account allows you to "stand out" in comments and direct messages. Additionally, creators can filter their DMs to give priority to messages from subscribers.
I mean that does sound like a handy dandy way for me to slide my way into Harry Styles DM’s...
TBH I think my grudge just comes from all of Instagram’s announcements of “ripping off” other apps, but I do like the sound of Instagram allowing you to add a song to your bio, similar to MySpace, that’s defs a lil throwback for us to have fun with.
We’re unsure whether the subscription fees are being rolled out and offered to us here in NZ, but a few of our Edgies around the office have noticed that they are getting the option to subscribe to content from some of their favourite creators - so keep an eye out!
