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Just thinking about a niche that looks to be filled (or is it?). I've been a fan of photoshop contest sites like Worth1000.com for a while. I used to be a member, and paid to enter contests (which I sometimes won, but most didn't). Do you think this model could work for a videos as well?

People put stuff up on YouTube for fun already. They get ratings and feedback. What if they could make money of it too in a competitive setting?

I know there are already sponsored type contests on YouTube and the like, but there doesn't seem to be a central site like Worth1000 anywhere. The nearest I've seen is famecast.com, which does sort of what I am thinking about, but for music only.

What would make such a site work? What kind of prize / entry fee ratio would be acceptable? Would you be interested in such a site personally?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

[Chuckit]

I think it could work, because people generally love a good competition, but the prize/entry fee ratio would be tricky. It seems like the vast majority of YouTubers are basically rugrats, so you'd have to make sure it's both possible and worthwhile to participate frequently on a teenager's budget. (Of course, there's also the film student demographic that might be interested if you market it that way, but I'm not sure they're particularly more wealthy on average than teenagers.)

[nonhuman]

It's already happening: OurStage

Free to enter, real prizes to win. They do music too (I've actually discovered some really good music through the site).

(Disclaimer: I live with and am engaged to an employee of OurStage.com)

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Thanks for the heads up on OurStage, that seems similar to both Famecast and my idea in many respects. It does however seem to be based on corporate sponsorship still. How much do you think this will matter to the demographics (YouTubers aged 15-35)? Without going too much into details or giving away any business secrets, can you divulge on how successful it is as a business venture?

Will it be seen as positive that the contests are not attached to a corporate sponsor? Looking at YouTube contests in particular it seems that the restraints on the competitions are working against their favour and that it is sometimes viewed as the sponsors just looking for "free ideas".

My idea is more of a pure entry fee = prize money model instead of sponsored prizes. What would be the advantages/disadvantages to this model as compared to the free entry/sponsored contest model that seems to be prevalent?

[nonhuman]

What do you mean by based on corporate sponsorship? The sponsors provide the prizes, nothing else. Who wins the prizes is determined entirely by the users.

I understand the desire to avoid corporate sponsorship in general, but in this case I think it's a pretty good thing. By getting rid of the entry fee it opens up the competition to anyone who has access to a computer and the means to create art. It also allows for opportunities that simply wouldn't exist otherwise. For example, it's because of the corporate sponsorship that OurStage has been able to get some of their winning arts performance spots at major music festivals like the Virgin Music Festival in Baltimore, Bumbershoot in Seattle, 10k Lakes in Minnesota, and a bunch of others. A cash prize is nice and all (and OurStage gives those out as well), but it's the opportunity to expand their fan base and gain exposure that's really helpful to independent artists.

As for how much of a business success it is, I don't think I can say a whole lot without getting myself (or my fiancé) in trouble, but it's doing pretty well and all indications are that it will be continuing to grow in the future.

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Well, that's all and well for music. But my site would have lots of ongoing contests in a Worth1000.com style. Getting sponsorships for lots and lots of contests would just be too much work.