"The file-sharing service company LimeWire said in a statement on Tuesday that it had officially acquired the Fyre Festival brand "after a competitive bidding process" that included Ryan Reynolds' viral ad agency, Maximum Effort. "Fyre became a symbol of hype gone wrong, but it also made history," Julian Zehetmayr, the co-CEO of LimeWire, said on Tuesday. "We're not bringing the festival back - we're bringing the brand and the meme back to life. This time with real experiences, and without the cheese sandwiches," he added."
"The Fyre Festival gained notoriety after festival attendees were greeted with a sight resembling a disaster drill when they arrived in the Bahamas in April 2017. Instead of villas and gourmet meals, guests were housed in FEMA disaster relief tents and served unappetizing cheese sandwiches. Bahamian locals who worked as caterers and laborers for the event said they were not paid their salaries."
"McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud related to the festival in 2018. He was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay $26 million to investors, festival attendees, and vendors. In March 2022, McFarland was released from prison early. He initially touted a sequel to the Fyre Festival in 2023 but eventually decided to sell the event's branding ri"
Billy McFarland auctioned the Fyre Festival branding on eBay and later sold the rights to LimeWire. LimeWire outbid Ryan Reynolds' agency Maximum Effort and paid $245,300 to acquire the brand. LimeWire's co-CEO Julian Zehetmayr said the company will revive the brand and meme with real experiences and promised no repeat of the festival's failures. The Fyre Festival collapsed in April 2017, leaving guests in FEMA-style tents, serving cheese sandwiches, and unpaid Bahamian workers. McFarland pleaded guilty to wire fraud, received a six-year sentence, was ordered to pay $26 million, and was released early in March 2022.
Read at Business Insider
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]