Fyre Festival to become music streaming service following IP deal – DJ Mag

„I needed a big name that people would remember, even if it’s attached to infamy,“ the streaming service’s founder has said
Fyre Festival, the infamous 2017 music event that has been the focus of numerous documentaries and online reports, is set to have its brand turned into a music streaming service.
Deadline reports that Shawn Rech, who previously co-founded the TruBlue streaming service, has partially acquired the intellectual property rights of the disastrous festival including two trademarks that will allow him to use the name for his new streaming platform.
Speaking to Deadline, Rech said: „Music networks are all just programming now and I have no interest in watching people slip on bananas. It has nothing to do with music. I needed a big name that people would remember, even if it’s attached to infamy, so that’s why I bought these [trademarks] to start the streaming network.“
He continued: „This isn’t about festivals or hype – it’s about putting the power of music discovery back in the hands of the fans. We’re building something authentic and lasting.“
The festival itself is still owned by Fyre founder and CEO Billy MacFarland, who is expected to have some involvement in the streaming platform. McFarland is currently looking for a new location to host a second edition of the festival, several years on from its ill-fated original edition.
The platform will be a user-submitted and fan-curated service, and will take in a subscription video-on-demand platform that will reportedly cost around $3.99 a month. The music included on its initial single FAST feed will firstly focus on pop and hip-hop, but it hopes to expand to covering further genres of music later on.
Rech plans to launch the new streaming platform on Thanksgiving as that it when he has launched his other digital platforms. „I’m superstitious,“ he told Deadline.
A second edition of Fyre Festival, the actual festival, was recently postponed „indefinitely“ after months of promising that the event was sure to go ahead.  In February this year, eight years after the ill-fated first edition left attendees stranded in the Bahamas, McFarland told Today about plans for the second iteration of his festival was headed to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, from 30th May to 2nd June. “Fyre 2 is real,” he said at the time. “My dream is finally becoming a reality.”
However, last month, the local tourism board claimed “Fyre Festival 2 ‘does not exist’”. Speaking to the Guardian, Edgar Gasca, from the tourism directorate of Isla Mujeres, said: “We have no knowledge of this event, nor contact with any person or company about it. For us, this is an event that does not exist.”
Fyre 2 was already highly contentious prior to its launch due to its catastrophic predecessor. Founded by MacFarland and co-organised by the rapper Ja Rule, the original 2017 event was sold as a two-part, five-day luxury gathering in the Bahamas with five star dining and endorsements from celebrities and influencers, including Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid. The event collapsed almost before it began, with problems across security, catering, accommodation, health and safety, and artist relations.

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