LimeWire acquires Fyre Festival brand, outbidding Ryan Reynolds

LimeWire, the peer-to-peer music sharing service, has reportedly acquired the Fyre Festival brand.

Months on from the infamously disastrous festival’s company name being listed for sale on eBay by founder Billy McFarland — who described the event at that point as “the craziest thing I’ve ever done” — LimeWire has acquired the rights having reportedly outbid Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds. 

Announcing the acquisition, a joint statement from Fyre and LimeWire’s statement said: “Big news: Fyre Festival has officially been acquired by LimeWire. What could possibly go wrong?

“Two of the internet’s most infamous names are now under one roof — and no, this isn’t about repeating past mistakes. Together, two of the most talked-about names in internet history are starting a new chapter: built on transparency, tech, and a healthy dose of humour.”

The joint statement shared by LimeWire and Fyre claimed that Reynolds also attempted to acquire the Fyre brand through his agency, Maximum Effort. “Congrats to LimeWire… I look forward to attending their first event but will be bringing my own palette of water,” Reynolds said, according to Fyre and LimeWire.

It’s currently unclear what form the new iteration of Fyre will take, but the statement promised “a reimagined vision for [the event]”, involving “real-world experiences”.

LimeWire CEO Julian Zehetmayr insisted that, while the festival will not be returning, the company hopes to “bring the meme back to life — this time with real execution”.

In 2022, LimeWire rebranded as an NFT platform having previously experienced years of legal challenges due to the use of the service for illegally sharing music and other files.

Earlier this year, information surrounding a Fyre Festival 2 was circulated online with tickets even going on sale.