Fyre Festival

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Fyre Festival
Fyre Festival
General information
place Exuma , Bahamas
organizer Billy McFarland , Ja Rule
Period 28-30 April 2017
5-7 May 2017
Website fyrefestival.com on the Internet Archive
Visitor numbers
~ 5,000

The Fyre Festival was an event planned as an elite music festival that was prematurely canceled in 2017 on the Bahamian island of Exuma . The event was organized by Billy McFarland , CEO of Fyre Media Inc. and the rapper Ja Rule . The aim was to promote the Fyre app of the same name . Due to insufficient preparation and at the same time very complex and viral advertising of the event, which led to corresponding expectations on the part of the visitors, the festival developed into a failure with a fraudulent paintwork. As a result, there were several lawsuits against those involved, in the course of which, among others, McFarland pleaded guilty of fraud in March 2018 and was sentenced to six years in prison and a fine of US $ 26 million in October 2018 .

Planning and promotion

Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule at the Web Summit, 2016

The two protagonists Billy McFarland and Ja Rule got to know each other at events of the Magnises Club, a membership card-based company that offered its customers benefits such as hotel discounts or VIP access to clubs and other exclusive high-society events, and from McFarland and William Weldon was founded in 2013. Together, the two developed the idea of ​​an elite festival on a remote island with top-class musicians, which should also serve as an advertising forum for an app called "Fyre" operated by McFarland . The content of this app was the possibility to easily book well-known musicians for private events.

The headliners were Pusha T , Tyga , Desiigner , Blink-182 , Major Lazer , Disclosure , Migos , Rae Sremmurd , Kaytranada , Lil Yachty , Matoma , Klingande , Skepta , Claptone and Tensnake . A total of 33 musicians, bands and DJs were to perform. The event was scheduled for weekends April 28-30, 2017 and May 5-7, 2017, with day tickets priced from $ 500 to $ 1,500, providing accommodation in "modern, eco-friendly, geodesic domes" and a culinary supply by celebrity chefs. Among other things, it was advertised with “ uniquely authentic island cuisine, [...] local seafood, Bahamian-style sushi and even a pig roast ” (German: “unique authentic island cuisine, [...] local seafood, Bahamian-style sushi and even a roast suckling pig ”). In addition, there were VIP packages for up to 12,000 US dollars, which included traveling by plane and luxurious, villa-like tent accommodation.

At the end of 2016, the organizers rented the private island Norman's Cay in the Bahamas for advertising shoots and launched an extensive media campaign via various social networks. For example, on December 12, 2016, Kendall Jenner , Emily Ratajkowski and other influencers paid by Fyre simultaneously published a video on their Instagram profiles with a miniature image consisting of an orange square and a logo made of stylized flames. Clicking on the preview image played a video showing Bella Hadid and other models from the IMG agency walking around on a tropical beach. The text with the video promised: " an immersive music festival [...] two transformative weekends [...] on the boundaries of the impossible " (German: "an immersive music festival [...] two transformative weekends [..] .] at the limit of the impossible ”).

After the advertising, however, the business relationship between McFarland and the owners of the island broke up. The background was that the island used to belong to Carlos Lehder Rivas - one of the leading heads of the Medellín cartel at the time - and the owners wanted to avoid any association with the cartel or its popular leader Pablo Escobar , while McFarland emphasized this fact in his campaign. At this point in time, the planners still had 4 months until the scheduled start of the festival. As the search for a suitable alternative was unsuccessful, the choice of the organizers of the settlement Rokers Point (fell on the festival site on an unused brownfield site on the main island of Exuma north location ) that was used at that time by the locals, among other things as a car park. Another two months passed before the authorities had officially approved the use of the area. Unimpressed by these developments, the advertising campaign in the social networks continued to suggest an impending festival on a private island formerly owned by Pablo Escobar.

McFarland, who had no previous experience running an event of this magnitude, only then turned to professional event agencies and was - reportedly - surprised to find that they would cost at least $ 50 million and at least a year for them Would need planning. Nevertheless, McFarland stuck to the project and took over the organization himself. Even when the experienced event producer Yaron Lavi, recruited by Fyre in March 2017, pointed out that the planned dates would be impracticable and postponed at least to autumn 2017, but better to 2018 than deemed necessary, the organizers did not change their plans. Instead, the organizers were quoted in the press with the following reply: “ Let's just do it and be legends, man ” (German : “ Let's just do it and become legends, dude ”).

financing

The project was financed by funds from Fyre Media Inc. and private loans. Fashion manager Carola Jain granted Fyre Media Inc. a loan of 4 million US dollars, which the company used to rent luxury offices in the Tribeca district of Manhattan, among other things . More money came from the advance sales of 5,000 tickets. Also McFarland hoped for revenue from a share of Comcast Ventures as a venture capitalist at the Fyre app in the amount of 25 million US dollars. However, since the company value of Fyre Media was given by the founders at 90 million, but they still owed any evidence for this, Comcast declined funding days before the festival. After this source of funding failed, McFarland received a short-term loan of $ 500,000 from investor Ezra Birnbaum, but she asked for repayment including interest within 16 days. In order to ensure the necessary liquidity up to the festival dates, Fyre informed all ticket holders from the pre-sale that the payment for additional services on site would be processed cashless and credit card-free via a smartwatch equipped with RFID and that the participants proactively for each visit day between Should charge $ 300 and $ 500. The request was made even though the internet connection of the festival site made technical implementation impossible. About 2 million US dollars were raised from which the Birnbaum loan was repaid.

procedure

A Boeing 737 of the charter airline Swift Air with the lettering of the festival at Miami Airport on April 28, 2017

When doubts grew louder and louder shortly before the festival began, all headliners withdrew their commitments for their performances. Most recently, on the afternoon of April 27, 2017, Blink-182 announced via the news service Twitter that under the given circumstances they would not be able to perform in the quality the fans are used to and have therefore canceled the gig. ("We're not confident that we would have what we need to give you the quality of performances we always give our fans.") In addition, it had rained extensively the night before and the organizational chaos was thereby additionally hampered. The mattresses stored next to the tents were soaked. At the same time as the festival, the annual Exuma Regatta took place in the Bahamas, which, due to its spectators and participants, additionally reduced the island's resources in hotels and holiday apartments.

Undeterred, landed on the same day from Miami coming the first planes of the charge of the transport of guests Swift Air and Xtra Airways on the Exuma International Airport . The first participants were invited to a "spontaneous beach party" in a beach restaurant, where they were supplied with drinks and had to wait around six hours while the hectic preparations on the festival site continued.

Visitors arriving later were taken directly to the venue by school buses, where the true condition of the festival site became clear: the accommodations were little more than scattered disaster control tents with dirty floors, there were rain-soaked mattresses lying around and the advertised gourmet meals were low-quality packed lunches in foam containers and insufficient amount. Initially, McFarland and his team tried to register the arriving visitors from a stationary bungalow, but after hours of waiting the crowd began to hog the tents on their own. Even though only about 500 guests had arrived, there were tumults and arguments because there were not enough sleeping places available at this point. Because the festival was advertised as cashless, many participants had little or no real means of payment, for example for taxi rides, with them. In addition, there were no hotel beds due to the regatta. Luggage was damaged in transit from the airport. The visitors also reported a lack of lighting, toilets and running water. Medical staff and security were missing in sufficient numbers, as was cell phone reception or an internet connection. In the evening a group of local musicians finally came on stage and played for a few hours. But it should remain the only act that appeared at the event. Early in the morning it was announced that the festival would be postponed and that the participants would be returned to Miami as soon as possible.

Away from the festival area, the first reports about the situation reached the Bahamian authorities, who subsequently withdrew the landing permit from the aircraft of Swift Air and Xtra Airways in order to prevent further visitors from stranding on the island. As a result, many of those arriving on the mainland were stuck in transit. In some cases, passengers even had to leave the aircraft they had already entered in Miami, as they should now start immediately in the direction of Exuma to remove those who had already arrived.

The repatriation of the guests began in the early hours of April 28, 2017. The passengers of the first flight to Miami boarded at 1:30 am. However, since there were problems with the changed flight plan and the maximum permissible working time of the aircraft crew, the departure was delayed. Shortly after sunrise, the flight was canceled completely and the travelers had to spend the day without supplies, water or air conditioning in the terminal. The following morning the charter flights to Miami finally left the island with the return on board.

Effects

Ja Rule subsequently published on Twitter: “ it was NOT A SCAM” and “this is NOT MY FAULT ” (German: “It was not a fraud” and “This is not my fault”) and on the festival website there was still published the following statement during the events:

“Fyre Festival set out to provide a once-in-a-lifetime musical experience on the Islands of the Exumas. Due to circumstances out of our control, the physical infrastructure was not in place on time and we are unable to fulfill on that vision safely and enjoyably for our guests. At this time, we are working tirelessly to get flights scheduled and get everyone off of Great Exuma and home safely as quickly as we can. We ask that guests currently on-island do not make their own arrangements to get to the airport as we are coordinating those plans. We are working to place everyone on complimentary charters back to Miami today; This process has commenced and the safety and comfort of our guests is our top priority. The festival is being postponed until we can further assess if and when we are able to create the high-quality experience we envisioned. We ask for everyone's patience and cooperation during this difficult time as we work as quickly and safely as we can to remedy this unforeseeable situation. We will continue to provide regular updates via email to our guests and via our official social media channels as they become available. "

“The Fyre Festival wanted to offer a unique musical experience on the islands of the Exumas. Due to circumstances beyond our control, the physical infrastructure was not in place in a timely manner and we were unable to safely and adequately fulfill the vision for our guests. Right now we're working tirelessly to plan flights and get everyone safely home from Great Exuma as soon as possible. We ask guests on the island not to make their own arrangements to get to the airport as we coordinate these plans. We're working to assign free charter flights to Miami for all guests today. This process has already started and the safety and comfort of our guests are our top priority. The festival will be postponed for the time being until we can further assess whether and when we can offer the high-quality experience we have planned. We ask everyone for your patience and cooperation during this difficult time, while we work as quickly and safely as possible to resolve this unpredictable situation. We will continue to provide our guests with regular updates via email and our official social media channels as they become available. "

Fyre later announced on its own website that all attendees would have the choice of a full refund or VIP tickets to the festival the following year. However, the event was not repeated in 2018.

The press compared the events and chaos on Exuma with William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies and Suzanne Collins novel The Hunger Games .

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism apologized on behalf of the population, but at the same time stressed that the local administration had nothing to do with the organization and that it was therefore not responsible.

Service providers and other employees who worked on the site during the preparations were not paid. A restaurant owner who, among other things, provided the staff with food, was never paid and got into financial difficulties , which is why he asked for support on the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe .

Civil law

At least 9 lawsuits against McFarland, Ja Rule and Fyre Media Inc. in American courts have become known to the public, in particular one lawsuit for 100 million US dollars in the US state of California. It was filed on behalf of Daniel Jung by attorney Mark Geragos, who, along with more than 150 other plaintiffs, filed for class action status. The content of the lawsuit was damages due to fraud, breach of contract and the violation of good faith in connection with the festival.

A second class action lawsuit against Fyre Media, McFarland, Ja Rule and approximately 100 others involved in organizing the event was filed in Los Angeles by personal injury attorney John Girardi on behalf of three participants. Plaintiffs alleged the organizers deliberately deceived visitors by paying more than 400 social media personalities and celebrities to make false statements. Here, too, the plaintiffs are demanding compensation for breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation and fraud.

Additional lawsuits from affected visitors have been filed in the federal courts of New York , New Jersey, and Florida . In addition, there was an action for an injunction by a reporter against ostensible warnings that the organizers of the festival sent out in the event of critical reports. The conclusion was formed by lawsuits from subcontractors. In the Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston , the ticket provider Tablelist sued for damages for breach of contract in the amount of 3.5 million US dollars. Tablelist itself had to compensate ticket customers and is initially left with the costs, which led to the company having to lay off up to 40% of its workforce. In addition, on May 4, 2017, National Event Services (NES) filed a lawsuit for damages in the amount of US $ 250,000. The company had been entrusted with medical services for the festival and was insufficiently paid, with the added complication that Fyre had refused to take out the usual cancellation insurance.

An initial verdict was passed on July 3, 2018 in favor of two North Carolina visitors who were awarded punitive damages of $ 5 million. The judgment was passed in absentia against Billy McFarland after he failed to respond to the trial. Ja Rule was originally named as the defendant, but later dropped out of the court case following an out-of-court settlement with the attorney for the two participants.

Criminal

Shortly after the festival - on May 21, 2017 - the New York Times reported that McFarland and his staff were under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for fraud related to distance selling and investments . On June 30, 2017, McFarland was finally arrested and formally charged. He pleaded guilty to the fraud allegations in March 2018 and was sentenced to six years in prison and a fine of $ 26 million in October 2018.

With regard to the investigation into investment fraud, the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced on July 24, 2018 that McFarland, including the two companies he founded, as well as a former executive and a former contractor, had reached an agreement with the authorities to settle outstanding debts of at least Would have closed $ 27.4 million. McFarland also pleaded guilty to the allegations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, submitted all of his business activities to permanent guardianship by a board of directors and undertook long-term repayment of the outstanding amounts from the profit skimming of his future activities.

Media reception

There are two documentaries about the festival, its protagonists and the plans that were both released in 2019: Hulus Fyre Fraud and the Netflix production Fyre: The Biggest Party That Never Happened . In addition, the American comedy trio The Lonely Island is planning a parody film on the subject.

Web links

Literature and individual references

  1. ^ A b Georgia Chambers: Fyre Festival: Did Billy McFarland go to jail for fraud? Where are Ja Rule and the other organizers 2 years later? IT. Magazine, July 26, 2019, accessed May 13, 2020 .
  2. ^ A b c Joe Coscarelli and Melena Ryzik: Fyre Festival, a Luxury Music Weekend, Crumbles in the Bahamas. New York Times , April 28, 2017, accessed May 13, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Gabrielle Bluestone: Fyre Festival's 25-year-old organizer: “This is the worst day of my life”. Vice Magazine, April 29, 2017, accessed May 13, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Jen Case: Fyre Festival in Bahamas releases final lineup. EDM Life, April 6, 2017, accessed May 14, 2020 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (documentation). Netflix, 2019, accessed April 16, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Shay Spence: 'Literally bread, cheese, and salad': How Fyre Festival-goers were duped after promise of celeb chef meals. People (magazine), April 28, 2017, accessed May 14, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Laurel Wamsley: Paradise Lost: Luxury Music Festival Turns Out To Be Half-Built Scene Of Chaos. NPR (the two-way), April 28, 2017, accessed May 14, 2020 .
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g Bryan Burrough: Fyre Festival: Anatomy of a millennial marketing fiasco waiting to happen. Vanityfair Magazine, June 29, 2017, archived from the original on February 23, 2019 ; accessed on May 13, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Jem Aswad and Roy Trakin: Fyre Festival Documentaries: The 10 Most Outrageous Moments. Variety Magazine, January 18, 2019, accessed May 14, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Chloe Gordon: I Worked at Fyre Festival. It Was Always Going to Be a Disaster. The Cut (magazine) April 28, 2017, archived from the original on January 23, 2019 ; accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Polly Mosendz and Kim Bhasin: Comcast Rejected Funding Days Before Doomed Fyre Festival. Bloomberg, May 4, 2017, archived from the original on January 22, 2019 ; accessed on May 14, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Joe Coscarelli, Meleny Ryzik and Ben Sisario: In Wreckage of the Fyre Festival, Fury, Lawsuits and an Inquiry. New York Times, May 21, 2019, accessed May 13, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Jennevie Tanzon-Corre: Fyre Festival and the Power of Digital Marketing. myoptimind.com (blog), January 25, 2019, archived from the original on January 31, 2019 ; accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Trevor DeHaas: The dinner that @fyrefestival promised us was catered by Steven Starr is literally bread, cheese, and salad with dressing. Twitter , April 28, 2017, archived from the original on May 13, 2019 ; accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Abby Ohlheiser: The complete disaster of Fyre Festival played out on social media for all to see; 'NOT MY FAULT' says organizer Ja Rule. Washington Post , April 28, 2017, archived from the original on February 17, 2019 ; accessed on May 11, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Issy Lapowsky: The Fyre Festival: The Fiasco We All Should Have Seen Coming. wired.com, April 28, 2017, archived from the original on May 26, 2019 ; accessed on May 16, 2020 .
  17. ↑ Christopher Hooton: Fyre Festival: Attendees 'locked in airport with no food or water'. Independent , April 28, 2017, accessed May 10, 2020 .
  18. ^ Fyre Festival: When a $ 12,000 luxury festival in paradise turns into chaos. CNN , April 28, 2017, archived from the original on January 23, 2019 ; accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  19. ↑ Aric Jenkins: Fyre Festival chaos in Exuma. April 28, 2017, archived from the original on November 7, 2017 ; accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  20. ↑ FYRE Festival FAQ. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017 ; accessed on March 1, 2019 .
  21. ↑ O'Connor Roisin: A 'luxury festival' backed by celebrities descends into chaos as one guest calls it 'Rich Kids of Instagram meets Lord of the Flies'. The Independent, April 28, 2017; archived from the original on April 29, 2017 ; accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  22. ↑ Elyse Wanshel: Fyre Festival, Which Cost Thousands Per ticket, devolves Into Giant Mess. Huffington Post , April 28, 2017, archived from the original on April 28, 2017 ; accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  23. ↑ Adam White and Charlotte Krol: 'Rich kids of Instagram meets Hunger Games': Guests at luxury Fyre Festival where tickets cost $ 12,000 'mugged, stranded and hungry'. The Daily Telegraph , archived from the original on April 28, 2017 ; accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  24. ↑ Jayme Deerwester: Fyre Festival: From rich-kid party to national joke in one day. USA Today , archived from the original on April 29, 2017 ; accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  25. ↑ 'Luxury' Fyre Festival is canceled with ticket-holders still stranded in Bahamas. BBC News, archived from the original on April 29, 2017 ; accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  26. ^ Josh Halliday: Online fund for unpaid Fyre festival staff raises tens of thousands. The Guardian, January 20, 2019; archived from the original on July 8, 2019 ; accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  27. ↑ Sheldon Pearce and Jazz Monroe: Fyre Festival Hit With $ 100 Million Lawsuit. Pitchfork (website) and Condé Nast (ed.), May 1, 2017, archived from the original on May 26, 2019 ; accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  28. ↑ Paula Parisi: Mark Geragos Files $ 100 Million Suit Against Fyre Festival. Variety (Magazine) May 1, 2017, archived from the original on November 20, 2018 ; accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  29. ↑ Ashley Cullins: Fyre Festival Debacle Sparks Another Class Action Lawsuit. The Hollywood Reporter , May 2, 2017, archived from the original on May 3, 2017 ; accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  30. ↑ Marc Hogan: Fyre Festival Hit With Third Lawsuit. Pitchfork (website) / Condé Nast, May 4, 2017, archived from the original on May 26, 2019 ; accessed on May 18, 2020 .
  31. ↑ Marc Hogan: Fyre Sold VIP Passes After Festival Was Canceled, Seventh Lawsuit Claims. Pitchfork (website) / Condé Nast, May 10, 2017, archived from the original on May 26, 2019 ; accessed on May 19, 2020 .
  32. ^ A b Daniel Kreps: Fyre Festival Organizers Hit With Two More Lawsuits. Rolling Stone , May 5, 2017; Archived from the original on June 12, 2018 ; accessed on May 19, 2020 .
  33. ^ Marc Hogan: Fyre Threatened to Sue Twitter Critics for Potentially Inciting Riots, Sixth Lawsuit Claims. Pitchfork (website) / Condé Nast, May 8, 2017, archived from the original on March 10, 2019 ; accessed on May 19, 2020 .
  34. ↑ Jon Blistein: Ticket Vendor Tablelist Sue's Fyre Festival Organizers for $ 3.5 million. Rolling Stone , May 16, 2017; Archived from the original on December 6, 2017 ; accessed on May 19, 2020 .
  35. ↑ Jem Aswad: Two Fyre Festival Attendees Awarded $ 5 Million in Damages. Variety, July 3, 2018, archived from the original on December 14, 2018 ; accessed on May 19, 2020 .
  36. ↑ Melena Ryzik, Joe Coscarelli and Ben Sisario: In Wreckage of the Fyre Festival, Fury, Lawsuits and an Inquiry. The New York Times , May 21, 2017, archived from the original on February 16, 2019 ; accessed on May 19, 2020 .
  37. ^ Manhattan US Attorney Announces Charges Against Individual For Defrauding Investors In Digital Media Company. justice.gov, archived from the original on May 14, 2019 ; accessed on May 19, 2020 .
  38. ^ William McFarland Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Defrauding Investors And A Ticket Vendor Of Over $ 26 Million. justice.gov, archived from the original on January 4, 2019 ; accessed on May 19, 2020 .
  39. ↑ SEC Charges Failed Fyre Festival Founder and Others With $ 27.4 Million Offering Fraud. sec.gov, archived from the original on March 23, 2019 ; accessed on May 19, 2020 .
  40. ^ Joey Nolfi: Hulu premieres Fyre Festival documentary with Billy McFarland interview four days before Netflix's. Entertainment Weekly, January 14, 2019; Archived from the original on February 3, 2019 ; accessed on May 13, 2020 .
  41. ^ Daniel Kreps: Seth Rogen, Lonely Island Making Fyre Festival-Like Film. Rolling Stone (magazine) April 29, 2017, archived from the original on August 14, 2019 ; accessed on May 13, 2020 .
  42. ↑ Lindsay Dodgson: Seth Rogen and The Lonely Island are working on a spoof film of Fyre Festival, and it might even feature Andy King. Insider, February 12, 2019, accessed May 13, 2020 .