ESR has some good analysis of how crowdfunding will interact with the existing angel-investor/VC process.

Armed & Dangerous :: Eric S Raymond :: What does crowdfunding replace or displace?

I think he's on the right track, but I wonder how willing will people be to contribute to crowdfunded projects by established firms? It seems like people are more willing to contribute to the (imagined?) plucky tinkerer in his garage than to an existing small-medium firm who is just looking for lower cost of capital.

In my view Kickstarter is just busking, especially now that they've moved to discourage people from using it as a platform for prepayment. Are you really going to be willing to keep chipping in money to fund projects from existing companies with a track record of product releases?

Maybe there are simply too many Scots in my ancestry for me to get so loose with the purse strings, or maybe I've just been living on a grad student's budget for too long, but crowdfunding doesn't have much appeal to me either way. (Unless it's just a pre-order system.) I'm glad it exists, and I'm glad other people are getting utility from it, but it's not for me. Not until I can get some equity out of the deal.

PS Sort of related — The Economist: Babbage :: After the Crowd Leaves