Instagram has increased the video time limit from one minute to up to an hour for users with large followings.

The evolution from photo-sharing into longer video functionality will provide further opportunities for the music industry, following recent licensing deals between majors, collection societies and publishers and Instagram’s parent company Facebook. 

In what has been seen as a challenge to the popularity of YouTube, general users on Instagram will also get their video allowance increased to 10 minutes.

With its live video functionality, Instagram Stories has become an increasingly important platform for artists and the industry. During the royal wedding weekend, performer Sheku Kanneh-Mason became the first classical artist to take over the official Instagram Stories account. 

The expanded video option will be available through Instagram or a new app, IGTV, and will be in a vertical format designed for smartphones. 

“This is acknowledging vertical video is the future and we want the future to come more quickly, so we built IGTV,” said CEO Kevin Systrom.

Instagram has 1 billion users, up from 800 million last year. A Nielsen survey found that Instagram users spend 30% more time listening to music each week compared to the general population.

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