Billy McFarland sells controversial Fyre Festival brand for shocking amount
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.
ZUMAPRESS.com
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.'
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