Meta will be pausing its Reels Play bonus program that helped creators on Facebook and Instagram get paid. The monetization program was originally launched in December 2021 to offer monthly payouts for creators who hit certain view counts and other metrics.
Halting Reels Play Bonus
As the company explores and evolves testing for its Reels Play Bonus on Instagram and Facebook, Meta confirmed via a written statement that they will be pausing its monetization program for the creators in the United States.
"We focus on investing in a suite of monetization solutions to help creators earn steady streams of income. We will stop extending new and renewed Reels Play deals for creators on Facebook and for US creators on Instagram at this time," Meta noted.
Engadget reported that any ongoing bonuses that a Reels creator has signed up for will be given in the next 30 days. The pause will be the company's way to run the program in a more targeted form like potential new markets.
The spokesperson added that despite the pause, creators can still monetize directly from the company, the fans, and brand partnerships. This program had been of the main ways creators earn through their short-form video content on Instagram. Meta also allowed users to earn a share of revenue on Reels through overlay ads last year.
Creators' Earnings
Top-performing creators were promised to earn as much as $35,000 a month. But ever since its launch, creators have earned highs and lows for the programs. While some earned the promised amount, some creators saw the maximum earnings scale down.
In an interview with Business Insider, Content Creator Bethany Everett-Ratcliffe stated that she was only given $100 a month for the invite-only Reels Play Bonus on Instagram. She said, "It didn't feel like it was making a huge difference for most creators and they weren't using it."
Facebook Head tom Alison stated last week that the platform would like to focus more heavily on scaling its ad-revenue options for Reels on the platform and advertisements will be expanding on Reels to Instagram later this year. This will help more creators earn ad revenue for this feature and grow virtual gifting through Stars.
Social Media Today reported that short-form content is harder to monetize because of the lack of instream advertisement. This left most platforms reliant on creator fund programs like the Reels Play bonus program. The only problem with it is that the funding amount generally remains stagnant.
Before 2022 ended, Instagram had also cut five creator monetization opportunities out of 11 programs, including IGTV. This feature was once a big bet on Instagram's part but slid into irrelevance when Instagram shifted its focus to short-form vertical videos.
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