Softbank, Rustic Canyon Put $3.5 million Into DanceJam

http://v1.tinypic.com/player.swf?file=6b9gyls&s=1

Put new startup DanceJam, a “YouTube for dance videos” down for another $3.5 million, bringing their total to $4.5 million raised. They’ve closed a Series B round of financing from Softbank Capital, Rustic Canyon Partners and a number of new angel investors. Note that I am an investor in this startup.

The company, founded by M.C. Hammer and Flock’s Geoffrey Arone and Anthony Young, is in private beta but should be launching shortly. Users will be able to upload short clips of themselves dancing; other users can rate those clips. Aggregate votes will be used to show top dancers by geography and dance type around the the country and the world.

In addition to the funding and the upcoming public launch, the company says they’ve signed a number of key business development deals to assist with distribution and marketing.

Wired Magazine wrote a good overview of the company here.