AMC Leads $4 Million Investment In DanceOn

DanceOn has secured an investment that will allow it to waltz past its YouTube origins and become something much bigger. The dance video network has landed a $4 million funding round led by AMC Networks.

The windfall will allow DanceOn to expand its offerings to multiple platforms, though it will retain its position as a top YouTube dance hub. “YouTube is a really important part of what we do, and we’ll always be fostering a community and audience on YouTube,” said DanceOn CEO Amanda Taylor. “But we’re really looking at growing beyond this definition of being a multichannel network…To the extent we are generating premium content, we want to be on all devices.” With that goal in mind, it’s not surprising to find Roku CMO Matthew Anderson among the list of investors for the recent round.

DanceOn is one of the most successful channels born from the YouTube Original Channels Initiative; since its launch in 2011, it has more than 187 million views and brought in more than 263,000 subscribers. In becoming a full-on multi-channel network, it has worked extensively with a number of prominent YouTube creators, and its Dance Showdown series is particularly replete with familiar faces. Several familiar faces in the YouTube community, such as Machinima founder Allen Debevoise and ZEFR founder Rich Raddon, have chipped in to the $4 million round.

The new bonus will allow DanceOn to keep its original productions going full force, and with AMC as a leading backer, increased ties to TV can’t be ruled out. Congratulations, DanceOn. It’s time to celebrate.