Ex con and con man Billy McFarland says he’s selling the Fyre brand after screwing up his second festival.
What else is there to do? Why would anyone believe anything this guy says? He spent four years in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud in March 2018.
There have been two documentaries about the first Fyre Festival. The second one, which he’s promoted heavily, isn’t happening.
Here’s his latest piece of fiction:
When my team and I launched FYRE Festival 2, it was about two things: finishing what I started and making things right.
Over the past two years, we’ve poured everything into bringing FYRE back with honesty, transparency, relentless effort, and creativity. We’ve taken the long road to rebuilding trust. We rebuilt momentum. And we proved one thing without a doubt:
FYRE is one of the most powerful attention engines in the world.
Since 2017, FYRE has dominated headlines, documentaries, and conversations as one of the world’s most talked-about music festivals. We knew that FYRE was big, but we didn’t realize just how massive the wave would become. That wave has brought us here: to a point where we know it’s time to call for assistance.
This brand is bigger than any one person and bigger than what I’m able to lead on my own. It’s a movement. And it deserves a team with the scale, experience, and infrastructure to realize its potential.
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.
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. For example, in the two years since we’ve re-launched FYRE Festival, Hollywood and entertainment executives have already licensed the brand to develop properties specifically in theatre, music streaming, and Free Ad-Supported TV.
In addition, following the challenges we faced in Mexico, we were approached by several Caribbean destinations eager to host FYRE Festival 2. We dove into the process—meeting with national officials, conducting site visits—and we’re confident we’ve found the ideal location for the festival. 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. 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.
I’ve stood by my team, our partners, and our fans since Day 1 of FYRE Festival 2. 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.
To the supporters, believers, and builders who’ve stuck with my team and me: thank you. 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.
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