Billy McFarland is back in the headlines as the disgraced Fyre Festival founder tries to offload the infamous brand on eBay, starting the auction at just $0.01.
The listing includes the entire Fyre Festival package: trademarks, domain names, social media accounts, marketing materials, email and SMS lists, and even a “Caribbean Festival Location Option.”
As of Tuesday evening (July 8), the auction had drawn 71 bids and climbed to $100,000.
“We’ve had over 1,000 offers for the Fyre brand, but I am done playing games,” Billy McFarland said in an Instagram post on July 9. “Through all the noise, the chaos, the hype, and the craziness, Fyre has had over 32 billion impressions online since 2017. Whoever owns the Fyre brand will have an attention engine to launch festivals, do merch collabs, do insane pop-ups, run live streams, or build a media brand.”
The auction also includes what’s described as “a loot box of worthless goodies,” a nod to the festival’s legacy of overpromising and underdelivering.
The decision to sell comes after a failed seven-figure deal with filmmaker Shawn Rech, who had planned to integrate the brand into a new music streaming venture.
That agreement collapsed after five days of talks, despite McFarland staying quiet to let the buyer make the announcement.
McFarland officially put the brand up for sale in April 2025 following delays with Fyre Festival 2, which was scheduled for May 2025 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
The event was postponed due to permit issues with local officials and logistical problems.
Fyre Festival became a cautionary tale in 2017 after attendees arrived in the Bahamas to find no infrastructure, no music and no accommodations.
The chaos led to lawsuits, documentaries, and McFarland’s conviction for defrauding investors and ticket buyers out of more than $26 million. He was sentenced to six years in federal prison in 2018 and released in March 2022 after serving less than four years.
Despite the brand’s disastrous past, McFarland insists it still holds value. The eBay auction remains live, with bidding continuing to rise.