Latest news with #FYRE
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Billy McFarland Sells Fyre Festival Brand For This Eye-Watering Amount: 'Damn'
NEED TO KNOW Billy McFarland sold the Fyre Festival brand for $245,000 The disgraced businessman created the event, which took place in 2017, promising attendees luxurious accommodations and days of entertainment in the Bahamas After serving four years in prison for wire fraud, McFarland began planning Fyre Festival 2It's the end of an era for Billy McFarland. The creator of Fyre Festival revealed that he sold his brand on eBay, months after announcing its eventual sale. The highest bid of the 175 that came in was a cool $245,300 on Tuesday, July 15. Per NBC, the businessman livestreamed the auction and said, "Damn. This sucks, it's so low," to the bid that came in just under $250K. The unknown buyer now owns the "FYRE Festival – Iconic Brand, Trademarks, IP, Social Media Assets, and More," per the listing. "This is your opportunity to take control of a brand that still trends every time it's mentioned." McFarland, 33, shared an update on the sale on Instagram via what appears to be a Notes app screenshot. "I would like to congratulate the winning bidder in the FYRE Festival IP auction on eBay. I look forward to working with them to begin the process to finalize the sale." The disgraced businessman called the festival "one chapter of my story" and said he's "excited to move on to my next one." The social media post claimed that the auction was the "most-watched non-charity listing on eBay" while it was live. McFarland said that this proves "attention is currency, and views are the root of attention." "That belief is at the core of what I'm building next: a tech platform designed to capture and power the value behind every view online." McFarland told followers that his next project is "coming soon." For those who missed out on bidding on the infamous brand, you can still buy Fyre Fest merch. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. McFarland launched the Fyre Festival experience in 2017, promising attendees who paid upwards of $1,500 per ticket luxurious accommodations and celebrity guests, including influencers and musicians. However, those who traveled to the Bahamas were met with underwhelming stays and a lack of talent. The festival and its subsequent fallout were the subject of the Netflix documentary FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened and Hulu's documentary Fyre Fraud. McFarland was found guilty of two counts of wire fraud and served four years in prison from 2018 to 2022 for his involvement in the festival. In 2024, McFarland announced that Fyre Fest 2 was in the works. "We have a private island off the coast of Mexico in the Caribbean, and we have an incredible production company who's handling everything from soup to nuts," he said during a September appearance on Today. Though final details such as talent and location were in the works, McFarland claimed he had already sold 100 $500 tickets and had packages lined up costing up to $1 million. McFarland said the festival's second iteration was slated to take place in late May on Isla Mujeres. However, the Isla Mujeres tourism board stated in February that there were no permits requested by McFarland or his company for the event. "We have no knowledge of this event, nor contact with any person or company about it. For us, this is an event that does not exist," they said at the time. In April, he updated fans that the event would take place in Playa del Carmen, which also denied any involvement in the festival. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rights to Fyre Festival sell for $245K on eBay
The rights to the troubled Fyre Festival brand have sold for only $245,000 in an eBay auction. The sale included IP, brand trademarks and social media assets. The auction received a total of 175 bids with the final bid coming in early Tuesday afternoon. Organizer Billy McFarland announced he was selling the brand in April, roughly a week after Fyre Festival 2 was postponed indefinitely and refunds were issued. 'Damn. This sucks, it's so low,' McFarland said during a livestream of the auction after the bids went over $240,000. McFarland said a brand bought the rights, but did not disclose the mystery buyer. Fyre Fest became a world-wide sensation for all the wrong reasons after its disastrous 2017 debut. The music festival promised a luxury experience in the Bahamas featuring big-name bands and A-list attendees. Instead, groups like Blink-182 canceled and ticketholders were forced to stay in flimsy disaster relief tents and eat thrown-together cheese sandwiches. The fiasco inspired dueling streaming documentaries and a host of criminal cases. McFarland pleaded guilty to wire fraud and other federal charges related to the festival and was released early from prison in 2022. He resumed work on a second festival on a private island in Mexico, but that ultimately fell apart, too. 'After two years of rebuilding FYRE with honesty, creativity and relentless effort, it's time to pass the torch,' McFarland wrote at the time on the festival's Instagram account. McFarland, who owes $26 million, said proceeds from the auction would go toward restituation.
TechCrunch
4 days ago
- TechCrunch
The rights to Fyre Festival sold on eBay for 245K
Billy McFarland, the fraudster who brought you Fyre Festival, has sold the rights to the brand on eBay for $245,300. We do not yet know who the buyer is or what they plan to do with such cursed IP. Fyre Festival was a downright disaster. What was supposed to be a luxury music festival ended up stranding guests on an island in the Bahamas. Instead of lavish villas and gourmet meals, the festival's clientele, which included wealthy millennial influencers, got flimsy tents and famously unappetizing cheese sandwiches. McFarland was later convicted of financial crimes due to his role in the festival, serving about three and a half years before he was released in 2022. But McFarland has not seemed to have learned his lesson. He tried organizing a second Fyre Festival, which was supposed to take place this summer in Mexico with tickets ranging between $1,400 and $1.1 million. The second Fyre Festival never happened. Playa del Carmen, the Mexican city where McFarland said the festival would take place, claimed that there had not been any record of planning for the event, which did not have a permit. McFarland denied this, but announced a few weeks later that he would sell the Fyre Festival brand. 'Since 2017, FYRE has dominated headlines, documentaries, and conversations as one of the world's most talked-about music festivals,' McFarland wrote, failing to mention that the festival garnered so much attention due to its colossal failure. 'There is a clear path for operators and entrepreneurs with strong domain expertise to build FYRE into a global force in entertainment, media, fashion, CPG, and more.' The eBay auction says that a portion of the proceeds of the sale will go toward restitution — but McFarland owes $26 million, so this $245,300 sale isn't going to make much of an impact.
Hypebeast
09-07-2025
- Business
- Hypebeast
Billy McFarland's Fyre Fest Is Officially Up for Auction on eBay
Summary Name your price —Billy McFarland'sFyre Festbrand is officially up for auction oneBay. The founder took to social media to announce that his previous deal to sell the IP has fallen through, causing him to put Fyre back on the market. 'Whoever owns the Fyre brand will have an attention engine to launch festivals, do merch collabs, do insane pop-ups, run livestreams, or build a media brand,' McFarland said in a video. The auction kicked off with a starting bid of one cent and iscurrently pricedat a whopping $200,100 USD. As per the listing, the winning bidder will acquire the brand name, its festival domains, artist and talent relationships and more: Brand NameRegistered Trademarks & Intellectual PropertyOfficial Social Media Accounts (including verified Instagram)Comprehensive Marketing Assets (photos, videos, graphic templates, ad archives)FYRE Festival DomainsCaribbean Festival Location Option (with full support from elected island leadership)Behind-the-Scenes Content & Documentary FootageEmail & SMS ListsArtist & Talent RelationshipsExtensive Media Coverage ArchiveAccess to Core Team (optional) Earlier this June, McFarland announced a newFyre event in Hondurasaftercancelling Fyre Fest 2. The upcoming 'Fyre Coral View Pop-Up in Utila' will supposedly take place on September 3 to September 10 in the small, undeveloped island of Utila. Check out McFarland's announcement below.
Metro
03-06-2025
- Business
- Metro
Fyre Festival launches tropical hotel this summer with $1,500 stays
It's not often that an event synonymous with disaster manages to revive itself continuously, but the Fyre Festival brand has consistently defied expectations. Yesterday, the infamous brand announced the Fyre Hotels experience, scheduled to take place from September 3 to September 10 at the Coral View Utila in Honduras, the Caribbean. According to a new website, the hotel experience stems from the initial 2013 incident that inspired Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland's original festival: 'A software engineer and hobbyist pilot challenged Billy to leave NYC and to try and fly a small plane from NYC to a remote Caribbean island.' 'Along the way, Billy overshot, ran out of gas, and was saved by a landing strip on a remote island. The magic of the island created a legend that quickly spread back home. These trips grew from a single engine propeller plane with four crazy entrepreneurs to the talent lead and adventure infused trips that became FYRE Festival.' For those not in the know, FYRE Festival was a 2017 luxury music event in the Bahamas that disastrously collapsed. Marketed by influencers and co-founded by Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule, it promised lavish villas, gourmet food, and top artists – but delivered disaster tents, cold sandwiches, and chaos. Attendees were stranded, and the event quickly became a viral scandal, with McFarland later being convicted of fraud and sentenced to six years in prison. The festival sparked multiple lawsuits and became a symbol of social media deception, later chronicled in two popular documentaries. So is this new hotel scheme redemption or just another ruse for McFarland? At this point, it's hard to say for sure. Hotel packages range from $200 (£147) to $500 (£370) a day – making the entire trip cost around $1500 (£1,109) – with packages supposedly including boat excursions, guided snorkelling, beach fitness sessions, kayaking, beach volleyball, nightly entertainment, and beach bonfire parties. The island reached out to the brand specifically. The website states: 'They have tapped FYRE to bring global attention to this off-the-map gem, programming unforgettable experiences, and simply enjoying life at the edge of the reef.' While the original disastrous festival touted a luxury experience, this is intentionally more rustic: 'We're not chasing luxury. We're chasing stories. Our trip is about deep dives, street food, late night bonfires, and waking up to something unexpected. This location is the essence of beauty, energy, and potential for adventure.' The news of the hotel comes shortly after Fyre Festival 2 was officially canceled. It may not have existed at all. The festival was reportedly due to take place in Isla Mujeres, Mexico, from May 30 to June 2. However, the local Playa del Carmen government said there is 'no event of that name' expected to take place in the city, as per The Times. It remains unclear whether he was referring to the new hotel experience when he insisted it was 'all real' on social media. Still, given McFarland's track record, many are skeptical about the brand's new venture. More Trending But Heath Miller, former New York concert promoter and one-time vp and talent buyer at Webster Hall in New York, who reached an agreement with McFarland for the hotel pop-up, is optimistic. He told Billboard: 'This event isn't for an artist looking for a $100,000 fee. Honestly, for me, this is a promotional vehicle for my hotel and it plays into my grand plan — I'm working on writing a book on my music career, and the book was supposed to end last June [with a story about] Jack Antonoff in Asbury Park. But instead, I guess Fyre is going to be the final chapter of the book.' He went on to say that though Fyre Festival has a bad reputation as a brand, it's valuable in its ability to drum up publicity. He added: 'Billy has issues and one of his biggest flaws is that he tends to trust people more than he should,' before going on to explain that he has personally ensured all of the pop-up's permits and other paperwork are in order. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: SXSW London: Five live performances, film showcases and talks you must see MORE: SXSW London: Everything you can expect from festival's inaugural week in the Capital MORE: British rockers step in for Kings Of Leon at upcoming festivals after 'freak accident'
