Billy McFarland Attempts to Sell Fyre Festival Following Series of Missteps
This week, it was revealed that the Fyre Festival intellectual property is set to be utilized to launch a new streaming platform, though Billy McFarland would retain ownership of the event brand itself. However, McFarland has shifted gears and now plans to completely sell off the brand.
In an Instagram post, McFarland claimed he has “poured everything into bringing FYRE back with honesty, transparency, relentless effort, and creativity,” describing the brand as “one of the most powerful attention engines in the world.” Beneath a layer of PR speak that framed his latest strategy as a quest for partners, he revealed his true intention: “The best way to accomplish our goals is to sell the FYRE Festival brand, including its trademarks, IP, digital assets, media reach, and cultural capital.”
This announcement reads more like a thinly veiled liquidation sale. Fyre Festival 2 faced widespread skepticism when tickets became available in February, and matters deteriorated further when plans collapsed at not just one, but two proposed locations in Mexico fell through. After McFarland and his team ultimately postponed the event, he likely experienced a moment of clarity.
The original 2017 Fyre Festival was marketed through influencer promotions as an exclusive festival in the Bahamas featuring major musical acts. Attendees arrived to find inadequate food and shelter; an infamous image of a cheese sandwich served to a ticket holder who was promised gourmet dining went viral. Billy McFarland served four years in prison for wire fraud, and this debacle has been chronicled in documentaries on Netflix and Hulu.
The takeaway is clear: Grifters gonna grift. While Fyre Festival has proven to be an enduring spectacle, any buyer of the brand should be prepared to inherit its extensive baggage.
