Well until now retail investors were shut out of opportunities reserved for VCs even if they only wanted to risk small sums they could afford to lose. Crowdfunding seems like a godsend for the small indie film industry where it's hard to get attention from major investors but donations from friends and family may be insufficient to raise a budget.

I realize the prior rules were there to protect investors from losing their shirts, but simply excluding people without changing the problematic behaviors in the marketplace means that it's harder than ever for small investors to accumulate any kind of meaningful investment capital.