Photo Credit: Instagram
Meta is looking into launching a standalone app for its Reels short-form videos, according to an anonymous source who overheard Instagram head Adam Mosseri discussing it with staff.
Last month, Meta announced a video editing app called Edits to compete with CapCut, which is owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance. That move marked an effort to capitalize on the company’s uncertain future in the US. But Meta isn’t stopping there.
According to a report from The Information, Meta is considering launching a standalone app for its short-form Reels. The news stems from an anonymous source who heard Instagram head Adam Mosseri discussing the project with staff.
Reportedly code-named Project Ray, the effort aims to improve recommendations for new users and existing users in the US, featuring more three-minute videos. Currently, Instagram’s feed is a mixed bag of photos, TikTok-like video Reels, and Snapchat-like Stories.
But many users feel the platform has become cluttered due to its heavy push into video, abandoning its roots as a photo-centric app. Turning Reels into its own standalone app could create an opportunity for Instagram to focus on other features that made it a popular platform in the first place.
It’s worth noting this wouldn’t be Instagram’s first attempt at a standalone TikTok competitor. The company launched Lasso in 2018, an app designed for users to create short-form videos with music, text, and filters. But as Instagram shifted its focus to Reels, Lasso was shuttered only two years later.
With TikTok facing an uncertain future earlier this year, Instagram started paying creators to promote their content on Instagram over other platforms like YouTube Shorts and Snapchat. The company has also been offering some serious cash to creators for Reels exclusivity, with reported bonuses of between $10,000 and $50,000 for the biggest creators.
Ultimately, whether TikTok stays or goes is irrelevant to the broader music industry. Rather than trying to catch lightning in a bottle, companies like Chartmetric are pursuing other, more reliable methods of gauging the success of artists across platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
And TikTok is gradually losing its foothold as the dominant time-waster among teens and young adults anyway, with a 5% dip in users in Q4 2024. Indeed, more people in this vital demographic are spending their time with YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.