Billy McFarland Is Selling Fyre Fest

Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland says that after two unsuccessful attempts at staging a physical festival, he’s putting the brand for sale with the hopes that a new group will “execute the vision of FYRE in a transparent, grand, and expeditious manner.”

In his first public statement since the postponement of Fyre Fest 2 last week, McFarland said, “it’s clear that I need to step back and allow a new team to move forward independently, bringing the vision to life.”

“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 added.

Already, McFarland has sold some of the brand’s IP to documentarian Shawn Rech, who plans to leverage the Fyre name into a new music-focused subscription video-on-demand platform. McFarland is now soliciting offers for the entire Fyre Festival brand, including “trademarks, IP, digital assets, media reach, and cultural capital – to an operator that can fully realize its vision.”

Following the disastrous debut of Fyre Fest in 2017, McFarland was convicted of mail and wire fraud, spent four years in prison, and ordered to pay $26 million in restitution. Earlier this year, he attempted to stage Fyre Fest 2 in Mexico but ran into registration and permitting issues with local officials, ultimately leading to the event being indefinitely postponed.