How do folks see crowd-funding platforms like Kickstarter having a longer-term impact here?

The promise of sustainable incubation without ceding control seems real using this model, but it might add overhead in areas where fledgling "companies" or projects might not have the time or bandwidth to steer.

Plus, I suppose, there's the question of the VC's rolodex vs. the "networking effect" of the crowd.

Arts organizations seem to rely on this model fairly regularly, but as much as one might want to be idealistic in suggesting that it is about "maintaining aesthetic independence" from monetary influences (big donors, government grants, "selling out" to the market), the drying up of funding in traditional areas is a prime motivator here as well.