LimeWire outbid Ryan Reynolds in a purchase of Billy McFarland's Fyre Festival assets.
In a surprising turn of events, the revived early 2000s file-sharing platform, LimeWire, has made headlines once again. This time, they've acquired the infamous Fyre Festival brand on eBay.
The acquisition was confirmed in a press release by Deadline, with Julian Zehetmayr, CEO of LimeWire, stating that the move is about saving the Fyre brand from extinction and turning it into something new. Zehetmayr, together with his brother Paul Zehetmayr, are Austrian entrepreneurs who aim to revive the brand with a new Web3 and cryptocurrency focus.
The Fyre Festival, known for its disastrous 2017 event, was characterised by unfinished stages, tents instead of fancy accommodation, and a poor welcome meal. The star-studded line-up of acts, including Pusha T, Tyger, Blink-182, Disclosure, Migos, and Skepta, all pulled out due to the festival's chaos.
Billy McFarland, the founder of Fyre Festival, announced the sale of the brand and all of its IPs for just under a quarter of a million dollars in July. McFarland, who was investigated by the FBI for mail fraud, wire fraud, and securities fraud, was sentenced to six years in prison in 2018 and ordered to hand over $26 million. He was released early in 2022.
The 500+ guests who attended the 2017 Fyre Festival were stranded on the island, as flights were cancelled by the Bahamian government. McFarland had falsely claimed that the festival's location was on Pablo Escobar's private island.
McFarland attempted to revive the festival, named Fyre Fest II, but it never took place. Ryan Reynolds' creative agency Maximum Effort was one of the bidders for the Fyre brand, but the amount it offered remains disclosed.
LimeWire, initially launched in 2000 as an illegal peer-to-peer file-sharing and pirating platform, was ultimately shut down. However, it resurfaced as a crypto company in 2022.
Notable personalities, such as Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and Emily Ratajkowski, were among the influencers who posted about Fyre Festival on Instagram as part of its advertising scheme, but they did not clearly disclose that it was a paid advert. McFarland and Ja Rule were hit with multiple lawsuits for fraud and other charges seeking damages.
As LimeWire embarks on this new venture, the world waits to see how they will redefine the Fyre brand and whether they can deliver an event that lives up to the hype.
