The early 2000s music sharing software company LimeWire — now resurrected as a crypto company by new owners — won rights to the infamous Fyre Festival in an auction that was held on eBay, reportedly beating out Ryan Reynolds’ company for the rights.
Julian and Paul Zehetmayr, who took over LimeWire in 2022, announced Tuesday they bought the rights to the Fyre Festival.
LimeWire
Key Takeaways
- LimeWire CEO Julian Zehetmayr, who helped acquire the company in 2022, told the Wall Street Journal his company shelled out $245,000 to win the rights to the Fyre Festival.
- While Zehetmayr remained vague about the company’s plans for Fyre Festival, the resurrected Limewire brand is focused on launching non-fungible tokens to help users get access to music, which may hint at the company’s plans for the Fyre Festival brand.
- In a press release Tuesday, titled “LimeWire Acquires Fyre Festival Brand – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?” LimeWire acknowledged the brand’s disastrous history, but clarified it would not be recreating the 2017 music festival that went spectacularly wrong and landed its founder in jail for defrauding investors and ticketholders.
- “Fyre became a symbol of hype gone wrong, but it also made history,” Zehetmayr said in the press release, stating LimeWire is “bringing the brand and the meme back to life. This time with real experiences, and without the cheese sandwiches,” referring to the lackluster meals Fyre Festival attendees were served.
- Zehetmayr did not detail specific plans for Fyre’s future, but LimeWire’s press release said its vision “expands beyond the digital realm and taps into real-world experiences, community, and surprise,” claiming “Fyre’s revival will be bold, self-aware,” and will stay “true to its chaotic legacy.”
- The press release includes a quote from Reynolds, who said: “Congrats to LimeWire for their winning bid for Fyre Fest. I look forward to attending their first event but will be bringing my own palette of water.”
- A representative for Reynolds confirmed to the New York Times the actor’s company had placed a bid, but declined to reveal the amount, stating it was “not enough.”
What Happened At The Infamous Fyre Festival In 2017?
The Fyre Festival, held in 2017 and organized by Billy McFarland alongside rapper Ja Rule, was billed as a luxury music festival held in the Bahamas. The event was promoted by influencers on social media, who were paid to promote the festival, including Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski and Bella Hadid.
Thousands of tickets were sold as McFarland boasted a lineup that was set to include acts like Migos, Disclosure, Pusha T and Blink-182, with promised accommodations including luxury housing and meals prepared by celebrity chefs. But when attendees arrived on the remote island, there was little food — except, famously, cheese sandwiches — along with tents for housing and no actual music performances as the festival crumbled, with McFarland blaming improper infrastructure.
Authorities said McFarland, who was 25 when the Fyre Festival happened, had exaggerated the value of his company, Fyre Media, to investors, and that he had underestimated the time and costs it would take to plan and execute a music festival. In 2018, McFarland pleaded guilty to multiple fraud charges and was sentenced to six years in federal prison, though he was released early in 2022.
Why Was The Fyre Festival Up For Auction?
After his release from prison, McFarland claimed on social media he would host a Fyre Festival 2, and claimed he already had the funding secured. He told the Wall Street Journal in 2024 he had already sold tickets for the upcoming festival, but just did not yet have a location planned. One of the tickets was worth $1.1 million, the New York Times reported, which would have included luxury amenities like round-trip airfare, a helicopter trip and housing on a yacht. McFarland eventually set the festival for June 2025 in Mexico, but in April, he pivoted and announced he would sell the rights to the festival, stating he felt he needed to “step back and allow a new team to move forward independently.”
What Is Limewire?
LimeWire, founded in 2000, was widely used as a platform for downloading illegally pirated music, and at its peak in the mid-2000s, was estimated to be downloaded on one-third of all computers, according to media measurement firm BigChampagne, which was later acquired by Live Nation. But LimeWire faced legal challenges from record labels, and a federal judge ruled in 2010 the company had violated copyright law. The following year, the company settled a lawsuit with the Recording Industry Association of America, paying $105 billion, after which the platform was shut down. Zehetmayr and his brother Paul revived the company by purchasing the rights in 2022, partnering with major label Universal Music Group to sell NFTs tied to its signed artists.
