LinkedIn Leak Shows Paid Creator Subscriptions, 'Experiences' Feature

Internal documents leaked from LinkedIn reveal the platform is developing paid creator subscriptions and a new feature called "experiences," according to people familiar with the materials. The move is part of a broader push to keep top creators active on the network, which has grown to 1.3 billion users from a pure business-networking app into a social feed.

The subscription product would let creators charge followers for exclusive content, similar to Substack or X's premium tiers. The "experiences" feature appears to be a verifiable credential system – users could add professional certifications, event attendance, or other real-world achievements directly to their profiles. LinkedIn did not comment on the leaked documents.

The strategy signals that Microsoft, which owns LinkedIn, sees creator monetization as a growth lever. The platform has already expanded its video and newsletter tools. A subscription revenue stream could reduce reliance on corporate recruiters and advertising – two areas that have softened as tech hiring slowed and ad budgets tightened.

Competition for creator attention is fierce. Twitter (now X) lost some professional users after its API pricing changes, while Substack and Patreon offer direct monetization. LinkedIn's advantage is the existing professional network built into the subscription product – a creator paying for career-advice posts could also pitch coaching sessions or workshops through LinkedIn's events tool.

The leaked documents described the features as "early stage" and subject to change. No launch date was specified. The company has previously tested paid tools like Premium Career and Sales Navigator. If the creator push succeeds, it could lift LinkedIn's contribution to Microsoft's revenue, which reported $23.4 billion from the More Personal Computing segment last quarter, though LinkedIn's precise share is not broken out.