Voices For Rent is anti-lotto — Page 2

Yes, but he was my chocolate boyfriend.

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Except 95% of the people participating on Voices for Rent are probably 13-17, live nowhere near New York and their only experience with Rent was on DVD. They all OMG want soooo bad to see Rent, but their meany parents won't fly them across country to see it and apparently tours don't exist!!! So it's a waste if that's his goal, because it will never be accomplished.

At least the people actually going to see Rent aren't stupid enough to buy into the crap on that site. And realize that you can save 7000 minutes of your life by just buying the freakin' magnet for $4 at the theatre.

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My only experience with VFR is when I see it being made fun of on other sites, and the fact that the castmembers I know think it's insane but, honestly, I'd love to know who landlord benny is. I've never actually visited VFR and have no intention or desire to do so. There are enough ridiculously annoying fankids on every other Rent and theatre site, no need to overdose on them there!

The picture in the original post just shows up as a red X for me... anyone want to tell me what it is/says?

In my 40+ times of seeing RENT over the last almost 9 years, I think I paid full price twice. And that wasn't $110 full price, this was either on tour where it's cheaper or back in the day when side orch was $75 or so. Now I will never pay more than $20 to see RENT. Until it is finally closing. Then I might spring for a full price ticket to the final performance.

I've never been on the site, so pardon if this is a stupid question, but... there's a rule against talking about the lotto on there? How assinine. The rush line is part of what put RENT on the map; the lines of people camped out every day generated a lot of buzz for the show. It also started the whole rush/lotto phenomenon on Broadway. If I remember correctly, RENT was the first show to offer cheap tickets like that.

Reposting the screenshot for those who can't see it.

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well the admin (landlord benny) constantly hints at 'keeping the site open' perhaps the producers are not totally sold on the cost effectiveness of such an elaborate marketing scheme.

I agree that "Landlord Benny" is, in some ways, essentially forced to be a pawn of the producers' marketing scheme, but I have to wonder "elaborate" the Voices for Rent website really is. I can't imagine maintaining the website itself is viewed as a big expense to the producers. I'd be more willing to buy that the producers are slightly upset that what looked to them like an easy opportunity to raise ticket sales doesn't really seem to be doing much.

The only way I could ever imagine this marketing scheme (I hesitate to even call it that, considering it's so poorly thought out) working at all is encouraging repeat business by allowing the more obsessive fans to have an outlet for discussion. However, those who are big enough fans of Rent to see the show more than once or twice likely already know about the lotto and, regardless of what "Landlord Benny" says, aren't going to use the tickets link through Voices for Rent. People who are very casual fans of Rent would probably never return to the site upon realizing they don't have much to add on what is essentially a message board, and those who have never seen the show aren't even going to bother clicking on those banners. I can't even think of what Voices for Rent was supposed to accomplish more than prolonging a handful of fans' obsession with the show.

I'm a little disturbed that all of Landlord Benny's pics are from the movie. You would think you would use pics from the show you are trying to sell.

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People who are very casual fans of Rent would probably never return to the site upon realizing they don't have much to add on what is essentially a message board, and those who have never seen the show aren't even going to bother clicking on those banners. I can't even think of what Voices for Rent was supposed to accomplish more than prolonging a handful of fans' obsession with the show.

I think what they were trying to do (however lamely) was create some kind of community -- what they didn't take into account was that Rent has had revolving segments of fandom since 1996. CompulsiveBowlers.org and its predecessors were established long before the Rent folks ever jumped on the bandwagon. There was even the short-lived board on siteforrent.com which probably should've taught them what happens when you pull a "too little, too late" on this group.

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I think the site was originally trying to do the whole 'online street-team' thing that a lot of record labels tried to do at the tail end of the 90s. Unfortunately for the producers of Rent, they waited until a good five years after the labels discovered that the idea didn't work effectively.

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Updated On: 6/15/07 at 01:35 PM

Ha.

It only gets better.

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"Tell me what you'd do."

I'd admit defeat and close the board, because it's clearly not working.

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