Frye Festival 2 has gone about as well as one might expect – following a court psychologist deeming founder Billy McFarland “mentally ill”, the upcoming second iteration of the infamous festival has been officially postponed – with no concrete date for the future. But there’s now hopes that a Fyre streaming service could continue profiting off of the brand.
According to Deadline, Shawn Rech, co-founder of streaming service TruBlu, has acquired some Fyre IP – including two trademarks. The freshly acquired IP could allow Rech to start up the new streaming service.
“Music networks are all just programming now and I have no interest in watching people slip on bananas,” Rech tells Deadline. “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.”
Fyre Festival 2, which was originally set to take place in Mexico between the 30 May to 2 June, was officially postponed last week. The move could be a way of keeping the brand alive – but Rech insists his focus is on spreading the “power of music”.
“This isn’t about festivals or hype,” he insists. “It’s about putting the power of music discovery back in the hands of the fans. We’re building something authentic and lasting.”
Considering Fyre Festival has a reputation of being neither “authentic” or “lasting”, it’s an interesting choice of branding. However, Rech’s plans for a user-submitted, fan-curated streaming service could shift the public’s perception of what Fyre represents.
Rech says the streaming platform will have FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) networks, primarily featuring pop and hip hop, and will later expand into other genres.
It will also include a video-on-demand platform, and is apparently set to launch around Thanksgiving in November.
While Rech plans to run the platform, founder Billy McFarland is expected to have some presence on the network.
Deadline also reports that McFarland is still searching for a new location for Fyre Festival 2.
The news of the festival being postponed was confirmed by ABC News after punters received an email stating: “The event has been postponed. A new date will be announced. We have issued you a refund. Once the new date is announced, at that time, you can repurchase if it works for your schedule.”
The post “I needed a big name people would remember, even if it’s attached to infamy”: Someone’s bought some Fyre IP – and plans to launch a streaming service later this year appeared first on MusicTech.
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