FameCast, the online talent show, has raised $4.5 million in funding from Austin Ventures.
FameCast hands out $10,000 in cash prizes to the winner of each of its twelve "stage" contests, spanning art genres such as spoken word, animation, and stand-up comedy, along with the expected music categories for Pop, Country, R&B, etc. Contestants submit videos of their work to their respected "stage." Users vote for who they like best, and the contests last for an entire "season." FameCast's recent funding will go towards expanding its marketing efforts in the U.S. and around the world.
The democratization of finding the world's talent is becoming a rather crowded space, and many companies are taking different approaches to the community and self-promotion aspects of this model. FameCast's approach is rather straight forward and works from established concepts surrounding the talent and voting systems we see on American Idol, yet diminishes the need for celebrity judges (though having a few of these seldom hurt). Similar sites include OurStage, NextWebStar, and GoChongo.