Billy McFarland says the Fyre Festival brand will be sold.
In a lengthy-statement shared on Wednesday (April 23), the founder of the ill-fated brand acknowledged the festival’s tumultuous journey and widespread criticism surrounding its return.
Now, after two years of trying to revive the festival, he and his team are ready “to pass the torch.”
“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,” wrote McFarland. “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,” he added.
Meanwhile, Shawn Rech, President and co-founder of Chris Hansen’s TruBlu Crime Network has officially launched Fyre Music Streaming Ventures, LLC, acquiring the rights to use the FYRE brand for a new fan-curated music streaming platform, according to a press release. It is an Ohio-based company “aiming to disrupt the music media space with a fan-curated streaming network” and is “focused entirely on music discovery, fandom, and storytelling.
McFarland is expected to have some involvement. The Fyre Music Network will launch its website and mobile apps on Thanksgiving Day 2025, with FAST channels to follow.
Years after the infamously disastrous event’s cancellation in 2017 and his release from prison in 2022 after pleading guilty to wire fraud, McFarland announced plans for a Fyre Festival 2.0 and a Broadway musical in May 2023. At the time, he claimed financial backers were working with him on ways to repay his debts and execute a new festival on a Caribbean island.
Ticket sales for Fyre Festival II were launched three months later with the event advertised as taking place in the Caribbean on December 6, 2024, with ticket prices ranging from $499 to $7,999. There was no artist lineup announced, but the event promised pop-ups, film screenings, and other exclusive but unspecified experiences.
McFarland told NBC News in Sept. 2024 that the event was rescheduled for April 25, 2025 and would take place on a private island off the coast of Mexico. Tickets were priced from $1,400 to $1.1 million and promised luxury perks like yachts and scuba diving.
The festival was relocated twice, originally scheduled to take place at the Isla Mujeres in Mexico before relocating to Playa del Carmen after officials claimed they had no knowledge of the event.
Fyre Festival’s Instagram pushed back, saying that they had worked with officials since early March 2025.
Last week, Fyre Festival II was postponed without a set date with ticket buyers being issued refunds and the option to repurchase tickets in the future.
“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,” McFarland said on Wednesday’s statement. “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,” he added.
Fyre Festival’s original 2017 iteration promised a high-end luxury experience but ended in disaster and was the subject of documentaries on Netflix and Hulu.
