It targets competitors, like OnlyFans.  Instagram New Paid Subscription  Instagram wants its creators to make more money by launching Instagram Subscriptions. This feature hit the App Store in November. But it’s only now that it has reached its early testing.  For now, a small group of US creators can offer followers paid access to Instagram Live videos and Stores. Subscribers, on the other hand, will get a special badge to stand out in the comments section.  Mark said in his post on Wednesday:  “Launching a test of subscriptions on Instagram in the US today. This will help creators earn more by offering benefits to their most engaged followers like access to exclusive Lives and Stories. I’m excited to keep building tools for creators to make a living doing creative work and to put these tools in more creators’ hands soon.” 10 Creators  As of date, there are only 10 US creators who could access the subscription feature. This is an alpha test to receive feedback from creators and fans alike.  Creators can pick their price points. They can choose $0.99 a month or they can go as high as $9.99 per month. It depends on how much they think their content is worth.  Subscribers can access exclusive content, like Stories. They get notified of exclusive broadcasts. Because the viewing audience is naturally smaller, they can engage with creators more deeply.  Creators can share anything, like behind-the-scenes content and special polls.  Screenshot Allowed?  Instagram denied reports that it was developing technology that would disallow subscribers to screenshot exclusive content. However, reshaping such content is not allowed. Creators can report any subscriber who records or screenshots their content.  During the early testing phase, creators don’t have analytics dashboards to get insights into their Subscribers. But creators can access their estimated earnings from subscriptions, the number of subscribers, new subscriptions from their Subscriptions Settings.  However, at this point, they can’t export the subscriber list. Instagram is hoping that it could build tools that would allow such features.  Fans can sign up for a subscription to their favorite creators’ content through traditional in-app purchases. Instagram won’t be taking a cut of the revenues, until at least 2023. The main goal of providing this type of feature is to assist creators in making a living.  Even though its main goal is to assist its creators, Instagram has other goals, like preventing its competitors from taking its creators. TikTok, for instance, attracted a great number of creators who are reaching a younger following.  Other tech rivals are also doing the same. They are providing more features to attract a younger generation.  Regarding the creator subscription feature, Instagram isn’t alone in this quest. Twitter, too, has launched its Super Follower platform. Other startups work on services that enable creators to track and monitor their following in various ways.  The creator economy is getting bigger. In fact, it’s estimated to be over $100 billion. Thus, even if Instagram won’t take a cut of creator transactions until 2023, it considers it as a small investment to ensure it gets a larger piece of the pie in the future. Share...