Latest news with #FYREFestival
New York Post
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Billy McFarland sells controversial Fyre Festival brand for shocking amount
This sale was not on Fyre. Billy McFarland sold the rights to his infamous Fyre Festival brand on Tuesday, but he wasn't happy about the amount it went for. After the week-long sale involving 175 bids, the undisclosed buyer paid $245,300 for the Fyre Festival IP, brand trademarks and social media assets. 8 Billy McFarland leaves federal court in New York in March 2018. AP 'Damn. This sucks, it's so low,' McFarland, 33, said about the final bid while livestreaming the auction, according to NBC News. In a statement on his Instagram, McFarland wrote: '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.' 8 Billy McFarland in an Instagram video. pyrtbilly/Instagram 'FYE Festival is just one chapter of my story,' the convicted fraudster stated, 'and I'm just excited to move onto my next one.' McFarland claimed that the auction 'became the most-watched non-charity listing on eBay during its run, proving once again that attention is currency, and views are the root of attention.' 8 Billy McFarland's statement about the Fyre Festival sale. pyrtbilly/Instagram '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 added, teasing that his next project is 'coming soon.' The original Fyre Festival, co-organized by McFarland and Ja Rule, ended disastrously back in 2017. 8 Views of the Fyre Festival in the Bahamas in 2017. Lee/Prahl/ Splash News 8 Billy McFarland went to jail for is involvement in the Fyre Festival scam. Attendees who paid thousands of dollars for tickets arrived in the Bahamas expecting a luxe celebrity experience only to be stranded with no musical acts, no electricity, no running water and a limited supply of cheese sandwiches and FEMA huts to nourish and shelter them. 8 Tents and a portable toilet set at the Fyre Festival. AP In 2018, McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud after the federal government determined he had defrauded investors out of more than $26 million. He was ordered to pay the full amount in restitution and sentenced to six years in prison, but was released in 2022 after serving just four years. The Fyre Festival controversy has been explored in several documentaries, including Netflix's 'FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened' and Hulu's 'Fyre Fraud.' 8 Billy McFarland leaving Manhattan Federal Court on July 1, 2017. TNS McFarland announced last year that Fyre Festival 2 was in the works. He claimed it would take place on 'a private island off the coast of Mexico in the Caribbean' and promised that 'an incredible production company' was handling the event. The festival was later slated for May 2025 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, until a dispute with the location occurred. 8 Billy McFarland in an Instagram video. pyrtbilly/YouTube After Fyre Festival 2 was postponed indefinitely, McFarland revealed he was selling the brand. 'We have decided 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 – to an operator that can fully realize its vision,' McFarland said in April. The entrepreneur stated that Fyre Festival 'deserves a team with the scale, experience, and infrastructure to realize its potential.'
Fox News
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
‘American Idol' Music Supervisor Found Dead Alongside Husband
Kendrick Lamar is up for an Emmy. 'American Idol' music supervisor Robin Kaye and her husband were found dead in their home. Plus, Billy McFarland has officially sold the rights to FYRE Festival. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit FOX News Radio
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'
American Military News
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- American Military News
Fyre Festival 2 flames out as Billy McFarland puts brand up for sale: ‘I need to step back'
When promoter and convicted fraudster Billy McFarland sought to revive his infamous Fyre Festival this year, he wanted to do it 'with honesty, transparency, relentless effort, and creativity.' Now, Fyre Festival 2 is indefinitely postponed, and McFarland seeks to distance himself from the event, putting the Fyre brand up for sale. 'This brand is bigger than any one person and bigger than what I'm able to lead on my own,' McFarland said Wednesday in a statement shared to the Fyre Festival website and Instagram page. 'It's a movement. And it deserves a team with the scale, experience, and infrastructure to realize its potential,' McFarland said. 'We have decided the best way to accomplish our goals is to sell the FYRE Festival brand … to an operator that can fully realize its vision.' McFarland announced his decision to step away from Fyre two months after declaring in February that 'Fyre Festival 2 is real' and was set to come to Isla Mujeres in the Mexican Caribbean from May 30 to June 2. At the time, he said he saw the Mexico event as a 'second chance.' The first iteration of McFarland's Fyre Festival in 2017 advertised two weekends of a luxury music event on a private island in Exuma, the Bahamas. Attendees, some who shelled out more than $10,000 for tickets, were instead met with canceled shows, plain cheese sandwiches and flimsy tents that struggled to withstand stormy conditions at the botched event, founded by McFarland and rapper Ja Rule. The fiasco quickly went viral and in the following years inspired documentaries from both Hulu and Netflix. A year after the first Fyre Festival, McFarland pleaded guilty in 2018 to defrauding investors of $26 million in the failed event and over $100,000 in a fraudulent ticket-selling scheme. Dubbed a 'serial fraudster' by a New York judge, McFarland was sentenced to six years in federal prison. He was released early and placed under house arrest in 2022. Fyre Festival 2 (not to be confused with the other Fyre Festival 2 that was announced and quickly scrapped in 2023) touted four ticket tiers ranging from $1,400 to $1.1 million. The website for the fest also featured vague promises of 'an electrifying celebration of music, arts, cuisine, comedy, fashion, gaming, sports and treasure hunting.' Fyre Festival 2 boasted 'unforgettable performances, immersive experiences,' but an artist lineup was never revealed. Pages detailing ticket sales and accommodation have since been scrubbed from the website. The Instagram post announcing the return of the festival has also been deleted. The road to Fyre Festival 2 seemed turbulent even before McFarland announced his search for a buyer. A week after the promoter confidently unveiled his plans for Fyre Festival 2, the tourism board of Isla Mujeres said it had 'no knowledge of this event.' A spokesperson for the tourism board told the Guardian in early March, 'For us, this is an event that does not exist.' Not long after, McFarland disputed those claims in a since-deleted Instagram video, reassuring followers that the event's team did have accommodations in place for festival goers and 'we have talent.' The Fyre Festival team, in a statement to ticket holders reviewed by The Times, said it was 'blindsided' by Isla Mujeres officials' claims and instead opted to host the event at Mexico's Playa del Carmen. In late March, McFarland shared videos from a beachside press conference about the event featuring himself and a panel of Fyre Festival partners and organizers. On April 2, Playa del Carmen government officials issued a statement in Spanish on Instagram with a familiar message. 'After a thorough review, there is no record or planning of any such event in the municipality,' the statement said, according to NBC News. In its notice to ticket holders last week, the Fyre team claimed it had paid for the necessary permits to move forward with the event at Playa del Carmen and accused the local government of theft. 'Due to this, we have decided to move FYRE Festival 2 elsewhere.' The third location has yet to be revealed — just like the new dates and artist lineup. McFarland referenced the planning challenges on Wednesday and claimed Fyre has since received interest from 'several Caribbean destinations eager to host.' However, he said, 'it's clear that I need to step back and allow a new team to move forward independently, bringing the vision to life on this incredible island.' In his notice, McFarland attempted to appeal to potential buyers with arbitrary claims that supposedly stemmed from Fyre Festival's reputation: 'one of the most powerful attention engines in the world' and 'one of the world's most talked-about music festivals.' Earlier this week, Deadline reported that the festival will get another life as a streaming service after documentarian Shawn Rech acquired some Fyre IP. This week, the event's website transformed into a site focused on selling the brand instead of tickets. Metrics touting the brand's supposed online and social media clout now stand in place of vibrant slides detailing the perks of each ticket tier. The website also features a form where potential buyers can name their price. 'Giving control of the brand to a new group is the most responsible way to follow through on what we set out to do: build a global entertainment brand, host a safe and legendary event, and continue to pay restitution to those who are owed from the first festival,' McFarland said. He concluded his letter: 'The next chapter of FYRE will be bigger, better, and built to last without me at the helm.' Where Fyre Festival 2 goes from here remains to be seen. A silver lining to these latest developments, however, is that McFarland announced his intentions to step away before faithful festival goers descended on a yet-to-be-determined destination for a host of vaguely vibey activities and a possible tropical nightmare with a side of sad cheese sandwiches. ___ © 2025 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Billy McFarland Is Selling the Fyre Festival Brand After Postponing Event. But You Can Still Buy Merch!
Billy McFarland is onto a new business venture. On Wednesday, April 23, the founder of the controversial Fyre Fest founder revealed that he is selling the brand that made him infamous. McFarland, 33, posted a lengthy statement on Instagram detailing his plan. "When my team and I launched FYRE Festival 2, it was about two things: finishing what I started and making things right," he began. McFarland said he and his team spent the last two years bringing back Fyre Fest "with honesty, transparency, relentless effort, and creativity" and had taken "the long road to rebuilding trust." McFarland acknowledges the attention that Fyre Fest had since its inception almost 10 years ago, and said that the brand became too large for him to lead on his own. "We have decided 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," he wrote. Related: Donald Trump's Campaign Asked Disgraced Fyre Fest Founder Billy McFarland for Help Wooing Rappers: Report McFarland also mentioned that when planning Fyre Fest 2, he was approached by "several Caribbean destinations eager to host" but the attention it received became a double-edged sword. "While I'm incredibly excited, I can't risk a repeat of what happened in Playa Del Carmen, where support quickly turned into public distancing once media attention intensified," he said. "For FYRE Festival 2 to succeed, it's clear that I need to step back and allow a new team to move forward independently, bringing the vision to life on this incredible island." The disgraced businessman concluded that relinquishing control to a new group is the best way for the Fyre Fest brand to move forward. "To the supporters, believers, and builders who've stuck with my team and me: thank you." 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. "We will pick the new group based on their ability to execute the vision of FYRE in a transparent, grand, and expeditious manner. The next chapter of FYRE will be bigger, better, and built to last without me at the helm." The week before this announcement, Fyre Fest posted that the event was "postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date in the future" with no new location noted. Those planning to attend the festival were issued a refund. Fyre Fest 2 was originally slated to take place on Isla Mujeres from May 30 to June 2. Tickets for the event ranged from $1,400 to $1.1 million, McFarland announced. Related: Music Festivals 2025: Performers, Dates, Locations and Everything You Need to Know However, the Isla Mujeres Tourism Board released a statement claiming that Fyre Fest 2 "does not exist." "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. The original Fyre Fest took place in 2017, touting famous influencers and musicians as part of the lineup. The festival promised a luxurious experience and guests were greeted with underwhelming accommodations and chaos. McFarland was found guilty of two counts of wire fraud in relation to the festival the following year and served four years in prison. In the meantime, fans can purchase Fyre Fest merch while it's still available. Read the original article on People
