Billy McFarland reacts to Fyre Festival sale: “Damn. This sucks, it’s so low”
The brand’s IP was auctioned on eBay after a private sale collapsed.
The rights to the Fyre Festival brand, including its IP, brand trademarks and social media assets, were sold on eBay on Tuesday for $245,300, Billboard reports.
Disgraced entrepreneur Billy McFarland sanctioned the sale earlier this month. He livestreamed the closing moments of the sale, allowing viewers to watch him react to the winning bid. “Damn. This sucks, it’s so low,” McFarland reportedly said when bidding crossed the $240,000 mark.
When the winning bid was confirmed, McFarland laughed and said "It's funny," though he did not disclose the identity of the new owner.
In a statement after the auction, McFarland congratulated the anonymous buyer and said he can now plan for the future. "FYRE Festival is just one chapter of my story, and I'm excited to move onto my next one," he wrote on social media.
In total the online sale attracted 175 bids by 42 different bidders. The final bid covers carve-outs for the upcoming Fyre Festival musical, Fyre streaming platform, and TV platform, all previously announced by separate independent developers.
Earlier this year, McFarland claimed that he was launching a second iteration of Fyre Festival in Mexico, launching presale tickets and issuing statement after statement insisting that the festival was real. It never took place, and in April McFarland announced his intention to sell the brand. The same month, Shawn Rech acquired the trademark to launch a Fyre-branded music streaming platform.